Review: Hiby R3 – Bringing Sexy Back

Hiby R3

Full Specs as far as they’re known right now

Operating System HiBy OS
SoC Ingenic X1000E
CPU frequency Up to 1GHz
DAC ES9028Q2M
User interface Custom interface based on HiBy Music for Android
3.2″ 480x360px full touchscreeen, transport / volume buttons
Audio Architecture tba
Dual crystal oscillators at 45.1584MHz, 49.152MHz
Connectivity
WiFi 2.4GHz, supporting 802.11 b/g/n standards
Bluetooth Bidirectional Bluetooth 4.1, supporting aptX for transmission, aptX reception and LDAC support planned
USB USB 2.0 Type-C port, supporting DAC output and input and
utilized for Coaxial digital output as well
Display
Screen size 3.2″
Display type IPS LED backlit TFT
Resolution 360×480
Touch operation Supported
Buttons and ports
Buttons Physical buttons + touchscreen
Headphone out (PO) 3.5mm port supporting inline remote control
Line out (LO) 3.5mm port (shared with PO)
Balanced output 2.5mm TRRS port
General
Colors Black, blue, green (more to follow)
Dimensions 82x61x13mm
Weight approx. 95g
Recommended headphone impedance 8-150Ω
Equalization 10 bands, range ±12dB, 9 adjustable presets
Channel balance adjustment Up to 10dB bias to the left or right
Gain switch Low / High
USB DAC Supports up to 64bit/384kHz PCM and DSD256 native decoding
Digital antialiasing filters Slow / Early rolloff | Fast / Late rolloff
Power
Charging via USB adapter, 5V 1A for max speed
Battery capacity 1600 mAh
Charging indication via LCD display and power LED
Charging time (0-100%) < 2.5h
Charge indication Yes (with %)
Firmware update Manually via micro SD card or Over-the-Air via WiFi
Headphone out (3.5mm)
Output power: 56+56mW @32Ω
Frequency response: ±0.03dB @20-20000Hz / ±2dB @ 10-70000Hz
SNR: 118dB @max voltage
Channel separation: 68dB
THD+noise 0.003%
Balanced headphone out (2.5mm)
Output power: 112mW+112mW @32Ω
Frequency response: ±0.03dB @20-20000Hz / ±2dB @ 10-70000Hz
SNR: 115dB @max voltage
Channel separation: 86dB
THD+noise 0.003%
Line out (3.5mm)
Output voltage: 1.1V RMS
Frequency response: ±0.03dB @20-20000Hz / ±2dB @ 10-70000Hz
SNR 116dB
THD+noise 0.005%
Format support
Losseless: DSD:DSD64/128/256(“.dsf”,“.dff”)
DSD:DSD64(“.iso”)
APE FAST/High/Normal:24bit/192kHz(MAX)
APE Extra High:24bit/96kHz(MAX)
APE Insane:24bit/96kHz(MAX)
AIFF:32bit/384kHz(MAX)
FLAC:24bit/384kHz(MAX)
WAV:32bit/384kHz(MAX)
WMA lossless:96kHz/24bit(MAX)
Lossy: MP3, AAC, Opus, WMA, Ogg Vorbis, etc.
Battery life
SE Phone out Up to 11 hours
Balanced output Up to 9 hours
Standby Up to 60 days

 

4.3/5 - (109 votes)
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Lieven is living in Europe and he's the leader of the gang. He's running Headfonia as a side project next to his full time day job in Digital Marketing & Consultancy. He's a big fan of tube amps and custom inear monitors and has published hundreds of product reviews over the years.

36 Comments

  • Reply March 21, 2018

    Loganaden Balakrishna VEERAPEN

    Big thanks Lieven for the review (reviews which I always very much enjou btw). In terms of sound quality alone how would rate the R3 against the iBasso DX50?

    • Reply March 22, 2018

      Lieven

      Oh the good old DX50. It’s been so long since I listened to that one, I still have it somewhere but I always preferred the DX90
      The R3 is thicker and warmer sounding for sure, the DX’s were more precise

      • Reply March 23, 2018

        Loganaden Balakrishna VEERAPEN

        The DX50’s sq did get much better with fw iterations (especially the last one). The sqwise the R3 seems more of a sidegrade – however considering usability and sexyness its on another level. Might seriously consider it due to budget constraint but there are other interesting ultraportables on the horizon – like the Shanling M0 and Xuelin IHIFI790.

  • Reply March 21, 2018

    Bots

    The glossy finish and smaller form factor reminds me of iRiver’s new ACTIVO CT10 player.

    https://www.soundandvision.com/content/iriver-announces-mqa-support

    • Reply March 22, 2018

      Lieven

      MQA: I don’t know how to feel about that 🙂

      • Reply March 22, 2018

        dale thorn

        I’ve been investigating this for awhile, and trying to side-step the misinformation to get to the (mostly hidden) details. Here’s what I found so far – all subject to change.

        NOTE: I don’t have anything to say on the design or philosophy of MQA, I’m just trying to find the details to know what the effects are.

        The MQA firmware in some DACs are not going to be switchable. Meaning if you have an MQA stream coming in to a DAP, it will probably be decoded and rendered transparently. The differences in sound from non-MQA streams (or albums) seems to be mostly the normal differences in different masterings. That could change of course.

        When using a component system where the DAC is independent from the music player, to get the correct MQA decoding the music player and DAC have to cooperate with each other. In some cases, the DAC would just be a “renderer” and it would require the music player to decode the MQA before sending it to the DAC. If the DAC is a full decoder and renderer, then the music player would have to be set to “pass through” to let the DAC do everything.

        When a non-MQA album or stream is in the same playlist as MQA albums and streams, the music player should not attempt any MQA processing, because it would not “see” the MQA signature in the data. In that case the music player should send the data unaltered to the DAC, and what the DAC does then nobody seems to know for sure. The MQA guys say it just plays as normal. Firmware updates to most DACs would be optional of course.

        In cases where DSPs (equalizers etc.) are being applied to digital data by music players before sending the data to the DAC, I don’t yet know whether they could conflict with any MQA processing being done by the same music player.

  • Reply March 22, 2018

    Dmitri

    Can you confirm that the coaxial SPDIF output is realized through 3.5 mm?
    In another review I read, Coax SPDIF was described as being received via usb.

    • Reply March 22, 2018

      Lieven

      As far as I know: Coax is 3.5mm, USB output is just the normal OTG one

      • Reply March 30, 2018

        ALBERTO MARTINEZ

        Hi Lieven,
        Which cable (brand/model if possible) do I need to get COAX from R3 either 3.5mm or USB-C to pair with Mojo? Thanks

  • Reply March 23, 2018

    g_t_j

    Hi Lieven.

    From your description of the R3 sound, it seems more in line with the X5iii? Is that the case?

    • Reply March 25, 2018

      Lieven

      it is but its not as noisy

      • Reply March 27, 2018

        g_t_j

        Great feedback. That was what I wanted to hear!

  • Reply March 28, 2018

    Ken

    How does a user access WIFI at hotel or fitness center where server requires log in screen in a browser? Tidal only at home?

    • Reply March 28, 2018

      Lieven

      That’s the tough part indeed. I think Marcus wrote about it in his review…

  • Reply March 29, 2018

    Smoke

    Have you tested with difficult to drive headphones? There really is no mention that this has an amp built-in? I believe the ones you compare too all can..

  • Reply March 30, 2018

    HAWKEYE

    Planning to get LZ A4 for this – can you suggest alternative with same budget range as I’m little bit worried about LZ warranty process

    • Reply March 30, 2018

      Lieven

      I don’t know the LZA4 price, but maybe something like the ibasso IT01

  • Reply March 30, 2018

    Hans

    Hi Lieven, thanks for the review.

    I was wondering if you can share your thoughts on 2 questions:
    1) Are there gain settings to deal with the slightly lower output power? My V20 drives Pinnacle PX (same as P1) fine as well as HD600 but I’m wondering if the R3 will work out.

    2) For sound, are there any other DAPs to consider at this price range? I’m looking for an all rounder that I can still come back to, even when I upgrade later on. My V20 drives anything easily, but the SABRE implementation while detailed and resolving is a little cold. Also, both separation and soundstage aren’t the greatest. For example, would going with a X3 III or Shanling M3S work out better? Interface and wireless aren’t important to me as I usually listen on the commute using shuffle, so 3.5 unbalanced is what matters for me.

    I listen to anything from classical orchestral works (timbre matters), jazz (bass matters), EDM and Rock (details and congestion), and vocals (separation matters), so I unfortunately need to find a jack of all trades.

    Thanks and cheers!

    • Reply March 30, 2018

      Lieven

      1. You have low and high gain. Never had to turn gain on high. That being said, this is an IEM DAP

      2. The ones I compared it to in this review, the Shanling’s DAPs. But in this price range you will never get the best possible DAP for separation and sound stage. I would go N3 or this or Shanling

      • Reply March 30, 2018

        Hans

        Hi Lieven,

        Thanks for your reply! My daily listen is the 50ohm/96db sensitivity Mee Pinnacle PX (Massdrop version of P1) so if low gain is generally sufficient that’s great 🙂

        I’ve read your comparisons again and I think this is a good balance of characteristics – I may be moving towards more neutral IEMs in the future so the slight colouration may help me transition better from my V-shaped IEMs. Do you find the MSEB EQ effective or you prefer conventional EQ adjustments?

        There seem to be more entry-mid level DAPs coming with SABRE chips after the LG Vx0 series and premium DAPs. Look forward to your review of the Shanling M0 and how its implementation stacks up against the V30 😉

        Cheers!

        • Reply March 30, 2018

          Lieven

          I never do any EQ or MSEB. I don’t know if Berkhan will be doing the M0 though, we’ll see

          • Reply March 30, 2018

            Hans

            Thanks Lieven!

            Did you pick up any differences between the 2 digital filters?

  • Reply April 2, 2018

    Hans

    Hi Lieven,

    I just stumbled upon similarly-priced (for now) Onkyo DP-S1 and Cowon Plenue D. Do you have any advice on choosing between them?

    I listen to only FLAC through unbalanced 3.5mm Pinnacle PX (50ohms 96db/mW), so connectivity, UI, DSD support etc is not important, just sound 🙂

    Thanks!

  • Reply April 9, 2018

    Dilpal

    Hi..Nice review. I have very peculiar need. I want to stream Spotify or other Indian music streaming services on my smartphone through LDAC to hiby R3 for my wired earphones. Can hiby R3 do it?

    • Reply April 9, 2018

      Lieven

      I don’t think so no. Not 100% though. It will be possible in the future to stream Spotify directly on the R3 though

  • Reply April 10, 2018

    Jayce Ooi

    Nice little DAP. 🙂

  • Reply April 12, 2018

    Nat

    Hi, Lieven

    How would you compare the R3 to the Plenue D in terms of sound quality?

  • Reply April 26, 2018

    Marco Tesla

    The production unit with the newest firmware sounds much more neutral, with better soundstage and more detailed refined highs than the pre production units . A little gremlin told me that 😉

  • Reply July 27, 2018

    Tim

    Hi there,

    Thanks for this great review. Would you say that gapless playback is implemented perfectly? I use FLAC/ALAC and APE – and listen mainly to classical and concert recordings – so gapless which is not seamless would be a dealbreaker for me.

  • Reply August 1, 2018

    Tim

    Hi – any info about whether the gapless on this DAP is correctly implemented and actually seamless would be really greatly appreciated – can anyone let me know?

  • Reply August 31, 2018

    Allen Feinberg

    I have been comparing the R3 to the Shanling M0 for Bluetooth aptX sound on home hi-fi and aptX (Avantree) headphones. I like the R3 for its mass, its build, its operating system, the screen, and the sound. I like the M0 a little more overall. The M0 has better overall sound. Its screen is more responsive. I do find the R3 better than the M0 in its sound when listening to the Avantree Bluetooth headphones. It is a marked difference too.

    The M0 is a Standard Ruby Micronic for 2018. It is a real gem and I can hardly believe that in many applications, it sounds better than the R3. But the R3 shines as well, and the custom EQ is both fun to play with and helpfully responsive. I keep it in the plastic case it came with and found that helps to control the buttons better by keeping them recessed when being held. I like these two players so much, I have decided to expand my digital library. The R3 is a great, excellent player.

  • Reply November 20, 2018

    Wim Cumps

    Hi, is it compatible with the With Android auto or Mirrorlink ?

  • Reply December 5, 2018

    KiRAH

    Hi I would to know your thoughts if I was to upgrade my HibY R3 to a better dap what do you guys suggest? I do only use iem’s

  • Reply December 25, 2018

    Hiep Le

    How can i add WAV files’s cover like the second picture of this review? The cover appear when i play the file on pc but its gone when i play it with my Walkman A55

  • Reply May 19, 2019

    Ronald

    The usb-c can be used for coaxial out to external dac
    Can it also output usb using usbc cable to external dac?
    If so which cable should be used?
    Thanks

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