WATCH FULL REVIEW HERE: https://youtu.be/W1kjDExJhyk
PRICE: $1,999
PROS:
- Extremely well-engineered piece of tech
- TOTL build & aesthetics
- Alcantara fabric is VERY premium
- Great screen quality for a DAP
- Very responsive and stable UI
- AMAZING Battery life for how much the DAP does
- Feature-rich
- Versatile device
- Darwin-MPA is an improvement from the standard R2R
- Dedicated Tube-like OPAMPS
- Great for media consumption
- Solid power output on 4.4mm
- Turbo Mode for extra power and crispness
- Smooth, analogue-like sound without massive compromise on technologies
- Hi-Res wireless support
- System-Wide Bit Perfect Audio
- HiBy suite works flawlessly with the DAP
- Great storage size and expansion
- 8gb RAM is more than enough for audio and slight multitasking operations
CONS:
- Might be too thick or too heavy
- SE might be too low-powered for some
- Alcantara fabric is a dust magnet and might not age well
- Gets VERY hot on turbo mode and 4.4mm
- 4 hours to fully charge from 0 to 100%
WHO THIS UNIT IS FOR:
- People looking for an overall TOTL music listening experience
- People looking for a powerful, feature-rich, and versatile music player
- People looking for an analog-like sound without compromising on technicalities or distortion
- People who want a well-built premium looking and feeling device
WHO THIS UNIT ISN’T:
- People who want a lightweight music player
- People who want something less boujee and more lowkey in terms of aesthetics
- People who want more power in SE/3.5mm
- People who want an easier-to-maintain device
AT A GLANCE:
Bringing the flagship listening experience to the absolute highest order, the HiBy R8 II is genuinely one of the most impressive device that I’ve held and used. Powered by their brand new Darwin-MPA and sipping from a 12000mAh battery, the DAP is more than just a music player. Quite frankly, this lives up to its name of the “portable concert hall” as the experience from the build all the way to the listening experience is luxury. This is fundamentally a rich flex, however. The features, while revolutionary and ground-breaking on some aspects, are way beyond what a normal music enjoyer might want. This is a dedicated device for hardened audiophiles who really care about their listening experience and want to squeeze out everything you could in an audio device. And if you care that much, you deserve to have a taste of the top, and the R8 II delivers exactly that.
Thank you for reading my review on the HiBy R8 II. Big thanks to Joseph Yeung of HiBy for giving me and my fellow reviewers the opportunity to review the HiBy R8 II. If you would like to order one (to which I’d say good on you), consider using the non-affiliated link below: https://store.hiby.com/products/hiby-r8-ii
If you have any questions or concerns, contact me on my Facebook page or at obodioreviews@gmail.com
