HiBy R8 the world's first 4G flagship R8 Music player available on August 20th

Updated: Hiby R8 pro will see you officially on August, 20th, announced by Hiby. 

 

A lot of companies have been announcing virtual online product launching events for their new devices over the past few months. HiBy has decided that it's going to do the same.

HiBy has a very high reputation in the audio market. They have been producing some brilliant products like the HiBy R6, R6 Pro, R3 Pro audio players that are praised heavily by the audiophiles for their consistent performance and premium build quality. 

It was just a few moments ago that HiBy unveiled to the world via live stream the details of their new flagship DAP, the new HiBy R8.
The surprise was that HiBy announced two versions of their upcoming R8.
An all Aluminum alloy version and another stainless steel version.

Display:

The latest R8 player features a 5.5 Full HD 1080P IPS Display.

Powerful Processor and GPU:

Designed with 4G connectivity in mind, HiBy's newest R8 comes prepared with the flagship Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 660 Mobile Platform which includes the Adreno 512 mobile graphics unit.
This is the most powerful processor employed in any portable DAP to date.

4G network support:

The stainless steel version of the R8 feature a dedicated data-SIM slot for 4G connectivity. Allowing users to stream and download music anywhere without dependency on Wifi wireless connections. (No voice call support). This also allows for seamless upgrades OTA at any time.

Operating system:

HiBy R8 runs the newest HiBy OS on top of Android 9.0. The combination of the Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 660 and Android 9.0 allowed HiBy to obtain GMS certification for the R8, this means that users won't have any problem downloading and using any applications from the play store along with a silky smooth and snappy user interface.

Storage and ROM:

The stainless steel version has 6G of RAM and 128GB of internal storage capacity. While the Aluminum alloy version has 4G of RAM along with 64GB of internal storage.  

Both models feature a USB 3.1 Type-C interface for fast file transfer and support MicroSD cards with a theoretical capacity of up to 2TB.

Battery:

The R8 has a gargantuan 10,000mAh (38Wh) battery.

HiBy revealed that they went with a custom battery choice for two purposes, one to have the longest battery life possible and two to be able to deliver a high voltage/current output.

Dual AK4497 AKM DACs:

HiBy went with a dual-DAC design composed of dual AKM4497 DAC chips supporting up to 768/32 bit PCM and DSD512.
The AK4497 DAC chip has a great battery life and easily capable of delivering a high current output and high 117dB of SNR (Signal to noise ratio)

ELNA Capacitors:

The PCB of the R8 feature 4 high-quality Aluminum ELNA SILMIC II capacitors. These are newly deloped audio grade capacitors developed by Japanese company ELNA. The raw material for the separate paper uses silk fibers.

Jitter:

For the lowest Jitter levels, HiBy utilized two femtosecond ultra-low jitter crystal oscillators programmed by their own custom FPGA to ensure the best clock accuracy.

Power output:

HiBy revealed monstrous power out specs, The R8 is capable of 5.9 Vrms 1088mW@32Ω with THD+N ≤ 0.00083% and 3.1 Vrms 300mW@32Ω with THD+N ≤ 0.00065%.
The company revealed its custom-designed [OP02] op-amps used in reaching these impressive levels of power output.
 

Output impedance:

Output impedance is comfortably low, 0,4Ω for single-ended output, and 0.8Ω for the balanced output, this ensures the best frequency response the best damping factor for low impedance headphones and IEMs.

Suitable for very low impedance headphones and IEMs.

Noise floor:

For the 4.4mm balanced output, the noise level is ≤ 8.4uVrms.

As for the single-ended ≤ 4.6uVrms.

This is very impressive. Highly sensitive IEM users will have no problem using this extremely quiet DAP.

Turbo mode:

For the hard to drive headphones/IEMs, The R8 features an all-new "Turbo mode". According to the HiBy, they included this mode specifically for high impedance headphones that require a lot more power and voltage.
With a simple toggle, Turbo mode dramatically increases the power output and delivers a higher voltage level. However, this level of output power is not suitable for highly sensitive IEMs.

Line out:

The R8 includes not one, but two line-out ports. one 3.5mm port with 10K impedance, 2Vrms output, and a THD+N ≤ 0.0004%. And another 4.4mm output port with 10K impedance, 4.1 Vrms output, and THD+N ≤ 0.00046%.

Volume Control:

The R8 also features a luxurious pro-audio-grade Japanese ALPS volume knob for a tactile and accurate volume adjustment.

MQA:

The newest R8 player also includes full MQA support, capable of fully decoding up to 16x MQA files at the hardware level.

Wireless connectivity:
The latest R8 player includes Bluetooth 5.0 support as well as DLNA, AirPlay, Wi-Fi music transfer, and HiBy Link for easy remote control of the DAP.

Cooling:

The R8 is designed for those who pursue the ultimate sound quality.
Due to the high power output of the R8 and the two AK4497 DAC chips. HiBy went through a lot of effort to ensure the device does not get hot. They utilized a fully independent shield to isolate the components and utilizing excellent heat conductor Graphene to achieve the best possible heat dissipation.

A surprise appearance:

Towards the end of the Livestream, HiBy thrilled their fans with the surprise appearance of one of DUNU's top senior acoustic engineers Mr. 'Andy' Zhao.Mr. Zhao talked briefly about his experience using the HiBy R8 accompanied by the company's flagship IEM, the latest DUNU Luna.

 

Availability:

The Aluminum alloy version with 64G is priced at CNY 12,988 in China market and expected to start shipping on June 6, while the bigger 128G ROM stainless steel version priced at CNY15,988 expected to start shipping on June 22. Hiby didn't unveil MSRP and available date for oversea market  in the press conference. 

Obviously, the HiBy R8 will be compared to other Flagship DAPs in our collection and will be reviewed soon.