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Do you need Android and streaming? If you would primarily use local FLAC files and you are okay with streaming via bluetooth from your phone once in a while, go with R3. Btw, it has been quite a while since Yvain releases, it's good to check the market to see what's new and potentially more fitting for your taste.

@@IE-Gems Thanks for answer. As i am an old 54 years old firefighter here, and unexperienced user of these players, this is my first digital player in my life, so i use strict for listen mp3 songs, not streaming or other tings, i am too old for these things today. Now i listen in my old Samsung Galaxy S9+, i am not a rich person, life is hard here in Bucharest, Romania, and i do a big sacrifice to buy these, now and i dont want to regret the money spent. I don't lie to you, i want those Yvains only because they have that Lion on them, i am a lion zodiac and i want them because i like everthing with a lion on it, otherwise i would buy more cheaper ones, XOE. But for player, i asked you because R4 is new and have more things and is android. But i want this player only to listen mp3 songs, i dont know anything about these sound things you explain, but i lke your videos and i like to learn even at my age, so what do you think....R3 and Yvain or R4 ad Yvain :) ? My apologizes for long mesage here :) .

@@IE-Gems And by the way, yes i use android, maybe for getting some songs from internet or listen/watching youtube, etc...so i guess R4 is ok, even if this consume more battery...i am so undecided now between R3 and R4...i wish R3 because is smaller and battery last longer and i wish R4 because looks more nice, is android, i can get more things in it, and i love that green colour and his lanyard. I guess in the end both have grat sound, but for guy like me wo dont know too much about thee, usng only asplayer would be god any of them, is only about the fact R4 is new and i hope to kee battery enough years for me, because dont know if i am abe to uy new one soon.

@@IE-Gems About Yvains, what other earphones would you recomend me, but not that expensive?

Yea, you are right. I'm still struggling with the audio setup even today :))

I prefer Canon2 out of these three options.

What did I say there? I has been a while :)) I remember writing that the R3II is warm-ish and easy to listen comparing to the previous versions. I'm still daily driving this DAP nowadays. Not the best, but such a solid one.

Hi, it's a custom cable from Dr Juggles that I bought from a friend. I have no idea whether or how you can guy a similar one.

Just to note that the HiByOS is not very sophisticated when it comes to handling JPEG, so some album arts would not show. If I recall correct, the progressive JPEG type would not work. There are ways to convert all JPEGs into the right format but I'm too lazy for that :))

@@IE-Gems You can do that easily with tools like converseen for linux.

Unfortunately I have not tried the IE900 with R8II 😅 The R8II can drive Symphonium Crimson, so I think it can drive anything out there. Re: SE200, it depends. With the R8II, you have large battery and new OS. I haven’t tried the SE200 myself, just the SP2000T, but those A&K DAPs are quite slow, IMHO. One of the A&K I intended to buy does not support apple music any more. So, on this front, R8ii is “better”.

I had to remove the case for the review, actually. It's a nightmare to put the case on or take the case off due to the knob. But when it's on, it's snug and protects the DAP well. Yes, if your pocket is tight, the fabric can press on the knob and turn off the device. I had this problem a few times. Nothing too concerning though. Noted that I always have an A6 notebook in the pocket so it would be even tighter.

I happened to have both of these devices at the same time when reviewing the R8II. To my ears, the R8II is a step up, especially in terms of the soundstage. However, the R6 Pro 2 is a very capable DAP, so the gap is not as big as going up from, say, an average dongle to R6 Pro 2. I think R8II is great, but maybe keep your expectations realistic :D Hope these help. Oh, one more thing. The battery of R8II is way way better than R6 Pro 2. It lasts forever.

@@IE-Gems Thank you so much for your answer. Based on the great battery longevity, I will definitely get the R8 II. It’s scary having to charge the R6 pro II daily. I’m afraid of overcharging and destroying the battery. That happened to me once with another brand.

Thanks for watching! Sometimes I leave the IEM connected to a DAP and let it play for a few days when I am busy with some thing else. In my experience, IEM (or likely myself) tend to change after the first few hours, but not much change afterwards. Even if there is a change after 200 hour, we can't really remember how it sounded in the first hour. IMHO, if an IEM is not to your liking after 1 day, one should return it if they can since it's not going to magically change, unless you managed to find some ear tips that match extremely well with that IEM.

I can't seem to find that option, unfortunately. One issue that few people mentioned (I think I also forgot to mention) is that these DAP will introduce noticeable latency to audio, unlike a USB DAC. It was not just the problem with these budget device. My DX300 also has latency.

@@IE-Gems thank you for the reply!

You should save up $250 and grab the R4 (full Android). I will write a review for it soon. Will drop a link here.

@@IE-Gems I don't want on Android, to distracting. But I will watch anyways.

Yes. I'm using R3II with Luxury & Precision W4 nowadays. Nothing wrong with the R3II, but the W4 is better :)) (it better be, given the price difference)

@@IE-Gems I bought a month ago Questyle M12i dongle dac. I never knew a dongle dac could bring so much happiness in a tiny unit.. the sound stage is wide with depth and excitement

@@crate718 That's great. That little dongle is overshadowed by its bigger sibling M15. Which IEM do you use with the M12i?

@@IE-Gems Tangzu Heyday, Kiwi orchestra light and Simgot em6l. Also Dt 1990 and Hifiman XS and the list goes on lol

@@crate718 DT1990 and XS? Wow I didn't expect its amp to be that powerful. Seems like you got a great piece of equipment. enjoy!

I happened to have both devices side by side during the review time. I prefer the sound of R3II more. None of these devices sound outright bad, but I find the saber to present the stage flatter and not as engaging. Many (but not all) of my ESS based device has that sound, which I don’t like. Streaming wise, it’s okay with both.

@@IE-Gems I think I change to tempotec v6 with akm dac.. I don't like the sound on the ess, thin note weight and bland delivery, no bass at all.. It's good for acoustic music I suppose, but the sound is boring and technicalities are not good. I don't trust the R3ii to be improved enough.

@@wahid-lg1kk I think you should. Your expectation plays a very important role in what you hear. If you think that AKM DAC gives you what you need, then you should grab an AKM DAP. Regarding ESS vs AKM, I would say it depends on things other than the DAC chips themselves. For example, Shanling managed to create a warm sounding device even with 2 ESS DAC in the UP4. I think your description of ESS sound matches the R3 saber rather than the R3II. I'm in the phase where I prefer Cirrus Logic DACs :))

@@IE-Gems you make sense.. I haven't tried CS chips yet, I want a slightly warm sound, complex layered textured mids, with smooth open air.. There is a second hand dx160 with successful fideliser flash for sale near me.. That's CS.. You are right about expectations driving perception to some extent, this is entirely true. Would you recommend the new Hiby R3ii for my stated preference? I have heard that the lower mids have been thickened up? I indeed use R3 Sabre now.. Would you say the Shanling m3x would suit my stated preference? Any comment on flashed dx160? Thanks for your answers..

@@wahid-lg1kk I haven't tried DX160 so I'm not sure. iBasso does not quite have a "house sound" as far as I know. My DX300 is warm-ish by default, but many swears that iBasso is neutral and linear, so I guess they sound different across models. I'm under impression that DX160 is more neutral. Maybe have a look at Shanling M3 ULTRA (not the X. The M3X is older). Shanling's house sound is warm and smooth. I used to use M6Ultra. It's indeed warm and smooth. I think the R3II sounds quite better than Saber. But again, it's ESS. That along might reduce your enjoyment.

I don't have that DAP, unfortunately. From the spec sheet, I suspect it's more siimilar to the R3 Saber. I don't like that it has 2.5mm connector rather than 4.4mm. There is no sonic difference, but the 2.5mm jack is flimsy. Personally, I would buy electronics where I can go and talk to the store face to face for after sell services.

Sorry about that. Correct link here: docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1poxJG_jaFkvXxf2RRnZ424F3F9Wcjm15HvNXxmJGGP8/edit?usp=sharing

It depends a great deal on what you like. The "cop out" answer is "there are many good options in that budget, you can't go wrong." The opinionated answer is AFUL MagicOne (for good stage, mature and comfortable tonality), NiceHck F1 Pro (for fun). I think you can grab both of them at the same time and complete a setup. Maybe pick up a good dongle to go with them. I'm enjoying AFUL Snowy night a lot, but I'm not very experienced in the dongle market. There might be cheaper options. I'm rocking AFUL snowy night and magic one today.

what you mean im new

1. Songs are in alphabetical order. I arrange the album CDs into different folders. 2. What phone are you using? These devices with HiBy OS still has problem with AAC from apple device. They tend to connect to SBC, and needs a disconnect before they connect to AAC correctly. Very often there would be noticeable latency with AAC. Most of these problems are solved with LDAC and AptX. I like the R3II a lot, but if bluetooth is the main usage, I highly recommend FiiO BTR7 instead.

Thanks for watching! Glad that you find the review useful

Yeah, 2.5-3kHz, depending on the ears. Mine plays better with 2.5kHz. As I said, looking at the graph, this IEM shouldn't work, but it does very well for me. That's why I decided to rate the tonality 3/5 instead. It's going to be divisive.

I don't know if "transparent" is "scalable" in this case. The Yvain does not need anything more than a simple R3II, but whatever you swap, you can hear a change if there is supposed to be a difference. It's quite similar to my U12T. Some IEMs do not change much, if any.

Its Scaleable bra... Peace!

Its Scaleable bra...not transparent. Peace!

You mean the full review? I have recorded the footage, but editing that 3h of video is a pain :)) tl;dw: It's the best DAP I have ever listened (not counting short demos of FiiO stuffs at the store), speaking as someone who only listen to IEM, pay a lot of attention to space and details. I'm looking for a way to upgrade my DX300 to get close to the R8II.

@@IE-Gemsyes looking for the full review I ordered one yesterday and I’m just like I only listen to iems but I wish the dap had more power output like 1200mW

RS8 can do gapless playback. RS8 is automatically better :))

Its not. Boomy and unnuanced sound compared to P6 Pro. P6 Pro rivals desktops dacs up to Holo May. Its probably the most texturally rich dap on the market alongside with Lp6, there is not much that comes close. You need a totl pair of IEMs or very good HPs to hear what this device is capable of though.

From the loudness with my IEMs, there is no noticeable difference (you can see in the video, the volume level is pretty much the same). AFAIK, if the IEM has the same loudness between two sources, it means it consumes the same amount of mW. However, how a source deliver that mW and how much it has left in the tank to handle transients, and how it handles those transients matter. I am not 100% whether it is due to the DAC or the amp or a combination, but I find the R8II to be better: more defined transients, large sense of space. I will compare these devices more in my full review. Unfortunately I have returned both so I cannot test with the Scarlet Mini which is coming in for review this week. Thanks for watching!

@@IE-Gems the Scarlet mini definitely needs more power unlike any iem I used before, with the R6 ii it was not preforming at all sounded like $20 iem 🌚

Hi @@IE-Gems , actually same volume indicates same voltage sensitivity (given 0 internal impedance output) but no idea about power sensitivity. Given the same voltage sensitivity, the IEM with lower impedance will demand more power. But I haven't found any info on nominal impedance of the Fatfreq, let alone impedance response. Unfortunate. But if you have the IEMs with you, it takes just a few steps to measure their impedance curve...

@@josephyeung8732 Hey Joe, nice to see you here. I would love to learn how to measure impedance curve. Let's discuss later. I have no doubt that the R8I can drive any IEM without challenge though. It worked with Final E5000 easily.

@@ElNINETEENTH so, I have finally received Scarlet Mini, but unfortunately I have returned both R6 P2 and R8II, so I would just offer whatever insights I have: The R3II does not drive the Scarlet Mini well at all. The bass sounds bloomy and muddled without control and "grip." Everything is just boomy, though there is a lot of bass. There is an immediate difference in overall control when switching to the DX300 with Amp11 Mk1. To my ears, subjectively, the R8II is at good, if not better than the DX300 in my current configuration. I think it would do this IEM justice, though I suspect that there is more sonic performance to be gain if we drive this IEM from a real desktop stack. Not sure if my K7 would does the justice.

What an interesting use case. I think this DAP can resume from the previous position. Can you try this: 1. From the main menu, go to the "Music" menu 2. At the upper right corner, you can see a gear button next to the star 3. In the setting menu, scrolls down until you find the "Resume play from last" 4. Switch to position. Let me know if this gives you the functionality that you need.

@@IE-Gems Yes that worked perfectly, Thank you so very much.

The links are on the banner of my website: iegems.nk-tran.com/

​@@IE-Gemsthank you!

I don’t have the m0 pro, sorry. Though I highly doubt that the m0 pro can match the sonic performance of this one. Micro DAPs are kinda tricky due to the limit in size and battery, so most micro DAP besides these R3 II have been underwhelming to me (coming from desktop and full-sized DAP). In fact, I have a vague feeling that the ancient wolfson DAC in PS Vita sounds better than the smallest micro DAP like m0.