OUTPUT IMPEDANCE
Of course I’ve heard the thing about the output impedance being 10 ohms. Well I’ve never had any trouble with it with any of my IEMs, and I didn’t hear a substantial difference between sensitive or less sensitive IEMs. But be aware that I don’t have very hard to drive IEMs in my inventory either.
So this is is not an issue at all in my case, as I keep hearing the same beautiful, smooth and a little weighty sound which feels great. However there are reports indicating that harder to drive IEMs get a lighter and faster sound overall. That can be true of course, so keep checking the articles. This is not a thing to be overlooked.
BALANCED (Very Important)
All the impressions above have been consisted through the single ended output. If you want to get or think to get the R6, I hope you have a 2.5mm balanced cable. Why? Because the balanced output makes a huge difference in sound. The resolution, dynamics, transparency, treble extension and definition, bass quality and tightness… All of those are substantially improved when using the balanced output. It virtually becomes another type of player, jumping up a level in terms of sound quality.
Balanced output tightens up the bass with a lighter and faster response, but it keeps its impactful type and slam. The sound becomes much closer to neutral while still having some musicality. Mids have more air and they are more open and bright but still have a nice tonality. Treble is the most benefited part of the spectrum, being more revealing and dynamic overall. Micro detail extraction also becomes clearly better.
I personally think a balanced cable is a MUST for this player to reach its full potential.
HiBy R6
COMPARISONS
vs ZX2: Non sound factors; easy win for R6 except that TIDAL issue. For sound quality though, ZX2 has even wider staging while the R6 is a little deeper. The Sony has better resolution and dynamics, less bass and compared to the R6n the midbass part feels deficient. Micro details goes to the ZX2 as well. R6 hits better in bass department regarding punch and rumble but layering on the ZX2 is better. Mids are not very different. The R6 is darker, but dynamics on the ZX2 are a little bit ahead. ZX2 also beats it in terms of treble response. So overall the Sony wins for sound quality, R6 wins for usage. But of course R6 has more power to drive demanding IEMs and headphones.
Balanced > Pretty close, Sony has a wider staging again but a little laid back mids compared to R6. R6 has more dynamics while ZX2 has a warmer sound overall. For treble I would still choose the Sony though but that’s just me. The R6 has the same level of resolution, if not better from balanced. But overall the ZX2 gives a more coherent and controlled sound.
vs X5III: The FiiO counterpart has some resemblance to the R6. X5III also has a smooth, non fatiguing sound with good imaging. But to me the R6 has the upper hand, especially on bass department. Mids also better on the R6 to me. Treble-wise they’re close but the R6 doesn’t have that much roll of in my opinion. Usage wise it’s not even close, easy win for R6.
Balanced > R6, easy. Fiio hisses too much.
HiBy R6
vs X7: Usage and battery wise again it’s the R6. Sound wise the X7 doesn’t feel this organic and coherent, instead it’s a little bit digital sounding. Although the X7 is not bad at all, I think the R6 is ahead except treble, which is its apparent weakness. This comment is applicable only for the X7 Mark I though. And it will depend on the AM module used.
Balanced > R6, easy.
vs DX200: While my listening time with the İbasso flagship was limited to 2-3 takes, it managed to impress me every time. DX200 also falls a little bit short in terms of user experience, given that the R6 has a faster processor and more RAM. Also it has more battery juice than the DX200. Sound? To me, except the stage width, DX200 clearly wins in sound department. It’s only weakness in the market and for the price is the narrow staging. But for every other technical aspect, DX200 wins in my eyes. But be careful as the DX200 does not have this musical approach. It has more of a reference type tuning.
Balanced > DX200 also has a balanced output but to me it’s not a huge difference as with the R6. Actually, the R6 has a similar sound to DX200 with AMP2 from balanced. Stage dimensions are similar as well but the R6 still has the edge there. But in the end I think DX200 has the upper hand, especially for what resolution is concerned. It’s more resolving than the HiBy R6.
*New Comparison – vs. Cayin N5II: I experienced the Cayin recently and now I can comment on both of them. For user experience, again the R6 comes out on top with its fast & fluid navigation and possibly better battery life (not sure on that but it’s surely very power efficient and Cayin has a rather short battery life). N5II is more compact and it has a very nice volume pot and nice build quality for the price. R6 also has a fantastic build so they’re equal in my eyes regarding that.
Of course you have to consider the asking prices here; 370$ vs 600$ to Cayin’s advantage. Software-wise the R6 has a full Android interface versus the limited UI of the N5II. It also has almost unlimited EQ & sound settings combinations so it’s really fun to play around with those, but if you don’t care about DSP, than of course that would mean nothing to you. HiBy R6 also has a much much better, vibrant and high resolution screen compared to Cayin.
Sound-wise; the HiBy R6 simply has much better and bigger, better textured bass response than the flatter bass on the N5II. The R6 definitely has more blood and body with its sound. Doubtless win here for the R6. Mids sound great with Cayin, and very good with the R6. I find them quite close in that region but I think Cayin has a little more transparent and closer mids. Tonality is darker on the R6 and thinner on the Cayin, but that’s a matter of preference in the end. Both sound true and natural in my opinion but I prefer the thicker nature of the R6.
Trebles are better with the N5II, no doubt about it. They have more extension and definition with it and more articulated. Overall resolution is a notch higher as well as the transparency level. Not a huge difference but in a critical listening you’ll hear the Cayin’s resolution advantage. But on the other hand, N5II significantly falls behind for sound stage dimensions. The R6 is simply taller and wider and that’s very obvious even with the first song you play on both. R6 is overall more controlled as well, and N5II can get just a little edgy at times, but nothing big to worry about.
Balanced > HiBy R6 gives the best performance with its BAL output. It gets better against the N5II in terms of treble response and resolution. N5II keeps its advantages and gives a better staging with its own BAL output and separation gets better. But the same pros and cons are there from both BAL outputs on both players here, so my impressions above applies here as well.
PAIRING
If you have easy to drive and open sounding, bright IEMs, you’ve got your match. If you have low impedance IEMs with a warmer sound than to me it’s not ideal.
On the other hand, if you have a balanced cable, like I said above, then you don’t have to worry about it that much. I can still say that more revealing and resolving IEMs would be better, but it’s not as big of a deal like with the single ended output.
SUMMARY
All I can do in the end, is simply congratulate the guys at HiBy Music for creating such a great Android player. It has tremendous build quality, a fantastic and eye catching design with a great screen. A very fast processor, a clean OS for efficiency and stable software are other crucial factors, especially with the DTA Architecture, which is maybe the most important thing.
The sound from the balanced output is wonderful to listen to. The single ended output, while still being very nice, is not an option for me after experiencing the balanced sound from the R6. I don’t think I’ll ever return to single ended mode.
I think it’s one of the best Android players you can buy in terms of pure sound, and it’s maybe the best in terms of speed and UI.
I absolutely recommend it.
yoketom
Can you recommend one between Cayin N5II vs Hiby R6?
Berkhan
I will experience the N5II soon, but I don’t have it at this moment to compare.
Darren Cotter
Why did you use the discontinued FiiO X7 as a comparison?
Wouldn’t it have been fairer to use the current X7ii against a DAP so new, it’s not even available in the UK via normal retailers?
Lieven
Availability…
Berkhan
We can’t have everything at hand at all times. I’ve never tried the X7 mk2, so I just included the X7 so that people can have some idea.
John Lee
#sigh – there will be no difference between balanced and SE unless it has been dramatically retuned between the two outputs. The only difference is output volume, you know this! But still repeat myths about balanced being magic.
Ridiculous and misleading.
Ask Hawaiibadboy!
Lieven
You’re cracking me up dear John. Thank’s for making me laugh this early in the morning.
Linus
it all comes down to how well the implementation is in my opinion. There are some balanced outputs that sound better than single ended and some that sound worse. it is not about balanced being magical, it simply relies on the components used in the signal path of the output. some devices have much better balanced operation (think Sony WM1Z or ALO CDM) because they were made for that specific operation, single ended came second there.
but yeah, this can lead to an endless discussion and has been the topic of heated conversations in the past, so let’s agree to disagree. You say nay, I say yay… 🙂
rob
“some devices have much better balanced operation (think Sony WM1Z or ALO CDM) ”
– I have the Sony and yes, there is a big, noticable difference between the BAL and SE outputs. I use the Campfire Lyra in balanced and have never wanted to go back to SE. I have not tried BAL with my Noble Encore.
Berkhan
Thank you for this comment. Cheers.
Berkhan
Have you listened to the device and compared SE – Balanced?
Joseph Yeung
Hello John,
Although I would love for Berkhan’s write up to be even more positive in every aspect (who wouldn’t in my position? ???? ), I do agree that there are differences in the implementation of SE and balanced in Berkhan’s unit that may lead to the heard differences. Although the design is said to be pretty much final, there is one final touch we can put in the output stages that can make the SE and balanced outputs more… identical. We’re talking some very minor change here that won’t affect the production schedule at all 🙂
Best regards,
Joseph Yeung
HiBy Music Product Manager
Loplop
Joseph,
Was this SE tweak implemented before units shipped?
Also: any comment on the Tidal issue? Tidal is mostly my use case for this unit, and I’d be disappointed if it was worse than my ZX2, which was poor (sluggish, lots of stops/dropouts). My AK Kann works perfectly with Tidal, but is a bit dry sounding. I’m hoping this HiBy will be the best balance of SQ and features for me 🙂
Berkhan
If you have a 5ghz network, it’s not a problem.
John
Hello thanks for the review.
In your opinion wich one would be best paired to a paire of Isine 20 :
The Chord Mojo or the Hiby R6.
Thank you.
Berkhan
You’re welcome.
I don’t know to be honest. Never listened to the Audeze.
Mojo has a narrower and congested sound stage, but it has great mids and treble. R6 has much wider stage IMO. But Mojo should be superior from Single Ended. R6 has a great balanced sound though.
So in the end it depends if you prefer to stack with your smartphone go for Mojo. But if you like standalone DAP like me, I suggest the R6 (balanced out).
John
Thank you very much, I will go for the R6 with the balanced output !
Cellendril
For the iSine 20, sans Cipher, go for the device with adjustable EQ.
S
Would love to see some more comparisons, say with the Sony NW-ZX300, or even the WM1A!
Berkhan
WM1A is on a higher level so I didn’t include. ZX300? Not yet listened.
Dhofi
Hello, could you confirm if the SE jack could respond to button or mic?
Berkhan
Just tried it, and no, cable buttons don’t work.
Slowpork
Hi,
You mentioned R6 lacks treble airness, which earphones you used to test?
May you comment briefly more about R6’s output impedance and earphone impedance you used?
Thanks a lot.
Berkhan
Hi,
Oriolus MKII
InEarz Nirvana
CTM VS3
FiiO F9 Pro
were used mostly.
The treble air is not much of a problem from the balanced output though.
Amin Mohamad
Hi,
Which one would be best paired to hiby R6: Fiio F9 pro or Nuforce HEM8 ?
Thank You
Berkhan
The F9 Pro is indeed a very nice pair, especially when you take the balanced cable into account. So I recommend it.
As for the NuForce, I’ve never listened to it.
Loplop
Thank you for the thorough review! I think this player might be my replacement for my ZX2; I rarely use IEMs, and the ZX2 just can’t drive most headphones properly. I bought an AK Kann, which certainly has the driving power, but is a bit dry when matched with my Focal Clear’s (better with T1p, OK with LCDX). I tried the SP1000Cu, which was lush, but too laid back. I’m hoping this one has enough power to drive the Clear’s well.
Thanks for the thorough review, and for calling out the Tidal issue. I hope this has been improved by now, or will be shortly. I listen to a lot of Tidal…
Berkhan
For sound quality alone, the R6 wouldn’t satisfy your needs because you’ve already tried top notch DAPs.
It sure is quite powerful from balanced. But not sure if it’s more powerful than the SP1000cu.
Dilpal Singh
How is the pairing with oriolus mk2 and flc8s. Both are low impedance iems. Do they behave badly with Hiby r6?
Berkhan
Oriolus MK2 sounds pretty good, I didn’t have any issues with it. Don’t know about the FLC. But as I stated in the review, in my case there wasn’t an issue with the output impedance.
But then again, I fully recommend to use this DAP with the balanced output.
Norman James Roa
How would these pair with the CA Vega??:)
Norman James Roa
*this
Berkhan
No idea. If the Vega is open and a little bright sounding, than it would be a nice pair.
Wheels
So one thing that wasn’t mentioned that I’m kinda interested in.. The Bluetooth option. Does it support the LDAC codex?
Berkhan
No, there’s no LDAC AFAIK.
Peter Mcdonnell
Hi, I have just purchased the R6 and the problem I have is connecting to wifi unless I am literally a couple of feet from my router it just won’t connect, either 2.4 or 5g. Any suggestions, I have a very strong wifi signal and no problems with any other devices.
Berkhan
Hi. Sorry to hear your Wi-Fi issue. Have you tried with another router in another place?
George
Hello.
Would you care to elaborate how the R6 is bassier than ZX2?
I thought the ZX2 was a warm DAP while on the other hand I heard from a few that the R6 is just a tad on the warm side.
Berkhan
Hi,
Both are warm DAPs, but the R6 has a little more bass quantity. It’s simple as that. But in my opinion the ZX2 is the better DAP in terms of overall sound quality.
GEORGE
Thanks for your answer.
Yes, I can understand ZX2 being the better among the 2. I’d also easily imagine that one beating the most of today’s DAP out there when it comes to sheer musical performance.
Is it safe to assume that the R6 lies somewhere in-between ZX2 and X5iii in terms of bass quantity?
Oleg K.
Dear Berkhan,
you wrote that “Also, some menus had Chinese language and there wasn’t any possibility to install apps other than downloading and running APK files. Joseph provided me the official firmware for international users with Play Store and after that everything has been flawless so far”
Could you clarify – were you able to get a fully international version after installing the new firmware (without the chinese Hiby-logo during turning on the DAP, without the chinese language and pre-installed chinese applications)? or you just installed google play?
Thanks in advance!
Peter
I have been enjoying my R6 for a few weeks. IMHO the balanced out is more than just higher volume… the SQ is improved. I bought three balanced cables for my headphones and IEM.
No apparent problems with my single driver 17 ohm SE215s. No problems with WiFi or Tidal response.
My only beef is the keyboard… the double duty keys at the top of the keyboard are hard to get right. 50% of the time I tap a letter and get a symbol or number. A numeric shift button (a-la iPhone) might be better.
jack
maybe a stupid question but really need helps since new in audio thingy. just purchased R6 and I read about balanced output. what kind of IEM that I shall purchase to use this feature? thanks
Berkhan
It’s not about the IEM, it’s about the cable. You need to get a 2.5mm balanced cable.
oli
Hello and thanks for the good review.
I am looking for a good matching IEMs for this player and I have had some hard time finding the answer given the potential issues resulting of the higher output impedance.
Do you have some recommendation IEMs you tried with it and give some good synergy? (i’ll use the balanced output). I have in mind some like these: TinHifi P1, Etymotic ER-4XR and Simgot Ek3, being aware some of them may change its designed tonality given R6’s relaitve high output impedance. If tonality issues happen, would you recommend the ifi-iematch?
Berkhan
I recommend you the ER-4XR out of those. The output impedance is not that of a problem to me, but you can get the IEMatch for improvement.
grace
hi, I am looking to buy a DAP and maybe this one is it. but I got some questions. aside from music I would like to also use it as a media center. so watching movies from the sd, YouTubing and Netflix.
My questions are the following:
– how well does it play movies
– does the movie go into landscape mode once you choose to watch it in fullscreen (kinda like Netflix, they don’t do landscape mode but when the film plays it goes to fullscreen mode)
– is the android os updatable
Could you please try this out for me as I am really wanting to buy this but still on the fence if it does not do the following concerning the movie aspect
Berkhan
I don’t recommend watching movies with this player. Go with your smartphone instead. The screen is quite small and it doesn’t have the best colors.
grace
I dont mind the small screen. was just wondering about the questions I asked …
Egi Indra Wilantika
Does westone 4r needs iematch for the r6?
Egi Indra Wilantika
Or should i go for 2.5mm balanced cable?