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In the past, phones used to be phones and that was it. You could make calls, send text messages, and play some simple games, but that was pretty much it. This led to the creation of dedicated music players like the iPod, Zune, and so on. These days, digital audio players still exist but they’re typically aimed at the enthusiast. If you’re thinking of taking your audio experience to the next level, then perhaps the HiBy R8 II could be for you.
Design and build
At first glance, it’s very obvious that the folks at HiBy paid a lot of attention to the design of the R8 II. The device is made from a surgical-grade high-gloss stainless steel chassis. But what’s unique about the R8 II compared to other digital audio players is the use of Alcantara material.
This is a suede-like material that offers a soft and luxurious feel to the touch. If it sounds familiar, it is because Microsoft had previously used the same Alcantara material for some of its Surface devices.
The R8 II also looks very much like a smartphone too. It comes with a 5.9-inch touchscreen display. It is also built on Android 12, so if you’re an Android smartphone user, you shouldn’t have too much issue navigating the interface. In fact, it’s a good thing they chose to use Android as it is a more familiar experience as opposed to creating something entirely from scratch.
The HiBy R8 II is also quite a thick and heavy device. It measures 149x78x23mm and weighs 515 grams. It is not light by any means, but the heft does lend a certain feeling of durability to it. It is something you should definitely keep in mind, especially since you’ll be carrying it along with a pair of earphones or headphones as well.
High-quality components
Now we can’t talk about a digital audio player without talking about the audio experience. Some of you might be wondering, why on earth would you buy a dedicated audio player when your phone gets the job done just fine. You would be correct. Our phones do a great job of playing music. They can be used to surf the web too, reply to messages, play games, and more.
But one key aspect that some of you might be missing is the audio components. Dedicated digital audio players, like the HiBy R8 II, place a heavy emphasis on the audio components. This isn’t to say phone makers ignore it outright, but it isn’t quite a high priority since it’s a more niche feature that isn’t quite as marketable compared to boasting about clock speeds, display technology, and cameras.
For the R8 II, the company has included the use of 4 tube-like Elna audio capacitors that will result in an analog and detailed sound character. There are also 28 high-density, high-capacity tantalum capacitors, along with two dedicated high-frequency crystal oscillators. According to HiBy, this will help provide atomic clock accuracy when it comes to digital audio samples.
All-new Darwin-MPA architecture
The HiBy R8 II uses the all-new Darwin-MPA architecture. Input signals are oversampled to 128x via the filter system. This helps to emulate non-oversampling functionality you might find in DACs.
The built-in DAC also has a 16-way current mode, which when combined with I-V conversion and lowpass in the output stage results in an extremely detailed soundstage while also being power efficient.
Powerful Class A/AB amp
Also, another thing that some handsets don’t have are powerful amps. For most consumer-grade headphones, this isn’t an issue. But if you happen to own an audiophile-grade pair of headphones, having a powerful amp is necessary in order to drive it to its fullest capabilities. The R8 II has no such issue. It comes with a Class A/AB dual headphone amp powered by 2 ADA4625-2 driver opamps and 16 custom transistors. This will create zero crossover distortion and a faster response.
The use of these amps also gives users more “control” over their headphones. This allows users to better finetune their sound to create an experience best suited to their needs and listening preferences.
Listening experience
So what does this all mean when it comes to the listening experience? Obviously this will boil down to the headphones or IEMs that you choose to use. Then again, chances are if you’re looking into the R8 II, you probably own a pair of headphones or IEMs that can take full advantage of it.
If that is the case, you can rest assured that the R8 II has excellent synergy with various headphones and IEMs out there. It offers pretty spectacular soundstaging, giving you the impression that you’re in a concert hall (more on that later). It also offers incredible detail and note separation to allow you to hear every instrument and note clearly.
While it isn’t exactly a bass-heavy digital media player, it does seem to enhance the bass and treble qualities from songs. This might actually be perfect for some of you who would rather listen to how a song was meant to be mixed, as opposed to being colored by software or hardware.
Tuned for classical music
Now, the HiBi R8 II already offers a pretty insane listening experience and you can pretty much use it for any genre of music you want and get fantastic sound. But if you’re someone who appreciates classical music, then this is where the R8 II shines.
There is a reason why concert halls designed for classical music are built the way they are. This is because classical instruments generally rely heavily on the inherent qualities of the instrument. Having an acoustically treated concert hall helps to amplify those qualities.
With the R8 II, HiBy has tuned it to maintain the “Portable Concert Hall” sound signature from the original R8. It goes one step further by improving on the density and detail of the sound from classical music tracks. Ultimately, this results in users being able to experience the openness that one might expect when they attend a classical music performance.
Battery life
Since the HiBy R8 II is a portable digital audio player, it runs on batteries. The company has equipped the device with a massive 12,000mAh battery. They claim that this should result in 11-21 hours of battery life, depending on the mode you’re using it in. This is quite substantial, especially if you plan on taking it on the road with you.
Pricing & availability
If you think that the HiBy R8 II is a digital audio player that you think you can get on board with, it is available via HiBy’s website. It is priced at $1,999 which is honestly not cheap at all, but if you value sound quality above all else and want to enjoy music at the possibly quality on the go, it could be a great investment. For more details or to purchase, hop on over to their website!
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