Review: HiBy R5 – Assiduous

Sound

As now we have passed through the “non-sound” topics, we can finally get to the part where the rubber meets the road. First of all, it would not be fair to expect a High-End performance from this DAP due to its price range.

Yet, we have to hear some qualities from its output and to me it’s the most important thing despite all of its features. To be completely honest with you, I’m not fully convinced yet about the overall sound quality of HiBy DAPs, even though I’m sold for their design and user experience. So let’s see what the R5 puts on the table.

The HiBy R5 is a clean sounding device with good speed, dynamics and sound-stage. I found the separation part pretty successful with good overall tonal accuracy. However I think it plays wide but not deep in terms of staging, and I feel the treble part is not too refined. Overall it puts up a good performance with a more neutral presentation than the warmer R6 model, and I found it to be a good performer.

Bass

The bass response of the R5 is rather on the leaner side, with good decay and speed with moderate impact. The kick is there, but it doesn’t reach deep like some other higher priced DAPs, which is okay for me. I particularly liked the decay and quickness of the bass. There isn’t too much of a subbass for quantity, but that is pretty good actually with dynamic driver IEMs, since they can be too “fat” in that region, therefore the R5 can balanced them out.

HiBy R5

Midbass is nicely executed with good texture and control. It’s not humped and doesn’t get in the way of things and that provides a good separation between the midbass and mid regions. I think the overall bass performance of the R5 is very ideal and reference-like in terms of presentation. Of course, you always have the MSEB and EQ options to boost the lows. But the default setup gives a quick and textured bass response that is very good for the price level.

However, the bass is not very tight overall which creates a slightly bloated response. Although the quantity is not too much, you can still feel the dispersed bass hits from time to time. So the tightness of the bass is not the best.

Mids

The mid section sounds quite clean and without any veils that can reduce the overall transparency. I found the mid range very transparent and correct in terms of tonality. The resolution is very good for the price and it has good dynamism with the instrument sounds.

The positioning is realistic, especially in terms of vocals, and the clarity is quite nice as well. The mid area is the most successful part of the R5 in my opinion, sounding clear, neutral and honest. However I found the timbre to be not so good when I compare it to some higher end DAPs. That musical and organic touch is not completely there. In sum, the mids are great and they are the best part of the R5 for the price, except the timbre side.

Hiby R5

Treble

This is the part that left some mixed feelings on me to be honest. The treble section is not transparent enough and it doesn’t have much detail which creates a deficient sound overall. For the price, the bass and mid sections are very good and especially the mid area deserves a praise, but the treble performance is not satisfying to my ears.

As I said, there is not much detail in the treble and highs sound thick without much extension. I think there should’ve been more sparkle and clarity in treble, which is a let down really, because this is a wonderful player for the price. I expected more from its treble to be honest, but even something like the Wavaya Penta, with its electrostatic treble drivers, doesn’t make up for it.

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