If this had to be my first and last DAP review, having had the new HiBy R5 (Gen 2) as the subject of interest would have left me happy. There was so much to test and play with on the software and hardware fronts that this effectively became one of the most intriguing items I have reviewed in a long time. The DAP had a launch offer of $399 for a couple of weeks, which seems bonkers in hindsight, and even $450 is an attractive price for everything you get. As you can see, I did have to reach deep to generate some of the cons listed above, and I am overall impressed with what HiBy has put forth.

This is not a perfect DAP though, and my lack of experience with DAPs might well mean I missed a few things, too. But the biggest fault to me is the aging chipset and Android build, which HiBy could have certainly rectified but may well have deliberately chosen not to for product segmentation. While it's not as critical just yet, there will always be questions regarding how long third-party apps will support Android 8.1, as well as whether having this older, unsupported OS connected online bears security risks. On the hardware front, the over 6 year old Qualcomm SoC comes without Bluetooth 5.0, let alone Bluetooth 5.2, so some of the newer TWS sets can't perform to their best even though HiBy has alleviated the pain with long battery life, quick charging, and novel codec support. WiFi 6 would have been nice, but this is less an issue for the price considering most people will be fine with Wireless AC for file transfers. More often than not, WiFi will be used for music streaming, and some of the built-in system-wide features of HiBy OS are extremely handy—do go through the pages on the software section in this review for more. I even had a software update show up right after submitting this review, which added a few more features, such as double tap to wake, and continuous improvement here is good to see.

The basics are well-executed too, with good I/O support for both single-ended and balanced configurations and a highly-efficient ESS DAC for economy mode, which can drive most devices you would typically use with a DAP. Class A amplification in this price range is also unheard of, and ups the ante in balanced mode, making this a fantastic source with more demanding, higher-end headphones, too. I do wish a volume knob would have been included instead, which just adds to the list of improvements that are on HiBy's more expensive players. The market for such dedicated audio players is in my opinion going to increase, and HiBy with the new R5 Gen 2 is well placed to makes its name here.