Addendum: I've now owned this device for 2 months now, and I consider it my summit-fi solution when it comes to DAP's! It's unrivalled in terms of it's versatility, when paired with the HiBy CR08. I will have achieved personal head-fi nirvana when I can find a pair of closed back headphones & IEM's, that are worthy of its incredible capabilities! Thank you Sandu.
2 weeks in my hands, RS8 undoubtedly the best DAP I've ever used. In combination with the Cayin C9 amplifier + Empyrean 2 headphones it is the sound made in heaven.
True, when everybody still plays with DAC chips and op-amps, HiBy moved to 100% custom designs (R2R ladder DAC and transistor based amp stage) which tells more about them, than what people could ever imagine.
I just ordered this to help me get over the heartbreak of having to return the Sony NW-WM1ZM2 due to it's power limitations. I'm not sure I should have jumped into a new relationship so soon after the breakup of the last, but time and tuning will tell.
Wise choice. I tried the WM1Z2 for a few days and it was unable to drive any of my planar-magnetics. It's even worse in Europe, as you need to install a custom firmware to bypass its power limitations. Even with that custom firmware, it felt underpowered. RS8 will sound better, not only by providing more power to you, but also by sounding deeper, wider and "meatier" as well. Please let us know how the RS8 treats you after some mandatory burn-in.
There are now 1.5TB SanDisk cards for $150 on Amazon. It allowed me to load up my DSD files along with all my Flac files with 400GB left over, a great addition for any DAP.
@@SoundnewsA good DSD on your card will always be better in every way. Even vinyl direct to DSD, if its done right and the songs are physically on the first half of the actual vinyl..I have King Crimson Lizard, which has that issue..half of it sounds intense, then drops off towards the end of what would be each side on the vinyl.
Hi good day Sandu When you said the RS8 and 23RM Sounds 95% like 23R and Rockna WD Sig please tell me it's 95% with Hifiman Susvara not only with other headphones except Suzy
Great review. 🎉 What's the best dac to get with the aune s17 pro amp? Around same price 700-600$ ? What's the best synergie? I have hifiman and focal headphones and some iems . Thank you .
Thank you. 3 options are coming to my mind: Schiit Bifrost (it's slightly above your budget) would be a natural performer, it's quite "musical" and smooth sounding. Topping D70 Octo would be my next choice, it's quite spacious and layered sounding with a pinch of naturalness thrown in and if you want a very fast, punchy and honest sounding DAC, then I would go with the SMSL D1se2
@Soundnews thank you for your reply. Sadly schiit product is hard to get in my country. Yea already watched your d70 pro octo review looks great. I'll look also about smsl . Thank you for your help 🙏
Can someone clarify please - is RS8 still Hiby's flagship? Or the R8 mark2 is the flagship now? How RS8 and R8 m2 are compared between each other please? Also, if Hiby is reading this comment - can you please explain how battery can be replaced for such a flagship? If I pay so much money - I would lime to have an option to replace battery easily, as I would like to use my DAP every day - so in 2 years battery will simply reduce its capability. I have this problem with my Astell & Kern SP2000 now - sending the DAP to S.Korea for battery replacement is expensive and also takes long time.. iBasso did great job with their flagahip model 320 where you can unscrew the backplate and simply replace the battery by yourself! After "mistake" with my current AK SP2000 (I didn't consider the battery problem when purchased) - my next DAP should definetly have battery replacement option. Or, at least, should have option of external DC power operation, while battery disconnected from the circuit (like in Fiio M17). Also, can someone comment the sound difference between Astell & Kern SP2000/3000 and Hiby RS8 / R8 M2? Last thing - visually, Hiby's R8 M2 design (alcantara + blue color) is the TOP END in my eyes! But I am confused in marketing info - not sure which Hiby is actually a flagship today (RS8 or R8 M2?)
Hiby has 2 series R series and RS series. The flagship of R series is R8ii the flagship of RS series is RS8. The RS8 i have and you can open the back and replace the battery yourself. It is easy to open the back it only use 4 screw to open. Very easy like old phones. Regarding RS8 and R8ii, RS8 is still the king in term of resolving sound, no wonder it is still the most expensive from Hiby.
Oh man! Thank you for this video! When you will try ibasso dx320 max ti ! You will say what are wonderful world! But let him burn 150 hours please before make conclusion !😊
For this price I would want a full flagship phone with DAC Amp features added. They can use software to limit power with a special mode. I fail to see the value in this.
To be honest I don't see the need for a DAP to begin with.1st. For on the go a BTR7 is enough since the quality is not a must while walking on the street. 2nd for away from the rack like camping, hotel room or in the garden - neo iDSD out of phone power bank. Fun nice sound, can power a decent variety of headphones. 3. For your hi-fi - sky is the limit. I know many brands makes expensive portable devices and consumers pay a huge price for miniaturization but looking at use cases, I don't see the need. I am not against paying for good sound, but good sound needs to be enjoyed. Why pay 2-3 times the price tot make that sound portable just to have people talk around me, cars passing me and so on?
The rectangle has always been a classic shape of DAP. In fact, we have a total of three different exterior design versions, and the 2023 R6Pro II and R8 II adopt the latest generation exterior design. Different people have different aesthetic preferences, right?
Same SOC, same design, performance also similar to cheaper options with diminishing results. It's a effective way in tech world to cut cost which I understand but then why is price also up. These people are treating audiophile like a money bank as this on of the least critically reviews section.
@@hibymusic1566wow fast responded from the PR of company ? i got nothing against u, just saying from audio enthusiast perspective that a company a size of hiby uses the same design for almost of your product from 2019, let me try remembering them, R6, R6 2020, R6 gen III, and implement them to the top tier products like R6 and R8 now? whaaat ? i don't want to be harsh or anything but if i have $5 grand budged for your dap i just probably go for the R6 pro II even tho it not the best in your line up, here is why, when audio community gathering and maybe 6 or more members using hiby dap that have the same design language dap put it on the same table, some might pick the wrong one or worst one might can't tell the difference between TOTL $ 3k ish with $ 700 in a glance. listen to the community more and not being afraid of changes, like the R6 pro II well i like the design as matter of fact. i can't say that your RnD department lack of idea coz R6 pro II design is really out of the box.
@@CLaudiusClemensJimmy Of course, thank you for your suggestion. RS8 is a flagship set for the end of 2022, and it does indeed have the issues you mentioned. In fact, we are also making changes.We can learn more about audiophiles' ideas by replying to comments.Hope our products in the future can satisfy you.😊
@@hibymusic1566save money on tooling for different cases, and put it straight into the sound quality. I dont care what my dap looks like, I care how it sounds.
I agree ! This also have diminishing results when I heard them in a audio conference. I was hard pressed to distinguish them from Fiio's M15. Only difference I could noticed was with Focal clears or HD560s which I had that moment with me. But for IEMs these I believe is very expensive.
But 665 is the best hifi Soc recently.Compared to being an Android device, the biggest issue is the development permissions for tuning. As far as I know, 665 is one of the best SOC that DAP manufacturers can use (from multiple perspectives)
I have also asked, can't manufacturers see the dissatisfaction of users with the 665 chip? Why are most flagship DAPs still 665 in 2023 or even 2024? However, during an audio event in Seoul, an industry insider told me that it was not only a matter of cost, but also of tuning. This was indeed an unexpected answer, but it seemed reasonable.
@@MSsephiii I see the point that these companies takes upto 1 to 3 year to design their device so it does makes sense to used whatever cheap available at the time of design. But I commented on the reviewers comment on 665, that it is more power efficient than latest SOC out there. Which is incorrect 665 is 11nm process thread and any newer chipsets in last year are 4nm and have better architecture for power efficiency. I know lots of manufacture say 665 is hifi soc which I see as a complete BS being a engineer myself. 665 is easier to design and integrate in the system due to its being the most common SOC available for DAP makers as it save them ton of money on RnD which would have other wise went to integrate SOC with other Audio components. So the short answer I and many other thinks is cost saving as you can just copy paste the SOC in your designs without much effort. This however need to change as 665 is too old for modern apps to work efficiently and also support modern audio.
Naa bra, my 5G's phones us android14 n 20GB ram with 256rom..120hz screen.. 120Watts charger.. UsbC out, 3.5se out n 4.4bal out.. Bluetooth 5.2..wifi6..tons mo functionality.. 6.68screen..i just hooked it up to my endgames iem system OTG Q5S TC(extincted) + fc6.. Peace!
![일상 속 기분 좋음 [Proto disco meme]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/DwmEIaZ7XGQ/mqdefault.jpg)
Addendum: I've now owned this device for 2 months now, and I consider it my summit-fi solution when it comes to DAP's!
It's unrivalled in terms of it's versatility, when paired with the HiBy CR08.
I will have achieved personal head-fi nirvana when I can find a pair of closed back headphones & IEM's, that are worthy of its incredible capabilities!
Thank you Sandu.
2 weeks in my hands, RS8 undoubtedly the best DAP I've ever used.
In combination with the Cayin C9 amplifier + Empyrean 2 headphones it is the sound made in heaven.
True, when everybody still plays with DAC chips and op-amps, HiBy moved to 100% custom designs (R2R ladder DAC and transistor based amp stage) which tells more about them, than what people could ever imagine.
Good to see you back on the channel and kick off 2024! 💪
Ready to kick some eardrums 😁🤘
I have had mine for almost 6 months now and it is absolutely incredible … well worth every penny 👍
been waiting for this product review for quite some time now
How does it compare to other totl daps like A&K3000, Sony ZM2, Cayin N30, DX320Ti?
I just ordered this to help me get over the heartbreak of having to return the Sony NW-WM1ZM2 due to it's power limitations.
I'm not sure I should have jumped into a new relationship so soon after the breakup of the last, but time and tuning will tell.
Wise choice. I tried the WM1Z2 for a few days and it was unable to drive any of my planar-magnetics. It's even worse in Europe, as you need to install a custom firmware to bypass its power limitations. Even with that custom firmware, it felt underpowered. RS8 will sound better, not only by providing more power to you, but also by sounding deeper, wider and "meatier" as well. Please let us know how the RS8 treats you after some mandatory burn-in.
@@SoundnewsI will. And thank you for your informative & in depth review.
sony is class D,not even close to The Class A
Great review. I hope you review R8 Mark II soon.
It's a maybe at this points, but man, those smooth lines - very cool looking
There are now 1.5TB SanDisk cards for $150 on Amazon. It allowed me to load up my DSD files along with all my Flac files with 400GB left over, a great addition for any DAP.
Great find, thank you. Music from local storage and microSD card still sounds better to me than streaming from Qobuz and Tidal.
@@SoundnewsA good DSD on your card will always be better in every way. Even vinyl direct to DSD, if its done right and the songs are physically on the first half of the actual vinyl..I have King Crimson Lizard, which has that issue..half of it sounds intense, then drops off towards the end of what would be each side on the vinyl.
How many hours did it take to write to micro SD card?
@@7in1 A long time, just leave it and let it run
@@7in1 My music collection is 1.2TB. I did it in batches and it took about 13 hours all together. Transfer rate was on average 20mb a sec.
Hi good day Sandu When you said the RS8 and 23RM Sounds 95% like 23R and Rockna WD Sig please tell me it's 95% with Hifiman Susvara not only with other headphones except Suzy
Great review. 🎉
What's the best dac to get with the aune s17 pro amp? Around same price 700-600$ ? What's the best synergie?
I have hifiman and focal headphones and some iems .
Thank you .
@soundnews
Thank you. 3 options are coming to my mind: Schiit Bifrost (it's slightly above your budget) would be a natural performer, it's quite "musical" and smooth sounding. Topping D70 Octo would be my next choice, it's quite spacious and layered sounding with a pinch of naturalness thrown in and if you want a very fast, punchy and honest sounding DAC, then I would go with the SMSL D1se2
@Soundnews thank you for your reply.
Sadly schiit product is hard to get in my country.
Yea already watched your d70 pro octo review looks great.
I'll look also about smsl .
Thank you for your help 🙏
Hiby RS8 or Astell&Kern SP3000T?
Question: Can I install the Tidal App in this?
Yep, I'm using both Qobuz and Tidal on RS8
Can someone clarify please - is RS8 still Hiby's flagship? Or the R8 mark2 is the flagship now? How RS8 and R8 m2 are compared between each other please? Also, if Hiby is reading this comment - can you please explain how battery can be replaced for such a flagship? If I pay so much money - I would lime to have an option to replace battery easily, as I would like to use my DAP every day - so in 2 years battery will simply reduce its capability. I have this problem with my Astell & Kern SP2000 now - sending the DAP to S.Korea for battery replacement is expensive and also takes long time.. iBasso did great job with their flagahip model 320 where you can unscrew the backplate and simply replace the battery by yourself! After "mistake" with my current AK SP2000 (I didn't consider the battery problem when purchased) - my next DAP should definetly have battery replacement option. Or, at least, should have option of external DC power operation, while battery disconnected from the circuit (like in Fiio M17). Also, can someone comment the sound difference between Astell & Kern SP2000/3000 and Hiby RS8 / R8 M2? Last thing - visually, Hiby's R8 M2 design (alcantara + blue color) is the TOP END in my eyes! But I am confused in marketing info - not sure which Hiby is actually a flagship today (RS8 or R8 M2?)
Michael, you'll have your answer this Friday evening with a HiBy R8 II review.
@@Soundnews Thank you so much for reading and reacting! Will wait :)
wow can't wait
Hiby has 2 series R series and RS series. The flagship of R series is R8ii the flagship of RS series is RS8. The RS8 i have and you can open the back and replace the battery yourself. It is easy to open the back it only use 4 screw to open. Very easy like old phones. Regarding RS8 and R8ii, RS8 is still the king in term of resolving sound, no wonder it is still the most expensive from Hiby.
Oh man! Thank you for this video! When you will try ibasso dx320 max ti ! You will say what are wonderful world! But let him burn 150 hours please before make conclusion !😊
For this price I would want a full flagship phone with DAC Amp features added. They can use software to limit power with a special mode. I fail to see the value in this.
Audiophile only care about sound . Everything else is bonus. Why not just buy a phone and use dongle instead? Smh
Is rhe 20L backpack included for carrying around this outdated brick 😂?
To be honest I don't see the need for a DAP to begin with.1st. For on the go a BTR7 is enough since the quality is not a must while walking on the street. 2nd for away from the rack like camping, hotel room or in the garden - neo iDSD out of phone power bank. Fun nice sound, can power a decent variety of headphones. 3. For your hi-fi - sky is the limit.
I know many brands makes expensive portable devices and consumers pay a huge price for miniaturization but looking at use cases, I don't see the need. I am not against paying for good sound, but good sound needs to be enjoyed. Why pay 2-3 times the price tot make that sound portable just to have people talk around me, cars passing me and so on?
Не все люди живут дома, или даже имеют свой дом, и поэтому мобильный hi-fi - это всё, что у них есть.
at least hiby didn't has to RnD their dap design from 2019 i think? using the same design should save them cost not counting their leather cases 😂
The rectangle has always been a classic shape of DAP. In fact, we have a total of three different exterior design versions, and the 2023 R6Pro II and R8 II adopt the latest generation exterior design. Different people have different aesthetic preferences, right?
Same SOC, same design, performance also similar to cheaper options with diminishing results.
It's a effective way in tech world to cut cost which I understand but then why is price also up.
These people are treating audiophile like a money bank as this on of the least critically reviews section.
@@hibymusic1566wow fast responded from the PR of company ? i got nothing against u, just saying from audio enthusiast perspective that a company a size of hiby uses the same design for almost of your product from 2019, let me try remembering them, R6, R6 2020, R6 gen III, and implement them to the top tier products like R6 and R8 now? whaaat ? i don't want to be harsh or anything but if i have $5 grand budged for your dap i just probably go for the R6 pro II even tho it not the best in your line up, here is why, when audio community gathering and maybe 6 or more members using hiby dap that have the same design language dap put it on the same table, some might pick the wrong one or worst one might can't tell the difference between TOTL $ 3k ish with $ 700 in a glance. listen to the community more and not being afraid of changes, like the R6 pro II well i like the design as matter of fact.
i can't say that your RnD department lack of idea coz R6 pro II design is really out of the box.
@@CLaudiusClemensJimmy Of course, thank you for your suggestion. RS8 is a flagship set for the end of 2022, and it does indeed have the issues you mentioned. In fact, we are also making changes.We can learn more about audiophiles' ideas by replying to comments.Hope our products in the future can satisfy you.😊
@@hibymusic1566save money on tooling for different cases, and put it straight into the sound quality. I dont care what my dap looks like, I care how it sounds.
Too rich for my blood.
Their R6 PRO II should do just fine. I have a video for that one.
I agree ! This also have diminishing results when I heard them in a audio conference. I was hard pressed to distinguish them from Fiio's M15.
Only difference I could noticed was with Focal clears or HD560s which I had that moment with me. But for IEMs these I believe is very expensive.
The processor used is very outdated and inefficient.
Newer SOC based on tfmc 4nm chipsets are more efficient and consume less power.
But 665 is the best hifi Soc recently.Compared to being an Android device, the biggest issue is the development permissions for tuning. As far as I know, 665 is one of the best SOC that DAP manufacturers can use (from multiple perspectives)
I have also asked, can't manufacturers see the dissatisfaction of users with the 665 chip? Why are most flagship DAPs still 665 in 2023 or even 2024? However, during an audio event in Seoul, an industry insider told me that it was not only a matter of cost, but also of tuning. This was indeed an unexpected answer, but it seemed reasonable.
@@MSsephiii I see the point that these companies takes upto 1 to 3 year to design their device so it does makes sense to used whatever cheap available at the time of design.
But I commented on the reviewers comment on 665, that it is more power efficient than latest SOC out there. Which is incorrect 665 is 11nm process thread and any newer chipsets in last year are 4nm and have better architecture for power efficiency.
I know lots of manufacture say 665 is hifi soc which I see as a complete BS being a engineer myself.
665 is easier to design and integrate in the system due to its being the most common SOC available for DAP makers as it save them ton of money on RnD which would have other wise went to integrate SOC with other Audio components.
So the short answer I and many other thinks is cost saving as you can just copy paste the SOC in your designs without much effort.
This however need to change as 665 is too old for modern apps to work efficiently and also support modern audio.
This is from 2022 😆
Naa bra, my 5G's phones us android14 n 20GB ram with 256rom..120hz screen.. 120Watts charger.. UsbC out, 3.5se out n 4.4bal out.. Bluetooth 5.2..wifi6..tons mo functionality.. 6.68screen..i just hooked it up to my endgames iem system OTG Q5S TC(extincted) + fc6.. Peace!
Hiby DAPs might sound good but the batteries they use are really shit!
3300$ ?
i was watching, than you show "maneskin". enaugh. ciao
Great band! Love their rad attitude and energy levels