HiBy R6 III Review

Today we’re reviewing the new HiBy R6 III portable player, a new and refreshed R6 DAP variant. It’s selling for $499 USD.

Disclaimer: HiBy sent us the new HiBy R6 III for the purpose of this review. I only covered the import taxes and fees. All thoughts and experiences with the product are naturally my own.

HiBy recently released its flagship player HiBy RS8 and its review will be posted soon. The product that we are going to be reviewing today is the updated version of HiBy R6 2020 and it shares the same design language as the new RS8 and the rest of the HiBy players.

HiBy

HiBy Music is a company that specializes in the research & development of portable audio equipment. They have been in the industry since 2011. They designed and developed a wide range of products from DAPs to various Bluetooth devices. HiBy is a very innovative company and they have a huge R&D team with over 40 professionals. Their HiBy Music App has a user base of 2 million users in over 100 countries around the globe.

They successfully launched many other DAPs in the past and now launched a new version of R6. We have reviewed several HiBy products and you can reach them here.

HIBY R6 III

The HiBy R6 III is the updated model of the HiBy R6 2020. It features new hardware such as the Snapdragon 665 SoC, but most of the features are the same, such as 4 gigabytes of RAM, and a dual ES9038Q2M DAC audio circuit design. However, the Android version is updated to 12, along with new tweaks and optimizations, especially in the amplifier stage. It also received a slight design overhaul and it looks like the little brother of the new RS8.

Specifications & Technical Data

• Android 12 with system-wide DTA Architecture
• Qualcomm Snapdragon 665 SoC + 4GB RAM
• Dual ES9038Q2M DAC + Two OPA1652 opamps
• Class A/AB Amplification Switch
• 5’’ IPS 720P Multi-touch Display with 293 PPI
• 64GB Internal Storage with 2TB Micro SD Support
• 2.4/5 GHz WiFi
• Aluminium Construction (250g)
• OTA Firmware Updates + Google Play Store
• 4500 mAh Battery with Fast Charging
• 4.4mm BAL LO + 3.5mm UNBAL LO on the left side
• 3.5mm UNBAL PO + 4.4mm BAL PO on the right side

Packaging & Accessories

The R6 III comes in a luxurious box. The main theme here is the three stripes, which represent the 3rd iteration of the R6. The unboxing experience is simply great. When you remove the cover, you face a black box with very elegant golden accents. Upon opening it, you’ll see the player on the right and a compartment that has three stripes on the left. As for accessories, the R6 III comes out of the factory with front and back glass protectors installed. That is something to appreciate because it is always easy to apply them yourself.

HiBy also did not forget to include a spare protector for the front glass, just in case. The left compartment has a packed USB-C to USB-C cable to charge the device. The R6 III also comes with a clear case. The RS6 and R6 2020 had nicer and more premium leather cases, but this one is also pretty good.

Design & Build

The R6 III shares the same language as the R6 2020 and the RS6, as with the flagship RS8. The device weighs about 250 grams. It looks great in cool silver colour (there’s also a black version) and feels very rigid in hand. All sockets and jacks feel firm and tight.

The aluminium construction feels durable and the button layout is easy to memorize. We have 4 buttons in total, from top to bottom layout is as follows; the power button, previous track, play/pause, and next track. The buttons feel stiff and there is no wobble at all. HiBy placed a colour-coded LED under the power button to let you know about the sample rate of the track that you’re playing. The screen looks very very vivid and sharp. It has a pixel density of 293 PPI, which is really high for a Hi-Fi player.

The album covers and videos look great for a DAP. Screen to body ratio is brilliant and as a front & back glass device, it looks very aesthetic. I don’t think you’re going to have trouble carrying it around as it is not a big player. In fact, it fits right into a Pelican 1020 case with enough space to store your favourite earphones.

Page 2 – User Experience & Software

Page 3 – Sound Quality

Page 4 – Technical Performance, Comparisons & Conclusion

4.1/5 - (105 votes)

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