Hidizs AP80 Pro-X Review

UI & Usage

Everyday carry

Lightweight and compact, the Hidizs AP80 Pro-X is bliss to carry on an everyday basis.

Compared to my usual daily driver – either the iBasso DX300 or the FiiO M11 Plus – this player seems almost invisible, whether I hold it in my hand, or hide it in my pocket. Sure, it’s not as sleek as the FiiO M3 Pro, or the Khadas Tea which completely blends with my phone, but even in my trouser pocket, I was never bothered by the player.

In fact, this is one of the few modern DAP that I can one-handle. A meaningless feature on paper, but when you’re on the go, trying to catch your train, it becomes really handy. Pair the player with a small set of headphones, or best an IEM like the FiiO FD3 Pro, and you’ll have a perfect commute bundle.

HiBy OS

Software-wise, the AP80 Pro-X embeds the latest version of HiBy OS, an OS that I’ve already encountered many times, which scales nicely with the player. If top dogs like the HiBy RS6 or Hidizs own AP200 support streaming via the same OS, this version is limited to internal files’ playback or Bluetooth streaming.

It’s snappy, well-designed, and supports every type of media file on the go, from classic FLAC files, to DSD and MQA tracks. Add to that one of the fastest media scan systems on the market, and you get a very potent player.

In addition to that, the Hidizs also get some funny options like:

• a pedometer, to track your performances when you run/walk with the player
• an e-book reader, okay I don’t know who will read books on something this small, but I’m not you people

All in all, clean and simple.

Noise and power

Noise: nothing to worry about, the residual noise is mostly absent. Sure, under special conditions, my hypersensitive Onkyo was able to spot a few sparks of hiss, but most of the time you’ll never hear any of that. Good job Hidizs, very good job!

Power:  as you’d expect, the AP80 Pro-X isn’t a power monster – you won’t drive the Meze Empyrean or an Audeze LCD-X – but paired with a good set of portable headphones, like the Meze 99 Classics or the new BeyerDynamic DT 900 Pro X, the render was quite surprising, in a good way!

Battery Life and Charging

As you’d expect with its tiny body, the Hidizs AP80 Pro-X embeds a small battery. When players like the M11 Plus ESS boast massive numbers (6000mAh) the AP80 only sports an 800mAh one, with no fast charge, no QC 4.0, no USB PD, just plain 5V/2Ah USB charge.

But, in real life, this was never an issue as Hidizs designed a power-saving chipset, offering up to 11h of continuous playtime in single-ended mode, and 40 days of standby. Of course, plug a balanced headphone/IEM, and battery life literally halves down to 6h.

Specifications

For the nitpickers and nerdy ones here, I’m giving the specs and technical sheets. For all the others, you can just go to the next page to see how the amp performs.

Dual Sabre ES9219C + FPGA HBC3000

Once again, the new Hidizs AP80 Pro-X is more of an evolution, than a revolution,

If the previous model already embedded a dual-DAC (ES9218), the new one gets an upgraded set of ES9219C DAC, a new chip that was recently released on the market, featuring nice specs like:

• full 16/24/32bit PCM decoding
• up to 130dB of SNR and 121dB of DNR
• ultra-low consumption in idle mode
• THD Compensation + Analog THD removal (ATR)

As usual, you can top that with 32-bit HyperStream III architecture + Quad DAC Technology, and you get a very versatile chip, which will deliver – at least on paper – an insanely high level of quality.

And, on top of that, the brand paired the DAC with a new FPGA chip, ensuring bit-perfect playback for PCM and DSD sources, thanks to its emulated master clock and clock jitter. A feature we’re seeing more and more frequently nowadays, for good reasons.

USB-C and SD-Card

Like every modern player, the Hidizs AP80 Pro-X gets a USB Type-C port, with a reversible design and two-way data transfer.

In fact, the USB port works as an entry and a gateway: you can either plug the DAP into your computer and use it as a DAC, or connect a DAC and use the player as a source. A cool option we are seeing more and more on DAPs, especially on small devices like this one.

Unfortunately, the AP80 Pro-X doesn’t support USB 3.0 data transfers, and caps at 20Mbps – or USB 2.0 speed. So if you need to copy/paste a LOT of music, you better get a USB 3.0 card reader.

Last but not least, the player sports a classic micro-SD slot, supporting an SDXC card, up to 512Gb.

Streaming / Bluetooth

Unlike higher-end players or the “old” AP200, the Hidizs AP80 Pro-X doesn’t support Wi-Fi, and by extension streaming apps.  Still, the player was given the Hi-Res Wireless certification, thanks to its extensive way dual-way Bluetooth.

Thanks to that, you can easily connect your smartphone and use the DAP as a wireless DAC/Amp. In fact, the player supports much more codecs than I thought it would: SBC, AAC, apt-X, LDAC. Basically, with a compatible headphone or receiver, you’ll always get the best quality available.

Of course, if you have a TOTL IEM or a massive can, a wired connection will always be the best one.

Full specs

• Model: Hidizs AP80 Pro-X
• Type: DAP
• DAC: 2x ESS Sabre ES9219C
• up to 32bits / 384kHz PCM decoding support + up to DSD256
• Output Load: 16 – 200 Ohm (adaptive)
• Output power: 70mW per channel (32ohm) Single Ended – 190mW per Channel (32ohm) Balanced
• SNR: > 120dB
• THD: 0.0015
• Dynamic Range: > 116 dB
• Channel separation : 117dB
• Battery : 800mAh 3.7V Li-Po Battery
• Playtime: 6-8h (Balanced), 8-11h (Single-ended), 40 day
• Dimensions (excl plug): 61.2×54.5×13.8mm
• Weight: 72g
• Price: $199

The article continues on Page Three, after the click here

Page 1: About Hidizs, Design and Build Quality

Page 2: UI & Usage, Specifications

Page 3: Sound performances, conclusion