Seems like a great new option for people that want a digital audio player at an affordable price. It doesn’t quite fit my use case, mostly due to the battery life which is an absolute deal breaker for me, as I require an option that lets me listen to music non stop from waking up until going to sleep. I’m a particularly odd use case though as I don’t imagine most people are listening to music CONSTANTLY, while conscious. Great video, cheers.
Greetings from an Italian - Spaniard residing in South Korea married to an ILocana Filipina. Your review is awesome, and made me realize that I need to get the R4
How do you buy the Chinese exclusive one. Because they seem to be selling the black one on their site but doesn't say if its the one you talked about with class ab and longer battery. Also where did you find that image?
I'll clarify this in an addition but the black variant on the site is just a black colorway while the MIDIfes exclusive is the one with the class AB amplifier.
thats one hell of a design, I really like the futuristic aesthetic! Also the r4 has pretty good hardware for the price, Im curious how it would compare to Tempotec V6, wich is my dap at the moment.
Anyone know if usb digital out is bit perfect or is it manipulated (up/downsampled)? I want this to access Amazon music higher rez streaming and I'd like the option to feed better dacs and amplification when at home.
In terms of sound quality, is there much difference between this one or the r3ii? I honestly prefer something more compact and with better battery life.
I would say yes, but not major enough to really say one is worse than the other. The only compromise would be driving power as the R3 II can only ouput up to 380mW @ 32ohms on 4.4mm BAL while the R4 can output 525mW @ 32ohms on 4.4mm BAL
Planning on getting a new DAP, and this really caught my attention. I was just wondering, do you still need to install UAPP to listen bit perfect on Tidal or other streaming services? Do I still need an external DAC to elevate my listening sessions? Thanks
Nope, HiBy's own app can stream Tidal, but you can also download UAPP if you're comfortable with that. Also, you do not need an external DAC to elevated your listening sessions unless you're plugging in something like an R2R or Tube AMPs.
Curious about the battery life. Maybe you can try to observe how many percent of juice is lost during idle, ie. when you sleep. Ten percent or greater might be an indication of an unoptimized background process(es) doing mysterious things unknown to the user.
Your video covered R4 very well.. Now plz advice, my budget is $350 and my main aim is to get beautiful Accurate sound & nothing else.. Where should I invest my money to drive my Etymotic ER4XR iems? An under $350 DAP like r4 or an under $350 DAC with my iPhone 13 as the source? Plz advice. Thanks in advance..
Hi I just watched you personal experience with the hiby r4 very good and accurate review thank you I just got this and I’m not too good with some features I have been having a trouble to can connect it to my tv Bluetooth transmiter this hiby r4 is Bluetooth transmiter and receiver or just transmiter have you an idea how I could fix this thank you in advance I would be able to can connect this to my tv to watch movies or anything via Bluetooth??
Question: on the hibymusic app, does incremental scan remove shortcuts for files that I deleted from another device or does it only add new files that it sees?
Not noticeably, but it's more neutral sounding compared to the R3 II's brighter tone. If you compared the two side by side, I don't think you'll find that big of a difference and the main difference is the function
I bet the new Beyerdynamic DT 700 Pro X or 900 Pro X would sound great through this. And you get an orange cable with them haha. The 700 is closed back for recording or tuning out the world and the 900 is open back. They are like a 48 Ohm draw so this little Hiby thing should drive them quite well.
tried the r4 in a local shop. although it sounded not much different from phone w onix alpha when auditing, after i left the shop. i kept missing the note thickness which seems lacking with the onix. but at the end i didnt get it cos after playing tracks from tidal for about 15min, the screen froze. pressing any buttons didnt get any reaction. and the saleperson seems puzzle why it froze. my confidence shaken about its relaibility
Hello Ob. I was wondering if you could honestly tell me what the difference would be between this one and any good 100-150$ dongle dac , purely in terms of sound. Would the dac be better? Would this one be better? I've always wondered that.
I'll make a video about this soon, actually! But I think dongles are more focused device and has the tendency to sound better than DAPs, especially at the 100 - 150 dollar range. If you dont need a specific device for music, dongles are great choices.
@@obodioreviews Thanks a ton. I've always asked this and everyone has given me a gray diplomatic answer showing the 100 advantages of a dap! I'm obviously not ignorant to those advantages of a dedicated device! However I'm definitely limited by my budget! If I spend 300$ on a dap, I'll have nothing left to spend on an iem/headphone. If I could've demoed, I would've done that. Since I can't demo, I ask people like yourself. Thanks for replying. It would be great if you made such a video!. Trust me, a lot of people wonder about this.
@@rajeebdas1724an audio store employee interrupted me when I was speaking of a dac and said: "dacs don't sound. Speakers do". Quite right. In sound most important thing Is to get Best recordings with Best Masters possible. Then the Best headphone or speaker You can afford while being amplified properly with a minimal decent Quality with dac which has all the Connectivity You want. Then later in future You could step up dac and or AMP. Never put your coins first in dac AMP because You Will be límited in Quality and the greater expense in dacs or amps Will be nosense
If you listen to it more can you install a device info app and let us know what kind of temps you're getting on the battery and soc? I've never had a class A amp of any sort definitely a little nervous about excessive heat
I used DAPs the I had the idea of getting dongles for my phone. Well the connection of the USB ports is not stable after a while when you are moving. It disconnects and reconnects and now it got on my nerves so I will definitely get back to DAPs
In Thailand it's only 14 $ (Limited Presale Price) more than M300 .... only thing I want from R4 is the 4.4 Jack for my resources. I just wonder the sound character of the R4 compare to M300 and Hidizs Ap80 Pro X...
@@obodioreviews Hey Bro. I got HIBY R4 Orange one. I am not able to connect a variety of my TWS except SONY brand. Have you faced any issue like that in Bluetooth Out connection. ?
Great review of the R4! 👌 2 questions, if you may: - how is the softness and noiseness of the buttons (play, FW, RW and +/- volume)? - BTW, what DAP can you recommend with sufficient power to drive the HD600? Thank you.
Thanks for watching! I appreciate your comment and your question. 1. The buttons are VERY soft, not very tactile imo 2. The HD600 can be driven by the R4 in 4.4 Balanced mode quite satisfactorily, but you really wanna get an external amp if you wanna get the most out of the HD600 IMO
I have the R3 II with 23,000 songs between Flac and MP3 and it sounds divine, if only the software were more efficient and refined, such as showing the covers also in the "Albums" by Artist, and adjusting the Bluetooth output volume, it would be the best sound player in the world.
Awesome review man, didn't know about you at all before this but found your post on headfi. Gonna leave a sub mate 🤝🏻 Btw, does this do PEQ with MQA decoding enabled ?
Thanks, mate! I appreciate that! Also unfortunately, MQA still borks the system wide PEQ and MSEB. Gotta stick with non MQA files if you want a proper system wide PEQ and MSEB
Volume knob on the R6 III just makes it better for me. Was planning on a R4 Evangelion but the knob on the R6 is essential for me. Too bad the R6 looks milquetoast
Depends on, do you live in the US, UK, and EU If you do, than I wouldn't get the Sony zx707. There's been reports of Sony built-in diminished output levels meaning if you have a headphone, it doesn't matter how efficient the headphone is, you will still have low level volume problems. The only solution is to get the Japanese-market NW-ZX707 model. Also have to add, if you get the US version, the Bluetooth headphones won't be affected by the US model's built-in diminished output levels. But if you want both worlds, then the Japanese-market NW-ZX707 model is the way to go and to be honest for 900 bucks it should sound better than 250 bucks.
O boy I had it. The balanced output broke. THIS is Android AND has wifi. That means you can stream apps such as Tidal or Qobuz and Even listening offline and with wifi You can use airplay. Also 4.4 output is physically stronger than the 2.5 of ap80 which does not have NONE of this functions. To sum up, R4 is bigger but more complete
Hiby R4 overheating issue!! I'm quite disappointed with the product. Although it looks impressive and should be worth more than $600, just by looking at it, it appears to have been built with cheap components and has poor heat dissipation. Mine is overheating; I cannot even touch it. Is anyone having this issue?
yes it does overheat, even in offline mode while I prefer the look of the device, I have to put the case to reduce the heat in my hand without the case, that hot metal frame will give me burn mark
"Great Review!!!" I just bought the orange player. I was torn between the R6 Pro Gen 2 this RUclipsr Luke Reid from the UK is selling his Hiby R6 Pro Gen 2 but he's in the UK but since I'm in the US I would be paying over $400.00 to have it shipped here to the US and he's charging $349.00 dollars UK price and I could get Affirm payments but I have to ) $311.00 as a down payment just to get the $20.00 dollars a month payment. Since my husband gave me $200.00 from our income tax we got back I went ahead and ordered the Hiby R4 in orange. I remember from your short video here on RUclips if you have $200.00 lying around well I got $200.00 along with a $10.00 coupon Hiby gave me so I only $239.00 instead of $249.00 for it and I but one and I can't wait to get it!!! 🤗❤️🤗❤️🤗❤️
I wish there were more pocketable android DAPs out there, mostly for the capability to stream. I can't deny that most of my favourite songs were discovered from algorithm recommendations. Biggest limitation is just the software support (Streaming apps will outright refuse to work anymore if outdated enough) and that most Android DAPs are the same size as a smartphone, mainly for battery reasons (I only use two pockets ffs)
It kinda is for the power and amplification that it can provide, for the sound its awesome! I think more ram would have been better than more battery life, it can power all of my planars Edition XS/Sundara and HD6XX no problem. Its not a phone, its a powerful DAP!
Seems like a great new option for people that want a digital audio player at an affordable price. It doesn’t quite fit my use case, mostly due to the battery life which is an absolute deal breaker for me, as I require an option that lets me listen to music non stop from waking up until going to sleep. I’m a particularly odd use case though as I don’t imagine most people are listening to music CONSTANTLY, while conscious. Great video, cheers.
A lot of Hiby R3 owners wanting an android dap will want to step up. Can you compare the sound of the two? ( We love our R3 sound )
Great video! I think so this makes a great upgrade path for the r3 pro ii owners who want an android dap
Can we pair it to smartphone via bluetooth and use it like a bluetooth DAC, for taking calls ?
Greetings from an Italian - Spaniard residing in South Korea married to an ILocana Filipina. Your review is awesome, and made me realize that I need to get the R4
Do the screws on the back allow access to replace the battery?
How do you buy the Chinese exclusive one. Because they seem to be selling the black one on their site but doesn't say if its the one you talked about with class ab and longer battery. Also where did you find that image?
I'll clarify this in an addition but the black variant on the site is just a black colorway while the MIDIfes exclusive is the one with the class AB amplifier.
@@obodioreviews *Any update about the Black vs the other colors?*
thats one hell of a design, I really like the futuristic aesthetic! Also the r4 has pretty good hardware for the price, Im curious how it would compare to Tempotec V6, wich is my dap at the moment.
This I gonna be alot cooler then I expected I can tell!!! great video I remembered the zune and was looking for a good alternative and found this.
Can I get the R4 to play music on my plex via symfonium? I can't get internet outside my home with mine.
Hi 👋Can R4 output usb audio to dac ?
Yes you can!
@@obodioreviews thank you😀
Anyone know if usb digital out is bit perfect or is it manipulated (up/downsampled)? I want this to access Amazon music higher rez streaming and I'd like the option to feed better dacs and amplification when at home.
Just bought the M300 less than a month ago. Damn 😡
In terms of sound quality, is there much difference between this one or the r3ii? I honestly prefer something more compact and with better battery life.
I would say yes, but not major enough to really say one is worse than the other. The only compromise would be driving power as the R3 II can only ouput up to 380mW @ 32ohms on 4.4mm BAL while the R4 can output 525mW @ 32ohms on 4.4mm BAL
Dude, the Hd600s are what I want to pair with this thing. Thanks for making my decision for me.
Does the device have a mic or can I connect a mic to it to record audio?
Planning on getting a new DAP, and this really caught my attention. I was just wondering, do you still need to install UAPP to listen bit perfect on Tidal or other streaming services? Do I still need an external DAC to elevate my listening sessions? Thanks
Nope, HiBy's own app can stream Tidal, but you can also download UAPP if you're comfortable with that. Also, you do not need an external DAC to elevated your listening sessions unless you're plugging in something like an R2R or Tube AMPs.
Thank you!@@obodioreviews
Curious about the battery life.
Maybe you can try to observe how many percent of juice is lost during idle, ie. when you sleep.
Ten percent or greater might be an indication of an unoptimized background process(es) doing mysterious things unknown to the user.
Sure! I can do a conclusive test on this soon, thanks for suggesting!
hi, would you recommend using a 3rd party player as it is android based or just stick with its default. thanks
Hi. Sounds like this can drive the HD800? Considering the HD600 is more difficult to drive than the HD800? Am I right? :o
Your video covered R4 very well.. Now plz advice, my budget is $350 and my main aim is to get beautiful Accurate sound & nothing else.. Where should I invest my money to drive my Etymotic ER4XR iems? An under $350 DAP like r4 or an under $350 DAC with my iPhone 13 as the source?
Plz advice. Thanks in advance..
Does Hiby 4 use sd or microsd? is a SanDisk alright?😊
MicroSD upbto 2TB. Sandisk is fine.
Hi I just watched you personal experience with the hiby r4 very good and accurate review thank you I just got this and I’m not too good with some features I have been having a trouble to can connect it to my tv Bluetooth transmiter this hiby r4 is Bluetooth transmiter and receiver or just transmiter have you an idea how I could fix this thank you in advance I would be able to can connect this to my tv to watch movies or anything via Bluetooth??
Do you find noticable difference from R6 3 ? I hope both are class A amp.. ( R6 have both A & AB mode). Does this R4 have coaxial dig output?
Question: on the hibymusic app, does incremental scan remove shortcuts for files that I deleted from another device or does it only add new files that it sees?
I was days away from buying an R3 gen 2 when this was announced. Is the R4 noticably better sound wise?
Not noticeably, but it's more neutral sounding compared to the R3 II's brighter tone. If you compared the two side by side, I don't think you'll find that big of a difference and the main difference is the function
Playstore can install other than music apps?
I bet the new Beyerdynamic DT 700 Pro X or 900 Pro X would sound great through this. And you get an orange cable with them haha. The 700 is closed back for recording or tuning out the world and the 900 is open back. They are like a 48 Ohm draw so this little Hiby thing should drive them quite well.
Could you please give me some advice? Should I pick the Hiby R4 or Shanling M3 Ultra in terms of sound quality. Many thanks. Really appreciate.
I personally haven't tried the M3 ultra, so I can't say for sure
tried the r4 in a local shop. although it sounded not much different from phone w onix alpha when auditing, after i left the shop. i kept missing the note thickness which seems lacking with the onix. but at the end i didnt get it cos after playing tracks from tidal for about 15min, the screen froze. pressing any buttons didnt get any reaction. and the saleperson seems puzzle why it froze. my confidence shaken about its relaibility
Wait the black one is better ?
Hello Ob.
I was wondering if you could honestly tell me what the difference would be between this one and any good 100-150$ dongle dac , purely in terms of sound.
Would the dac be better? Would this one be better?
I've always wondered that.
I'll make a video about this soon, actually! But I think dongles are more focused device and has the tendency to sound better than DAPs, especially at the 100 - 150 dollar range. If you dont need a specific device for music, dongles are great choices.
@@obodioreviews Thanks a ton.
I've always asked this and everyone has given me a gray diplomatic answer showing the 100 advantages of a dap!
I'm obviously not ignorant to those advantages of a dedicated device!
However I'm definitely limited by my budget! If I spend 300$ on a dap, I'll have nothing left to spend on an iem/headphone.
If I could've demoed, I would've done that.
Since I can't demo, I ask people like yourself.
Thanks for replying.
It would be great if you made such a video!.
Trust me, a lot of people wonder about this.
Do you want to drive a Ferrari with a trailer? Or with a BMW sportive ?
@@EtreGeneriqueDo you want to make a sensible comment?
Or do you want to ramble like a drunk?
@@rajeebdas1724an audio store employee interrupted me when I was speaking of a dac and said: "dacs don't sound. Speakers do". Quite right. In sound most important thing Is to get Best recordings with Best Masters possible. Then the Best headphone or speaker You can afford while being amplified properly with a minimal decent Quality with dac which has all the Connectivity You want. Then later in future You could step up dac and or AMP. Never put your coins first in dac AMP because You Will be límited in Quality and the greater expense in dacs or amps Will be nosense
If you listen to it more can you install a device info app and let us know what kind of temps you're getting on the battery and soc? I've never had a class A amp of any sort definitely a little nervous about excessive heat
Sure! I'll make a post or a video about this soon
I somehow enabled a digital audio lock and can't figure out how to disable the feature :cry: plz halp
hey OB ODIO, a question for you. Can the device (Hiby R4) be used with wireless earphones?
Obviously, via Bluetooth! 🤷🏻♂️
Hi, great review. One question : does this device work well with Apple Music (Lossless) ?
sound wise (especially technical quality), should i get this or dongle dac's like questyle m15 or cayin r7 ?
I have not spent time with those specific dongles, but the R4 is quite capable for what its worth.
I used DAPs the I had the idea of getting dongles for my phone.
Well the connection of the USB ports is not stable after a while when you are moving.
It disconnects and reconnects and now it got on my nerves so I will definitely get back to DAPs
si do you think putting this dap to a topping dx1. is a good match?
Hi! If I use for bluetooth headphone only, how long the battery will last? Is it aptx supported?
Sounds awesome and planning to buy one soon and does this bypass the android resampling with streaming apps like
Apple music
Yes it’s has system wide bypass, so there is no android resampling at all
I’m waiting to get one of these, they said Mid April but it’s past Mid April already, hurry up and release plz plz hahaha
Yeah I'm hoping they release this soon too fr
NIce Rv...Can we download offline content from tidal for example?
the sound is good compared to R5 (gen1) ?
In Thailand it's only 14 $ (Limited Presale Price) more than M300 ....
only thing I want from R4 is the 4.4 Jack for my resources.
I just wonder the sound character of the R4 compare to M300 and Hidizs Ap80 Pro X...
Against M300, it's definitely a more capable device as it does bitperfect unlike the M300. Against the AP80 Pro X, it's more neutral sounding.
@@obodioreviews Thank you.
ok,I might get R4. haha
I really enjoyed the way you explained the details.👌👍
Thank you
@@obodioreviews Hey Bro. I got HIBY R4 Orange one. I am not able to connect a variety of my TWS except SONY brand. Have you faced any issue like that in Bluetooth Out connection. ?
Damn, a 4500mAh with an HD screen is bad but you're okay with Hiby Digital M300 with only 2000mAh????
Will it be enough to drive my sennheiser hd660s?
Thanks 😊
I haven't tried the 660s on this, but I was able to try the 600 and it was perfectly fine!
Does it play videos?
Yes! It can play videos
Does this have crossfeed?
Where do you download your music files from?
are there any android DAPs that have dolby atmos?
Great review of the R4! 👌
2 questions, if you may:
- how is the softness and noiseness of the buttons (play, FW, RW and +/- volume)?
- BTW, what DAP can you recommend with sufficient power to drive the HD600?
Thank you.
Thanks for watching! I appreciate your comment and your question.
1. The buttons are VERY soft, not very tactile imo
2. The HD600 can be driven by the R4 in 4.4 Balanced mode quite satisfactorily, but you really wanna get an external amp if you wanna get the most out of the HD600 IMO
@@obodioreviewsThank you!
Google play services?
Yep!
I have the R3 II with 23,000 songs between Flac and MP3 and it sounds divine, if only the software were more efficient and refined, such as showing the covers also in the "Albums" by Artist, and adjusting the Bluetooth output volume, it would be the best sound player in the world.
Sometimes you have to re add the album art
Awesome review man, didn't know about you at all before this but found your post on headfi.
Gonna leave a sub mate 🤝🏻
Btw, does this do PEQ with MQA decoding enabled ?
Thanks, mate! I appreciate that! Also unfortunately, MQA still borks the system wide PEQ and MSEB. Gotta stick with non MQA files if you want a proper system wide PEQ and MSEB
Sorry if already asked..Does this have line out?
No unfortunately
It has now through the latest firmware update.
May i know where did you bought it?
Second!
Also, they look cool af!
Well done review. Appreciate your thouroughness👌
Volume knob on the R6 III just makes it better for me. Was planning on a R4 Evangelion but the knob on the R6 is essential for me. Too bad the R6 looks milquetoast
Which one is better in terms of sound quality, HIBY R4 OR SONY ZX707?
Depends on, do you live in the US, UK, and EU If you do, than I wouldn't get the Sony zx707. There's been reports of Sony built-in diminished output levels meaning if you have a headphone, it doesn't matter how efficient the headphone is, you will still have low level volume problems. The only solution is to get the Japanese-market NW-ZX707 model. Also have to add, if you get the US version, the Bluetooth headphones won't be affected by the US model's built-in diminished output levels. But if you want both worlds, then the Japanese-market NW-ZX707 model is the way to go and to be honest for 900 bucks it should sound better than 250 bucks.
You ALSO need to know that the design is a virtual copy of the excellent, older, DAP - the PIONEER XDP-100R-K
how this compare to the tempotec v3?
I heard many bag things about the V3's reliability, so I'd be more comfortable to recommend these over the V3
How does this compare to the Hidizs AP80 Pro-X? Is it worth upgrading for the sound of will there just be a bigger screen?
O boy I had it. The balanced output broke. THIS is Android AND has wifi. That means you can stream apps such as Tidal or Qobuz and Even listening offline and with wifi You can use airplay. Also 4.4 output is physically stronger than the 2.5 of ap80 which does not have NONE of this functions. To sum up, R4 is bigger but more complete
what game is dis?
Hiby R4 overheating issue!!
I'm quite disappointed with the product. Although it looks impressive and should be worth more than $600, just by looking at it, it appears to have been built with cheap components and has poor heat dissipation. Mine is overheating; I cannot even touch it. Is anyone having this issue?
yes it does overheat, even in offline mode
while I prefer the look of the device, I have to put the case to reduce the heat in my hand
without the case, that hot metal frame will give me burn mark
Thanks for info, looks like a cool gadget.
very tempting stuff
might get snatched somewhere like philippines 🤣
Damn didnt realize this was special edition for China only..now im stuck with this brick....
"Great Review!!!" I just bought the orange player. I was torn between the R6 Pro Gen 2 this RUclipsr Luke Reid from the UK is selling his Hiby R6 Pro Gen 2 but he's in the UK but since I'm in the US I would be paying over $400.00 to have it shipped here to the US and he's charging $349.00 dollars UK price and I could get Affirm payments but I have to ) $311.00 as a down payment just to get the $20.00 dollars a month payment. Since my husband gave me $200.00 from our income tax we got back I went ahead and ordered the Hiby R4 in orange. I remember from your short video here on RUclips if you have $200.00 lying around well I got $200.00 along with a $10.00 coupon Hiby gave me so I only $239.00 instead of $249.00 for it and I but one and I can't wait to get it!!! 🤗❤️🤗❤️🤗❤️
Why do they have to make a color a Chinese only exclusive 😭😭😭
Correction on this, it's just the class AB amp and rock tune that is Chinese only. The black colorway is available for international
THANKS FOR THE REVIEW LOL
I wish there were more pocketable android DAPs out there, mostly for the capability to stream. I can't deny that most of my favourite songs were discovered from algorithm recommendations.
Biggest limitation is just the software support (Streaming apps will outright refuse to work anymore if outdated enough) and that most Android DAPs are the same size as a smartphone, mainly for battery reasons (I only use two pockets ffs)
It's like carrying an old Walkman😂 to bulky, why not use your phone 😅
headphone jack
for 250 dont use case, whats the point may aswell enjoy it, it's not 2.5k
Mp3 player???
Nah, battery life that bad, is NOT to be expected.
lol
It kinda is for the power and amplification that it can provide, for the sound its awesome! I think more ram would have been better than more battery life, it can power all of my planars Edition XS/Sundara and HD6XX no problem. Its not a phone, its a powerful DAP!
you sound like a auctioneer slow down
First frrrrr
First #2
@@ImAWSMDanny ya'll are too fast wtf
Weak, less than cost, don,t suggest.
Slow down. And use punctuation when you speak. You should like a bad text-to-speech app.
Google play services?