nice review. I have the same black R4. I love it. The build quality is super and it sounds wonderful. I also have the USA version of the Sony NW-306. The R4 for sure blows it out of the water in terms of power and sound. I only wish the R4 was half as thick, all buttons on the right side, and all flat back. i still love it though.
I kinda agree with you, but I fear that if it shares ergonomic similarities with my phone, I’ll just hate it. 😂 Big black box = definitely not a phone vibe. That’s somewhat comforting to me, idk
"Great awesome and totally fabulous review!!!" 🤗🎧❤️ Your review is so very poetic description of a great dap!!! I loved walkmans too and I love a separate digital audio player separate from my phone too. I got my Hiby R4 in orange for the same price you got yours got $239.00 because I used the coupon the Hiby website provided. I got it wit the $200.00 my husband gave me to spend from his income tax check. I love that new Hiby R4 in that orange color and I also got this month the Hiby R6 Pro II in purple and it's great along with the Hiby R4 I also loved the description of the Hiby R6 Pro II in your video comparing it to the car!!! Thses are my first to Hiby players. In 2020 I but the Astell & Kern SR25 the special holiday edition in red and I have a Fiio M7 and I bought a cheap Ruizu player on Amazon last Christmas of 2023 but I been really loving the two Hiby players I purchased and again great and fabulous review!!! 🤗🎧❤️
@@cynthiaj.simmons870 I was about to buy R6 pro 2 since that violet color is my thing but I would not use it that often so cutting those costs I bought R4, hope it will be good enough to drive my mest mk2 if not maybe I will up my game but only maybe since I'm most likely desktop user
Great editing, thank you for the information. I want something dedicated to music and never heard of the brand so came to the tube to find reviews. Look forward to ordering one, have no idea where my fat ipod went to do mods to it.
Really appreciate that Mike 🙏 Also, with my ADHD, I stream way too much music, so the limitations of the old brick iPods put me off a bit. Did your mods include online streaming and the like?
@@SumbaListens I never got a chance to mod the iPod because I lost it while moving. I’m hoping to find it in a box at some point. Might have got packed away with some of my Brothers stuff since he moved out to go to the military.
@@michaelmendoza1818 Ah! I get you. I feel Hiby kinda offers modders such an open platform to tinker, even beyond their default features. Isn’t something I’m too adept at, but it seems like such a great way to have fun and form a type of relationship with the device as you make it whatever you want it to be.
@@SumbaListens I tried playing with all the settings. Like I spent hours tinkering cos it's my free time anyways. So here's the thing, I'm one of the early buyers of the Quartet. It got mixed reviews, and I am one of those who lashed at it and gave 3 stars review on Amazon because when I received mine, I wasn't sure if the switches were defective, but I can't hear any difference when switching them. With MSEB I made 3 recipes for my Quartet improving the bass experience. I love the Quartet cos it has rich warm vocals as if it's whispering right to my ears and while technicalities aren't anything special, the midbass slam is so satisfying, songs like Sorry by Röyskopp make it so emotionally moving. Without MSEB, the midbass rumble bleeds to the vocals and it's annoying for certain songs that has bass guitar or gong sounding instruments
@@brownwallet942MSEB saves the day AGAIN😭. Really happy that you had a similar experience. At the end of the day, the fact that this “can” save you money on your iem purchase is really priceless. Also, I know it wasn’t your intention, but I added Sorry to my library and it’s such an incredible listen. Thanks for the suggestion!
@@SumbaListens yeah from hate I've began to love the Quartet because of MSEB settings on my Innioasis and my Redmi Note 10 Pro's adjust to earphone settings + EQ. I have the Estrella right now and even though it has great clarity and wide soundstage, it doesn't have the same midbass slam of Quartet that makes the song like Sorry impactful. When I receive my Hiby R4 Evangelion I'll test if I can improve the midbass experience on Estrella to get the same emotional experience. What songs do you like listening to?
@@brownwallet942 I’d love to hear if your experience with the EVA is any better! Definitely drop a comment when you get it. With regards tunes, I pretty much listen to everything. My reviews highlight more on the sonic experience of the track than technical descriptions of sonic representation from the devices or transducer (almost to a fault 😂) So you can check them out and see if anything I speak on is your vibe!
Im looking for an upgrade from my Pioneer xdp300. This looks great, and the price is 🤩 never bought a Hiby before I'm still rather new when it comes to the DAP world😊..... great review by the way😅
Thank you 🙏 and thanks for stopping by! All the Hiby products are really well made and for $250 it’s basically a steal. Btw, the pioneer was a super piece of tech, but it must be running slow now?
@SumbaListens yes I agree. Nice piece of tech sounds great, but it is running slow, and it's acting glitchy time for an upgrade This Hiby looks great for me
Thank you for watching ! The battery still holds up really well. I only use either Apple or Amazon music and it lasts me anywhere between 7-10 hours with all the lights on, medium volume. Bluetooth is a standout that I didn’t mention. All codecs you can think of are supported including their proprietary UAT codec. Range is above average, nothing special. It’ll transmit through two walls in a medium size apartment. I use AptxHD out to my Aune Bu2 when I need a different sound signature and to my ear it gives me the same sonic experience as being wired in imo 🤷🏿♂️
I just hope it can deliver with Hiby mseb settings just because I want to pair it with my mest mk2, those are really amp picky IEM's and I didnt wanted to break the bank with DAP just because I dont listen so often on the go, my desktop amps are those who brings power and quality of sound to my life, on the go its enough if DAP can provide lets say 70% of their performance
@@soulfulfool Thanks for commenting! It’ll deliver. I just got the Monarch MK2 and I actually feel the class A bias makes it warm enough to the point that I turned off MSEB. They sound so resolving and well controlled by the R4. I believe the balanced output pushes around 450mW. $250 isn’t bad for your on the go decision, since you won’t be using it too much. And if it’s too warm for the MEST, you can make it more neutral with MSEB.
I know, I’m with you. You can turn it off in the menu. I’m more concerned with supporting HIBY and allowing them to make more products like this. If 10-15% goes to MQA, it’s a sin I’ll just have to live with 😅
I was thinking about dx180 ibasso. But my main usage is line yours - apple music streaming. In that regard, r4 with its mseb and system-wide peq (ibasso doesn't have i hear), would be more suitable.. right? There is this new Evangelion versión of r4 about to be released. Will see its price, else pick up the classic black. But my essential understanding about this suiting streaming music better is right?
And whenever the battery dies, will HiBY sell and send a replacement? Hope it lasts! Ibasso comes with a replacement battery but am sure HiBY can replace batteries as am sure they do if there is faulty issue with a unit. Technically they can, I guess.
Thanks for the comment! With regard to streaming, I’m hard pressed to find a device this cheap that runs as smoothly. DX180 is awesome, but MSEB is such a special feature I cannot make the sacrifice for the 180. As well as the parametric EQ that allows you to download unique sound profiles of other iems/headphones. This customizable sound and ease of use makes this better in my opinion. Nothing is perfect, but with your music experience, you can use it to get close to perfect according to your preferences. And that to me, is priceless.
@@Crashboomwallopalso, to this, you can get a whole other R4 if the battery degrades, which going by calculations, should be in 3 years with normal use.. But by that time, going by the advancement of technology and economies of scale, Hiby or Ibasso would have released a new dap that might be cheaper with better features than this. As it stands, in the case of Hiby, you’ll be buying 2 R4’s for the price of 1 DX180 and imo R4 offers just the same, if not more..
@@SumbaListens thanks a ton! That seals it. Will get the R4. And not really sure if purple goes well with the black (Evangelion versión that HiBY is teasing now) but will wait to see if they increase any specs there without the price! Else you have made me fall in love with that wonderful classic black!
@@Crashboomwallop You’re most welcome!🙏 Also, I would kill somebody for that Evangelion purple, it’s the only time I’ll get a device that isn’t black. 😂..I’m not sure if they have mentioned an increase in price or specs, but I don’t think it will be a significant increase. The power and reliability is good enough now. If you want more, I think just get a desktop setup.
Excellent review of the Lisan al R4! lol I also got it in black two weeks ago for my birthday! (Shout out to my fiancee for such a great gift!) I got the strap for it and here's a video from HiBy on how to set it up: th-cam.com/video/LkARSTNiMIk/w-d-xo.htmlsi=hyN5hzkM9wpaI2BT Hope this helps!
hold up now...this is not an iPod's true heir. You need to pass over alot of DAPS over the past 10 years to say all that. There are music players closer to it from Questyle, Fiio and Aune (with the click wheel design and interfaces) before you can go there with this Hiby, and Ive owned them all--and I got the Hiby R4 as we speak.
I hear you. In fact I’m somewhat inclined to agree if you look at DAPS such as the Activo P1 dap that leans more IPod than Walkman. However, the general conclusion stems from price, ease of use and pursuit of individuality in aesthetics and feature set. I’m yet to find a dap at this price point, with all these points/features, (that isn’t on the second hand market) but I’m down to hear of more recommendations that beats this!
nice review. I have the same black R4. I love it. The build quality is super and it sounds wonderful. I also have the USA version of the Sony NW-306. The R4 for sure blows it out of the water in terms of power and sound. I only wish the R4 was half as thick, all buttons on the right side, and all flat back. i still love it though.
I kinda agree with you, but I fear that if it shares ergonomic similarities with my phone, I’ll just hate it. 😂
Big black box = definitely not a phone vibe. That’s somewhat comforting to me, idk
since its class A and have to chill itself somehow I understand why its thicc but also got you why you want slim device suitable for your pocket :)
I have just bought this ,to say it's exceptional is an understatement .It's fantastic and using as a dac with my laptop is fantastic .Buy one !
I know 🔥Also, That’s the one thing I actually haven’t done! Have you experienced any issues using it as a laptop dac?
@SumbaListens No problems with windows ,just plugged it in and it worked perfectly .
"Great awesome and totally fabulous review!!!" 🤗🎧❤️ Your review is so very poetic description of a great dap!!! I loved walkmans too and I love a separate digital audio player separate from my phone too. I got my Hiby R4 in orange for the same price you got yours got $239.00 because I used the coupon the Hiby website provided. I got it wit the $200.00 my husband gave me to spend from his income tax check. I love that new Hiby R4 in that orange color and I also got this month the Hiby R6 Pro II in purple and it's great along with the Hiby R4 I also loved the description of the Hiby R6 Pro II in your video comparing it to the car!!! Thses are my first to Hiby players. In 2020 I but the Astell & Kern SR25 the special holiday edition in red and I have a Fiio M7 and I bought a cheap Ruizu player on Amazon last Christmas of 2023 but I been really loving the two Hiby players I purchased and again great and fabulous review!!! 🤗🎧❤️
Thank you so much Cynthia! 😊 How’re you finding the R4 in comparison to the R6 and your other players?
@SumbaListens You're very welcome!!! 🤗🤗🤗 I been loving both of the R6 Pro 2 and the R4 and they both equally sound wonderful!!! 🤗🎧❤️
@@cynthiaj.simmons870 I was about to buy R6 pro 2 since that violet color is my thing but I would not use it that often so cutting those costs I bought R4, hope it will be good enough to drive my mest mk2 if not maybe I will up my game but only maybe since I'm most likely desktop user
Great editing, thank you for the information. I want something dedicated to music and never heard of the brand so came to the tube to find reviews. Look forward to ordering one, have no idea where my fat ipod went to do mods to it.
Really appreciate that Mike 🙏 Also, with my ADHD, I stream way too much music, so the limitations of the old brick iPods put me off a bit. Did your mods include online streaming and the like?
@@SumbaListens I never got a chance to mod the iPod because I lost it while moving. I’m hoping to find it in a box at some point. Might have got packed away with some of my Brothers stuff since he moved out to go to the military.
@@michaelmendoza1818 Ah! I get you. I feel Hiby kinda offers modders such an open platform to tinker, even beyond their default features. Isn’t something I’m too adept at, but it seems like such a great way to have fun and form a type of relationship with the device as you make it whatever you want it to be.
Hiby OS is great. After experiencing MSEB, I never want any Dap without it. I enjoyed my Qaurtet IEM immensely because of it.
@@brownwallet942 It really is! What settings did you mess with on MSEB for the quartet?
@@SumbaListens I tried playing with all the settings. Like I spent hours tinkering cos it's my free time anyways. So here's the thing, I'm one of the early buyers of the Quartet. It got mixed reviews, and I am one of those who lashed at it and gave 3 stars review on Amazon because when I received mine, I wasn't sure if the switches were defective, but I can't hear any difference when switching them. With MSEB I made 3 recipes for my Quartet improving the bass experience.
I love the Quartet cos it has rich warm vocals as if it's whispering right to my ears and while technicalities aren't anything special, the midbass slam is so satisfying, songs like Sorry by Röyskopp make it so emotionally moving. Without MSEB, the midbass rumble bleeds to the vocals and it's annoying for certain songs that has bass guitar or gong sounding instruments
@@brownwallet942MSEB saves the day AGAIN😭. Really happy that you had a similar experience. At the end of the day, the fact that this “can” save you money on your iem purchase is really priceless. Also, I know it wasn’t your intention, but I added Sorry to my library and it’s such an incredible listen. Thanks for the suggestion!
@@SumbaListens yeah from hate I've began to love the Quartet because of MSEB settings on my Innioasis and my Redmi Note 10 Pro's adjust to earphone settings + EQ. I have the Estrella right now and even though it has great clarity and wide soundstage, it doesn't have the same midbass slam of Quartet that makes the song like Sorry impactful. When I receive my Hiby R4 Evangelion I'll test if I can improve the midbass experience on Estrella to get the same emotional experience. What songs do you like listening to?
@@brownwallet942 I’d love to hear if your experience with the EVA is any better! Definitely drop a comment when you get it. With regards tunes, I pretty much listen to everything. My reviews highlight more on the sonic experience of the track than technical descriptions of sonic representation from the devices or transducer (almost to a fault 😂) So you can check them out and see if anything I speak on is your vibe!
Im looking for an upgrade from my Pioneer xdp300. This looks great, and the price is 🤩 never bought a Hiby before I'm still rather new when it comes to the DAP world😊..... great review by the way😅
Thank you 🙏 and thanks for stopping by! All the Hiby products are really well made and for $250 it’s basically a steal. Btw, the pioneer was a super piece of tech, but it must be running slow now?
@SumbaListens yes I agree. Nice piece of tech sounds great, but it is running slow, and it's acting glitchy time for an upgrade
This Hiby looks great for me
Thanks for the review. How are the bluetooth and battery life so far?
Thank you for watching ! The battery still holds up really well. I only use either Apple or Amazon music and it lasts me anywhere between 7-10 hours with all the lights on, medium volume.
Bluetooth is a standout that I didn’t mention. All codecs you can think of are supported including their proprietary UAT codec. Range is above average, nothing special. It’ll transmit through two walls in a medium size apartment. I use AptxHD out to my Aune Bu2 when I need a different sound signature and to my ear it gives me the same sonic experience as being wired in imo 🤷🏿♂️
hey sumba, a question for you. Can the device (Hiby R4) be used with wireless earphones?
Yes, it has Bluetooth.
Yeah. It’s got two way Bluetooth and I use it with my Aune BU2 with AptxHD. Sounds just as good as a wired connection imo.
Does it have the option to edit playlist track order?
Hey! I only use Apple & Amazon music. You can edit playlist order on those services. Not too sure about the Hiby OS.
I just hope it can deliver with Hiby mseb settings just because I want to pair it with my mest mk2, those are really amp picky IEM's and I didnt wanted to break the bank with DAP just because I dont listen so often on the go, my desktop amps are those who brings power and quality of sound to my life, on the go its enough if DAP can provide lets say 70% of their performance
@@soulfulfool Thanks for commenting! It’ll deliver. I just got the Monarch MK2 and I actually feel the class A bias makes it warm enough to the point that I turned off MSEB.
They sound so resolving and well controlled by the R4. I believe the balanced output pushes around 450mW. $250 isn’t bad for your on the go decision, since you won’t be using it too much. And if it’s too warm for the MEST, you can make it more neutral with MSEB.
Hope they come out with one with no MQA, I don't support products that license MQA.
I know, I’m with you. You can turn it off in the menu. I’m more concerned with supporting HIBY and allowing them to make more products like this. If 10-15% goes to MQA, it’s a sin I’ll just have to live with 😅
I was thinking about dx180 ibasso. But my main usage is line yours - apple music streaming. In that regard, r4 with its mseb and system-wide peq (ibasso doesn't have i hear), would be more suitable.. right? There is this new Evangelion versión of r4 about to be released. Will see its price, else pick up the classic black. But my essential understanding about this suiting streaming music better is right?
And whenever the battery dies, will HiBY sell and send a replacement? Hope it lasts! Ibasso comes with a replacement battery but am sure HiBY can replace batteries as am sure they do if there is faulty issue with a unit. Technically they can, I guess.
Thanks for the comment! With regard to streaming, I’m hard pressed to find a device this cheap that runs as smoothly. DX180 is awesome, but MSEB is such a special feature I cannot make the sacrifice for the 180. As well as the parametric EQ that allows you to download unique sound profiles of other iems/headphones. This customizable sound and ease of use makes this better in my opinion. Nothing is perfect, but with your music experience, you can use it to get close to perfect according to your preferences. And that to me, is priceless.
@@Crashboomwallopalso, to this, you can get a whole other R4 if the battery degrades, which going by calculations, should be in 3 years with normal use.. But by that time, going by the advancement of technology and economies of scale, Hiby or Ibasso would have released a new dap that might be cheaper with better features than this. As it stands, in the case of Hiby, you’ll be buying 2 R4’s for the price of 1 DX180 and imo R4 offers just the same, if not more..
@@SumbaListens thanks a ton! That seals it. Will get the R4. And not really sure if purple goes well with the black (Evangelion versión that HiBY is teasing now) but will wait to see if they increase any specs there without the price! Else you have made me fall in love with that wonderful classic black!
@@Crashboomwallop You’re most welcome!🙏 Also, I would kill somebody for that Evangelion purple, it’s the only time I’ll get a device that isn’t black. 😂..I’m not sure if they have mentioned an increase in price or specs, but I don’t think it will be a significant increase. The power and reliability is good enough now. If you want more, I think just get a desktop setup.
R4 gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaang
I love this DAP
Thanks for the video
R4 GANNGGG🔥Thank you so much for stopping by bro! Love your vids btw!
@@SumbaListens Oh no, I'm shy 😳
Thanks, I appreciate it
Excellent review of the Lisan al R4! lol I also got it in black two weeks ago for my birthday! (Shout out to my fiancee for such a great gift!) I got the strap for it and here's a video from HiBy on how to set it up: th-cam.com/video/LkARSTNiMIk/w-d-xo.htmlsi=hyN5hzkM9wpaI2BT Hope this helps!
Thanks Ed!🙏and shout out to your fiancé! Black really is the only right color! Also, thanks for the link cause I had NO idea how to put it back on 😂..
hold up now...this is not an iPod's true heir. You need to pass over alot of DAPS over the past 10 years to say all that. There are music players closer to it from Questyle, Fiio and Aune (with the click wheel design and interfaces) before you can go there with this Hiby, and Ive owned them all--and I got the Hiby R4 as we speak.
I hear you. In fact I’m somewhat inclined to agree if you look at DAPS such as the Activo P1 dap that leans more IPod than Walkman. However, the general conclusion stems from price, ease of use and pursuit of individuality in aesthetics and feature set. I’m yet to find a dap at this price point, with all these points/features, (that isn’t on the second hand market) but I’m down to hear of more recommendations that beats this!