HIBY R6 PRO II: Truly Versatile Multimedia Device

Digital Audio Players or simply known as DAPs are types of multimedia devices that are specifically for listening to high-quality music. Not simply listening to it but to be more immersed in the high fidelity audio quality that few selected portable media devices are able to offer. These devices have unusual components such as powerful amps, high quality DAC audio chips and complex circuitry for better power delivery. With the absence of headphone jacks on current smartphones and if adding a DAC/Amps dongle is a bit of a hassle for portability to be put in a pocket, DAPs are the logical solution for portable audio enthusiasts.

HIBY Music is one of the well-known audio companies that specialises in making this kind of multimedia devices and they have extensive experience, with their dedicated research and development team along with strong logistical support and capable marketing arm for altogether developing, making and selling such portable DAPs. HIBY Music DAPs are quite well-known have a good reputation in the audio community for overall performance and build quality.

What makes this review article even  more special is that this is actually my first product review on a DAP device. What I have here is their latest device, The HIBY R6 PRO II. This is HIBY's current DAP model in the midrange segment and like some of its competitors, it is loaded with advanced audio technology features that an audio enthusiast could ask for.

On physical aspects, HIBY R6 PRO II is quite large and has a thick profile for a DAP compared to some DAPs that I've tested before but it has its benefits that will be more functional and usable. It has 5.9 inches on its screen with a 1080p resolution on its IPS display to give a more vivid and crisp colour reproduction for viewing its user interface.

In the left side of the panel, there are some buttons with some basic functions for Play & Stop, Next and Previous tracks. There's also a micro SD card slot for more extended capacity for more audio tracks. On the right side, there is an LED indicator for charging and determining the sampling rate or type of an audio codec in which I will post it later and another set of buttons for power and volume control. At the bottom part of this device, there are some interfaces for both analogue and digital. The placement of these audio interfaces are quite symmetrical that there are four different types of audio jacks on both sides while a USB Type-C port is at the centre part. The said audio jacks are of 3.5mm SE and 4.4mm Balanced interfaces which are divided for different types of output, the Line out (LO) which is generally use for desktop power amplifiers and Power out (PO) which is a standard use for headphones, earphones and speakers. All the interfaces are gold-plated to ensure better resistance to corrosion while enhancing its conductivity and lessening its wear and heat for longevity of its ports. The USB type-C is a 2.0 and also compatible with 3.1 protocol that can maintain up to 10Gbps of data transfer speed and it can support both Qualcomm 3.0 fast charging and PD (Power Delivery) 18w to replenish the battery power faster.

At the rear part of R6 PRO II, there we will look upon its asymmetrical design element on its back plate which is quite futuristic and also, it seems that it takes some design cues from hyper cars. On its back plate, there is a wavy patterns on the bottom part while at the centre, there's a triangular shape where the HIBY logo print was etched. At the top part, there is a carbon-fibre sheet that was topped with high quality tempered glass.

In overall construction, HIBY R6 PRO II's case chassis is made of a solid aircraft-grade CNC-milled aluminium alloy and it has a total dimension of 147.45mm x 75.2mm x 15mm with an approximate weight at 285g which makes this portable device on a heftier side. With its sturdy build quality, R6 PRO II is indeed a very solid device that can take some heavy and rough usage.

Regarding its LED colour indicator, here are some description of its colour code:

RED - Charging mode

CYAN - 24 to 32 bit, 96Khz to 1536KHz PCM mode

BLUE - Pause mode

GREEN - MQA decoding mode, rated unfolding up to 16x

YELLOW GREEN - 16 to 24 bit, 44.1 - 48Khz PCM mode

WHITE - DSD mode, rated up to DSD1024.

Inside of its structure, HIBY diligently implemented the best possible components on this device. This one has a mid-range processor, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 665 that was known to be a reliable chipset despite its age, and it has decent speed and processing power up to 2 GHz. It also has an A.I. to support some capabilities like better sensors, improvement tasks on software algorithms and biometric systems. The chipset itself has quite capable connectivity like Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Its Wi-Fi spectral band can support up to 5GHz for seamless connection on streaming to your favourite music service, while its Bluetooth connectivity which has 5.0 version which offers better wireless connection with less latency. With its bluetooth capabilities, The HIBY R6 PRO II will be able to support advanced Bluetooth codecs like Sony's LDAC, Qualcomm's aptX and aptx-HD aside from basic ones such as AAC and SBC along with its TrueWireless Stereo Plus Technology. Another feature of its bluetooth capability is that HIBY has a proprietary bluetooth codec, UAT (Ultra Audio Transmission) that can receive up to 1200 kbps and can support up to 24-bit, 192Khz which is quite a feat for wireless connectivity, and it also has a 2-way system that enables a wireless audio output to serve as a receiver for wired earphones and headphones.

HIBY R6 PRO II has a Li-ion battery with a capacity of 5000 mAh/3.8V. As for its play time rating, on Class AB mode, 3.5mm PO is over 8 hours while 4.4mm PO is around 7 hours, while on Class A in which I don't really use it as I don't have a desktop amplifier, according to HIBY's official specification, it has a play time duration up to 5 to 6 hours due to its power demanding. As for thermal build-up, this device does really get noticeable warm in a normal operation during long play time usage, approximately an hour.

The most critical components that DAPs truly differentiate itself from other modern portable multimedia devices were the application of audiophile-grade Hi-Fi DACs, powerful headphone amplifiers and more complex circuitry design that works in tandem with power supply, oscillators and amplifiers with its bipolar transistors. These components are of high quality and the latest generation of its architecture that few TOTL flagship DAPs can have and HIBY was able to accomplish it with this device.

HIBY R6 PRO II uses the latest generation of AKM (Asahi Kasei Microdevices) DACs, the AK4191EQ and AK4499EX in dual configuration. These DAC chip ICs' are known to be power efficient as it maintains a degree of low distortions and low noises while maximising its sonic quality. Like all AKM chips, it still retains their proprietary sound architecture, The Velvet Sound Technology, in which AKM claims that it delivers an exact and accurate sound reproduction that our ears could perceive naturally.

These DACs are implemented on their All-In audio architecture which is a complex circuitry with I/V conversions, analogue switches and outputs for single-ended and balanced operation. It is also supported with an array of discreet power supplies which their respective inductors are shielded while it has low resistance and high fluctuation rating for better performance on their respective tasks like decoding and output staging with a very minimal chance of power impedance. HIBY also implemented some crystal oscillators from a reputable company that specialises on crystal oscillators, signal generators and millimetre-wave converters, NDK (Nihon Dempa Kogyo). And these crystal oscillators will activate its mechanical resonance via vibration and it will generate precisely some of its electrical signals with jitter and ultra-low noise phases for well-defined analogue sound, better dynamics and improved sonic clarity.

Regarding its amplifier interfaces, it employs both Class A and Class AB modes and can be switched via status bar. The Class A amplifier was powered by dual Texas Instrument OPA1652 along with NXP bipolar transistors for rectifying and filtering current output , faster transient response and eliminating some crossover distortion.

As for its power output rating, On paper, It is rather less remarkable and a bit power conservative visually as it has only 125mW on a 3.5mm single ended output and 383mW on a 4.4mm balanced jack in a 32 ohms load which might be an issue to some power hungry cans but right now, I only have IEMs to pair with it and most of them have low to normal impedance rating. This device is suffice enough to drive most of my IEMs and even with magnetic planar transducers which are notoriously power hungry for its output requirement, R6 PRO II will easily amplify them without any issues. I even think that this device could be paired with some IEMs that are quite finicky and very sensitive to sources like Campfire Audio Andromeda.

For more technical explanation on concerns regarding its power output, check it out here for more comprehensive detail.

With the latest generation and very capable audio chips that this device has, it has one of the highest decoding capabilities in the midrange DAP segment that can process a very high sampling rate and bit depth on both PCM (Pulse-code modulation) and DSD (Direct Stream Digital) formats. The PCM lossless formats like FLAC, ALAC and WAV, can reach up to 32-bit/1536KHz while the DSD native decoding is rated up to DSD1024 which is really mind blowing in my opinion given that I have some saved audio files with high bitrate. It is also noted that this device is also MQA-certified and it can unfolds up to 16x for better replay.

As for its screen resolution and mobile operating system, HIBY R6 PRO II has a 1080 x 2160 HD resolution in a 5.9mm IPS screen which is quite similar to my old flagship smartphone, LG V20. Regarding its OS, it has Android 12 in which HIBY heavily modified its UI and optimises its functionality to have a better software integration that is able to execute a system-wide bit perfect audio output and customise plug-ins. It is also noted that this device has a charging optimisation like trickling charging once its reaches an optimum power level to avoid overheating and at the same time, to extend its battery health.

This device has an internal build-in memory storage of 64GB ROM along with 4GB of RAM. With the inclusion of memory card slot on this device, we can expand the memory storage with microSD cards that can support up to 2 terabyte theoretically.

On its software aspects, The status and notification bar retains some of its basic features that a typical Android UI has like Internet, Bluetooth, Auto-rotate and Settings but HIBY even added more functionalities and settings specifically for audio improvements like advance audio settings, gain mode and amplifier switch mode. Overall, its user interface is pretty snappy and responsive and it appears that it supports multi-touch capacitive contact gestures.

Under audio settings, there's a digital tuning filters to choose from, amplification operation, gain mode, plug-ins (system-wide), MSEB (Mage Sound Eight Ball), DSD gain compensation, channel balance, volume level and MQA decoder.

Speaking of MSEB, this particular setting was HIBY's proprietary advanced software algorithm feature that combines parametric equalisation and sound field adjustments. This feature is quite very helpful to attained your sound target preference in a less hassle and more easy to use functionality. This one is also fully integrated into their HIBY MUSIC app.

On gain mode, there's three options to choose from, either low, medium and high gain modes. These gains will able to deliver more power output depends on the impedance requirement of an earphone or headphone.

In system-wide audio plug-ins, here are some features that you can try and do some experiment for better audio experience:

DRX10K - it adjusts and enhances the dynamics to some parts of the frequency range. It gives some boosts to have more punch and even more snappier. It somehow removes some muddiness and bloat on bass while removing some sibilance and possible harshness in treble response.

Balance - Adjustment of both left and right channel balance.

Sound Field - It adds some space in a perceived sound field, slightly improved its stereo imaging.

Fixed Sample Rate - This is rather a experimental as you might encounter no sound output from your device. It is nominally used to fix a sample rate.

Convolution - This plug-in will only take effect on PCM audio at 44.1 kHz and shouldn't be use with EFO USpatializer or EFO SVirtuallzer due to some possible technical issues.

HIBY R6 II PRO's stock music player which is a "professional" and full version of its highly regarded HIBY Music App which offers more features that makes listening to music more pleasant and enjoyable. You can choose a theme that suits your visual preferences. All known audio file formats either it is lossy or lossless, PCM or DSD, this device is very capable on decoding them all effortlessly.

The product packaging and inclusions of HIBY R6 PRO II is quite satisfying on how it was presented and its accessories were organised. Its packaging box is square-shaped and wide enough to accommodate the contents inside.

Here are the following contents inside:

■ HIBY R6 PRO II DAP

■ Leather case

■ A thick Type-C to Type-C USB cable

■ Extra screen protectors

■ USB Type-A to Type-C adapter

■ Some paperwork like instruction manual, warranty and quality control.

In regard of its tonality, with the implementation of flagship-level, audiophile-grade AKM DACs, HIBY R6 PRO II has a quite neutral sound profile on both tone and timbre, more in a line of a balanced-neutral tonality with its clean, detailed, natural and balanced texture with a tad warmth on its midrange, well-balanced bass and treble response in a pitch black sonic canvas. To be exact, it actually reminds me of how the LOTOO Paw Gold Touch sounds like that HIBY R6 PRO II is able to achieve its tonal quality for at least 80% albeit it has lower power output compared to the said flagship DAP of LOTOO. I can assure that this is not a clinical and analytical type of neutrality as it doesn't sound dry and dead in my humble opinion as it retains some of its musicality aspect.

I will pair the HIBY R6 PRO II with some of my neutral-sounding sets like HIBY Crystal 6 MK.II, LETSHUOER EJ07M, BQEYZ WINTER, BQEYZ WIND AND KINERA IDUN GOLDEN.

Note: There will be no activation of any plug-ins or software equalisers upon testing this device. It will be all in stock settings only. Only the DSD option that I only change, from DOP to Native DSD.

LOWS/BASS:

As usual for a DAP with a balanced-neutral sound profile. The bass quality of HIBY R6 PRO II is quite well-balanced with a sufficient thump, slam and depth while maintaining a clean and separation from the other parts of the frequency range.

There's an apparent sub-bass presence as I evidently felt those reverberations and rumbling sound from synthesisers, octabasses, drum machines and low tone bass guitar. Mid-bass is properly textured and well-controlled as it gives a good definition and natural sound on timbre and tonality of specific vocals and instruments. Bass guitars and double basses have similar sound characteristics as both instruments have a weight, rasping and resonance on them with a sufficient dark tone. Bass kick drums seem to have a rumbling and thudding with deep resonating tone. On bass to bass-baritone vocals, it shows that this device is quite capable of rendering its depth and weight to deliver that woolly and dusky sound with a darker tone.

MIDRANGE:

As an audio enthusiast that values and favours towards a well-textured, clean and detailed midrange. The rendition of midrange quality of HIBY R6 PRO II is absolutely astonishing as I even consider it almost flawless. The Velvet Sound of the AKM DACs are really captivating on how it presents the midrange frequency in a very natural, tidy and pretty articulate manner. While it quite neutral, it still has some musicality and engagement that won't sound too analytical.

The vocals and instruments are well-represented here to have a natural, soothing and almost tonally accurate sound to give that emotive and immersive feel. Both male and female vocals have a sufficient texture, volume and depth that I certainly feel that they sound very thorough. Baritones has lush and richness on their vocals, tenors have clear and dazzling voices and the countertenors have its typical tenderness and smoothness of their vocals. Regarding female vocals, contraltos have a smoky and husky voice while mezzo-sopranos have their fiery, radiant and smooth vocals. And then on sopranos, they are able to project an energetic and airy vocals as I hear a silvery, creamy and silky sound in any type of this specific vocal type.

As for instruments, they all sound natural, precise and well-detailed. Strings like guitars and violins have a crisp, brilliant and vibrant sound from them. On brasses like trumpets, trombones and horns, trumpets have rounded, brilliant and vivid sound while trombones have powerful, brassy and full sound from them, and then on horns, they have these full and resounding qualities with a hint of mellowness. Woodwind instruments have its bright, ethereal, graceful, airy and reedy sound from them, whether it is from picollos, concert flutes, saxophones or clarinets. On some percussives, toms and field drums have a resonant, sonorous and full sound while snares have a sharp and clear sound. Kettledrums have a deep, booming and resonant sound while pianos has a balanced tone as it has both have an ample warmth with a noticeable bright tinge sound on it.

HIGHS/TREBLE:

The treble quality of R6 PRO II is quite neutral on how it sounds into my ears. It has an even and smooth treble response with just a hint of brightness just to give a well-rendered instrument attack and clarity on some female vocals. The evenness and cleanliness on the treble response of this device means that it won't produce any hint of harshness and the sibilance is kept under control to almost imperceptible.

This device is capable of projecting a well-extended airiness with a good amount of sparkle on it. It also gives some accurate timbre and sound characteristics on some instruments like cymbals, hi-hats, glockenspiels and celestas. Cymbals can sound either bright or lustrous while hi-hats still have its chick sound with its shortened buzzing tone. Glockenspiels have a silvery and glistening sound, and then on celestas, they have that bright and ethereal sound that we are familiar with.

SOUNDSTAGE, IMAGING & OTHER TECHNICALITIES:

In terms of sound/speaker stage proportion. R6 PRO II has a naturally wide lateral expansion, good height reach and depth that gives me a fairly spacious head room within my aural sense.

On stereo imaging, it projects a holographic presentation as we can certainly pinpoint the placement of instruments and vocals in a sonic canvas. All the elements within the mix are well-separated as they have a good spacing on each other along the presentation of multi-layer of frequency tones that are well-arranged that even the most complex audio tracks like choral pieces, orchestras and jazz ensembles, R6 PRO II is very capable to play

The R6 PRO II has excellent resolution capability on both macro-dynamics and micro-detail retrieval. It has a well-texture sound with perceivable notation attacks and note ends from both vocals and room resonance. On detail retrieval, it has a good sharp definition that it was able to extract a good amount of details and nuances from an audio track.

PEER COMPARISONS:

IBASSO DX160 (DEMO)

■ This DAP was priced around $400 at the time of its release. Like the R6 PRO II, it has an aluminium alloy frame with 5.0 inches 1080p with volume wheel at the right part of the panel which makes it a smaller frame and lighter one and memory card slot for memory expansion. It was equipped with dual Cirrus Logic DACs that can decode up to DSD256, PCM 32-bit/384kHz and also a MQA-certified one. This device was operated by Android 8 and powered by an older entry-level Qualcomm snapdragon chip. This device has 3 main audio interfaces; 3.5mm SE, 4.4mm balanced and USB Type-C connector.

■ On paper, it has a more power output than the R6 PRO II as its amp staging is quite powerful, up to 3.2Vrms on SE and 6.4Vrms on balanced mode. To be honest, I'm not fond of iBasso's tuning on their DAPs as I also tested some their models, they are a bit too warm in my liking that affects the timbre and tonality of instruments and vocal, and unfortunately, DX160 also display the same type of "in-house" sound.

■ Technicalities-wise, DX160 projects a rather narrow sound/speaker. The separation and layering performance is quite sub-par compared to  R6 PRO II due to less distinct and less defined placement with a bit of congested spatiality on spacing.

ASTELL & KERN SR25 MK.II (DEMO)

■ A&K's entry-level to mid-range model of their A&Norma. Like the R6 pro II, it has an asymmetrical and angular design on its aluminium shell structure which makes it handy and offers better grip. Its audio interfaces consist of 3.5mm SE, 4.4mm balanced while still retaining the 2.5mm balanced audio jack which is a staple feature of A&K series. Entry-level to midrange DAPs are usually implemented with ESS DACs but this time, A&K decided to implement as Cirrus Logic DAC along with their newer circuitry design for better signal along with its silver-plated shielding for better resistant against electromagnetic interference that might affect its output.

■ Tonality-wise, SR25 MK.II has a warmer sounding signature which is typical of A&K in-house tuning. Compared to R6 PRO II, it has a deeper bass response, a lusher and warmer midrange and similar treble response with lesser airy extension while having a good sparkle and energy.

■ This device's technical aspect is quite capable, but compared to R6 PRO II, it has a less spacious sound/speaker stage and resolution is rather above average in my opinion as the SR25 MK.II is less defined particularly on micro-dynamics.

SONY NW-A105 (DEMO)

■ This is part of Sony's Walkman series with Android OS in their midrange DAP line-up. It appears to have an under 4.0 inch screen size with decent resolution that are sharp enough to be viewed in different angles. It has more tactile key buttons as you will feel its snappier and more tactile response. It has 16GB of internal memory which is quite inadequate for today's requirements especially on DSD and higher PCM formats but the good thing is that it has a microSD slot for memory expansion. Unfortunately, it only has a 3.5mm SE as its main audio interface but at least it has a rather minimalist stock Android OS that offers smooth UI response.

■ In terms of power output, its a bit lacking but enough for IEMs with single dynamics or hybrid driver configuration. Even my LG devices have better power output than this device. As for tonality, it has that typical Sony in-house sound profile, a very warm and fun sound that simply makes it more engaging rather than to experience a better high fidelity experience. When I tested it along with CA Andromeda (also a demo unit from a store that also sells Sony products), I remember that I hear a slightly audible hiss from it.

■ Like most Sony DAPs that I've tested (including the "venerable" MW1Z), it doesn't have the best technical capabilities as it won't give you the widest sound field dimensions nor the most well-defined separation and layering that it won't able to touch the superb technical capabilities of R6 PRO II.

To summarise my assessment of HIBY R6 PRO II, this is one of the few DAPs that truly amazes me on how this device along with its rich features peculiar design cues, solidly built, new generation AKM DACs, more audio interfaces and exquisite sound quality that only TOTL flagship DAPs can offer.

As I conclude this review, despite of having a lower power output compare to some of its contemporaries, its main aspects wereits impressive decoding capabilities, remarkable technical capabilities and superb clarity on its sound quality while retaining a semblance of musicality that only few devices are able to match. HIBY R6 PRO II is one of the few devices that will probably stand among the titans in the DAP segment.

HIBY R6 PRO II is currently available in HIBY's official store, check the unaffiliated link below if you are interested to purchase it.

★★HIBY R6 PRO II - OFFICIAL STORE★★

PROS:

△ Overall solid construction with asymmetrical and angular design cues.

△ Crisp and vivid high resolution screen.

△ Separate LO (Line Output) and PO (Power Output) audio interfaces, both have 3.5mm SE and 4.4mm balanced output jacks.

△ Qualcomm Quick charge and power delivery compliant device.

△ It has a decently capable processor for basic computation and operational tasks.

△ Latest flagship AKM DAC chips for the best possible decoding capability.

△ Eyebrow raising decoding bit depth and sampling rate, MQA unfolding up to 16x.

△ 5000 mAH battery 

△ Android 12 OS

△ Inclusion of high quality PU leather case.

△ Balanced-neutral tuning for discerning audiophiles.

△ Sufficient punchiness on bass response, rich, texture yet detailed midrange and crisp with ample sparkle on its already airy treble.

△ System-wide plugins are quite useful to tailor your preferred sound quality.

△ MSEB is the probably one of the best parametric EQ out there.

△ Impressive technical capabilities.

△ Capable to drive some of the capricious IEM sets out there especially with magnetic planars.

CONS:

▽ On paper, might be underpowered to drive some of the power demanding cans out there in the market.

▽ Wishing for a volume wheel for better finger response.

▽ Might be too large or heavy to some users.

▽ Battery life despite of its large battery capacity.

Some Tracks Tested: ( * = 16-bit FLAC, ** = 24-bit FLAC, *'* = MQA, '*' = DSD, *'= .WAV)

Alison Krauss -When You Say Nothing At All *

Jade Wiedlin - Blue Kiss**

Led Zeppelin - When The Levee Breaks **

Mountain - Mississippi Queen *

Queen - Killer Queen **

Guns N' Roses - Patience *'*

Eric Clapton - Tears in Heaven '*'

Sergio Mendes- Never Gonna Let You Go '*'

Pearl Jam - Daughter **

Roselia - Hidamari Rhodonite *

Assassin - Fight (To Stop The Tyranny)*

Celtic Frost- Visual Aggression *

New Order - Blue Monday *

The Corrs- What Can I do (unplugged version) *

Jimi Hendrix Experience - Voodoo Child *

The Madness- Buggy Trousers *

Metallica - Motorbreath **

Mariah Carey- Always Be My Baby *

Destiny's Child - Say My Name *

Malice Mizer- Au Revoir *

Mozart - Lacrimosa *

New York Philharmonic Orchestra - Dvorak- Symphony 9 " From the New World." *

Eva Cassidy - Fields of Gold (Sting cover)*

Michael Jackson - Give In To Me *

Exciter - Violence and Force *

Diana Krall - Stop This World **

Debbie Gibson - Foolish Beat *'*

The Sisters of Mercy – Lucretia My Reflection**

Suzanne Vega – Luka **

Lauren Christy – Steep *

Ottoman Mehter - Hucum Marsi *

Diana Damrau - Mozart: Die Zauberflöte*

Type O Negative - Black No.1 *

Felix Ayo - Vivaldi: Presto **

Three Tenors - Nessum Dorma *

Mercyful Fate - Witches' Dance *

P.S.

I am not affiliated to HIBY MUSIC nor receive monetary incentives and financial gains as they provide me a review unit for an exchange of factual and sincere feedback from yours truly.

Once again, I would like to send my gratitude to JOSEPH  YEUNG of HIBY MUSIC for providing this review unit. I truly appreciate his generosity and trust towards me and other reviewers.