HiBy R5 Saber Review

Technical Performance

The tonality is pretty good with the R5 Saber, and the timbre is quite nice as well with good texture. The overall resolution is good, and I especially liked the mid-range transparency. I found the separation to be very good as well, together with the dynamism, which again is very good particularly in the mid-range. Together with the improved treble response and overall sharpness, the R5 Saber performs well from a technical standpoint.

The sound stage is very very good although the depth is not the best. Yet the width is quite good and impressive. Overall control is nicely done, and the DAP sounds balanced with good coherency. Overall the HiBy R5 Saber has a better separation than the R5 with better focus with the instruments. It’s a nice improvement over the R5 model and it might not strike you at first when listening to them both side by side, but when you focus on with good enough IEMs/headphones, you’ll hear the difference.

In terms of output, the impedance is below 1 ohm, so it’s not like the original R6. That means you probably won’t have issues with sensitive gear. And the R5 Saber has some power too. I stayed around 25-30 volume levels at most with my IEMs (out of 100 – low gain), and I tested the Goldplanar GL2000 headphone from the BAL output. It drove it to satisfying sound levels for good measure. But I still recommend rather easy-to-drive headphones (full-size), since the others require a full-size amplifier to sound their best.

HiBy R5 Saber

HiBy R5

Conclusion

The HiBy R5 Saber is a wonderfully designed player that provides rich features in a complete and very compact package. You have streaming, advanced DSP settings, DTA, Hi-Res Bluetooth codecs, micro SD support, a fast processor with a clean UI, and both 4.4mm BAL and 3.5mm SE outputs.

So everything is almost perfect in terms of user experience. The sound overall is nicely improved with better focus with a sharper separation. The sound has more detail and texture with better transparency and resolution. It’s just like the difference between R3 and R3 Pro. I really find it to be a very good performer in this price range, particularly for its close to neutral presentation and great mid reproduction. The sound stage is also quite good for a DAP that costs this little.

Lieven was quite impressed with the flagship R8, and it seems like HiBy is on a good track in terms of SQ as well. The user experience is always very good with HiBy DAPs, but they lacked some serious quality in terms of the technical sound performance of their DAPs. At least it was my opinion in the recent past. But now they started to produce some very nice-sounding DAPs and the R5 Saber is a very good improvement. I say again; this is the R5 DAP that should’ve been there in the first place.

So yes, I decided to recommend it on our Best Portable Players page. Nice work and a nice improvement in the amplifier stage.

4/5 - (91 votes)
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A keen audiophile and hobby photographer, Berkhan is after absolute perfection. Whether it is a full-frame camera or a custom in-ear, his standpoint persists. He tries to keep his photography enthusiasm at the same level as audio. Sometimes photography wins, sometimes his love for music takes over and he puts that camera aside. Simplistic expressions of sound in his reviews are the way to go for him. He enjoys a fine single malt along with his favourite Jazz recordings.

12 Comments

  • Reply May 6, 2021

    World Wide Stereo

    Ads make your reviews very difficult to read on mobile platforms. I couldn’t finish reading it.

    • Reply May 7, 2021

      Lieven

      what’s the screen resolution? Was there an option to close the ad? Thank you

  • Reply May 7, 2021

    Sagnik Biswas

    Is it possible to make a comparison with Shanlong M3X?

    • Reply May 7, 2021

      Berkhan

      M3X belongs to Nano unfortunately.

  • Reply May 9, 2021

    Joni

    Hello
    How would you compare the r5 saber with ibasso dx160 soundwise?

  • Reply May 9, 2021

    Gabriele

    let’s go back to Sony!

  • Reply May 23, 2021

    Enzo Genaro

    Hola tremenda revisión muchas gracias, una pregunta, como crees que funcione con el HD 660s harán buena pareja?

  • Reply May 25, 2021

    CHRISTOPHE BORIES

    R3 pro ou R5 ? qui a le meilleur son ? juste le son. merci de m’aider

    • Reply July 29, 2021

      Rachmanto

      Can we download song from Tidal to be played offline? Thanks

  • Reply September 15, 2021

    Adam

    I know I’m a little late to this review article, but was wondering if you might be able to touch upon a point for me (as well as other readers/possible buyers).

    The ever-loathed topic of max 20,000 music files being viewable by a whole long list of DAPs.

    I asked HiBy if the above was also the case with the R5 Saber, and they said no – that it had in their words, “no media restrictions.” To further clarify, I then asked whether the only limitation would be in maxing out the micro sd card you use, in which case is 2TB (according to HiBy), and the said “yes.”

    Do you have the same experience? Obviously HiBy has no reason to lie because this would be quickly verified by anyone who buys/owns one, but I’m looking for anyone who currently has one and who might be able to test this out…

    That at over 20,000+ files, you can still view all of them within the normal functionality of the player, such as searching via Artists, Albums, Songs, or Genres (and not the “backdoor” method of going to the folders tab.

  • Reply November 16, 2023

    Ali

    Thanks

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