Introduction

Since I started covering audio on TechPowerUp last year, I've mentioned digital audio players (DAPs) in many a headphones and IEMs review. Music players were the norm not that long ago, before phones with tech that blew away the "dumb" players of yesteryear. In an ironic twist, it is again phones that have led to the resurgence of dedicated music players since phone makers rather make money off Bluetooth earphones as separate accessories, and the lack of the humble 3.5 mm jack is the biggest part of it. There are some phones with audio out over the Type-C port, for example, but the associated digital-to-analog converter (DAC) and amplifier are found wanting more often than not. The obvious solution would be to get a cheap dongle, or even a portable DAC/amp, wired or wireless, and we have covered many of them, from the likes of FiiO, Qudelix, Earmen, iFi Audio, Ikko, Aune, and many others. But it makes for a second device paired to your phone, and even there, it means using streaming services or hoping your phone has enough storage for local files. There's a market for DAPs again, and HiBy is among the more popular brands in this market.


I mentioned in my accompanying review of the HiBy Lasya IEMs that HiBy has an exceptional R&D team that has been awarded multiple patents, having come up with innovations galore, including its own Bluetooth codec and Android skin. HiBy OS is an extremely popular Android build for DAPs, so much so that it has been adopted by other companies that make and sell DAPs, too. Today, we examine the newest HiBy DAP offering, the HiBy R5 (Gen 2), which is also referred to as the HiBy R5 II. It aims to be the new standard for DAPs with a premium feature set without breaking the bank and is part of HiBy's player lineup that begins with the inexpensive R2 and ends on the flagship class R8. It promises neat features, such as a dedicated Class A amplifier mode and up to 35 hours of play time, which should grab your eye if you are intrigued by the concept of a DAP. Thanks to HiBy for providing TechPowerUp a review sample via HiFiGo! Be sure to click on the thumbnails below twice for the specifications; one for the player as a whole and the other dedicated to its audio output.

Packaging and Accessories

The HiBy R5 (Gen 2) DAP and Lasya IEMs arrived together, and I was surprised by the in two dimensions larger packaging for the Lasya. But it soon made sense as the form factor of the R5 Gen 2 is closer to a phone, which not only makes the flatter product box more convenient as it means more boxes fit into a shipping crate or onto a pallet for overseas transportation. HiBy must definitely like blue, with the product box again adopting a darker blue base with the company and product name on the front. Perhaps HiBy decided to re-use older packaging as there is no mention of Gen 2 anywhere on the back either, which instead has contact information for HiBy and some warnings about the internal battery in multiple languages. More branding is on the sides, and as there is no seal, the top is lifted up to access the contents inside. The thick cardboard and a soft inner lining protect the contents on their way to you.


The DAP is in thick foam on the sides and has pre-installed screen protectors with a peel-off sticker alerting you to remove them, which is nice for those who want to have a screen protector, and the absence of any information on what the display glass is made out of means it's probably best to keep the screen protectors on the front and back alike. There's a pull tab to lift up the foam sheet and access the accessories in the bottom, including a cardboard pamphlet that is a handy multi-language quick start guide for initial setup and usage; QC verification card, warranty card you will hopefully not have to use anytime soon, and another screen protector, which is generous of HiBy and means the pre-installed one may be replaced down the line.


Given this is my first DAP review, I was not sure what to expect going in. But even a cursory search for what comes with other DAPs shows a protective case is not all that common, at least not as much as the charging cable, which is a given and the usual short USB Type-A to Type-C cable to charge the internal battery. It does come with gold-plated connectors for oxidation resistance, so that's something. The case is made out of polyurathane marketed as PU leather, or just leather in some zealous circumstances. It is available in a few different color options—orange, Tiffany Blue, and red—as an optional purchase for $25, but the DAP itself comes with this dark blue case in the box. It is ~2 mm thick and feels sturdy, with well-executed stitching to complete the look along with the leather-style texture on the outside. Notice the various cutouts, but we'll see how it fits the DAP on the next page.

Closer Examination

The moment you take the HiBy R5 (Gen 2) out of the box and peel off the protective plastic over the screen protectors, you'll realize this is very much like one of those thick Android phones that market a 10,000 mAh battery for long operating times before you need to recharge it. Measuring 123 x 71 x 16 mm and weighing ~220 g, the DAP feels extremely solid despite the glass everywhere, and anyone with a modern phone will feel a pang of nostalgia for the form factor from a few years ago. The player is black and sports a 4.7" IPS display in a 16:9 aspect ratio. Bezels are relatively thin on the top and sides, with most of the business on the bottom, where we see HiBy branding as well. The left side has four tactile buttons—power, track next, pause/play, and track back—to allow for dedicated media playback controls which work irrespective of whether the display is on or the phone unlocked. There is a small indicator LED next to the power button, and everything is placed symmetrically around the central line that has slightly beveled edges to help hold the DAP in the hands.


The matte finish continues on the other side, where we see volume control buttons. This is where I was left underwhelmed since I would have much rather seen a volume wheel or even slider. These are wider than the buttons on the other side, but you need to step up to the HiBy R6 to get the wheel. Next to the volume up button is a microSD card slot, with the HiBy R5 (Gen 2) able to accept <2 TB storage cards. I did check with a 1 TB microSD card for fun, and the player had no problem recognizing it and the files. The top side is glass again, which helps place WiFi and Bluetooth antennas without disrupting signal strength much. The bottom is the business side, and we again get the smooth matte finish here. We get the I/O ports, beginning with a 3.5 mm TRS single-ended headphone out/line out port on the left, expected Type-C port in the middle for power and data connectivity, and popular balanced 2.5 mm and 4.4 mm TRRS ports for earphones. The 4.4 mm port future-proofs the HiBy R5 (Gen 2) since portable audio is heading that way, but it also costs a pretty penny to incorporate at this time, which is worth keeping in mind when we wrap up the review and talk about pricing. The back comes with the pre-installed protector over the glass, which is still smooth to the touch and keeps the branding and certification shining underneath. You now know that HiBy is a house brand from Dongguan SmartAction Technology Co., LTD, and that this DAP has been certified for Hi-Res Audio over both wired and wireless.


Using the provided case is as simple as aligning the buttons with the respective case indents and pushing the DAP in place. The case is a snug fit and quite good in the hands for a bundled offering, and there's no aftermarket option at this time, so you have the grand total of two options—naked or this case. The tactility of the buttons is slightly reduced, but what irked me more is that this first-party case made specifically for the R5 Gen 2 has the cutouts in the wrong place. Take that partially obstructed indicator LED, for example. The worse offender is the I/O ports, where someone didn't realize the wordings are placed above the ports and slightly covered by the case. This could have easily been solved by placing the text at the bottom instead, which would have made the HiBy R5 (Gen 2) a more polished product.


It's now time to turn on the HiBy R5 (Gen 2), which is as simple as pressing down on the power button for a few seconds. The screen lights up in all its 1280x720 glory, making this a ~320 PPI IPS display that gets plenty bright indoors and is more than usable outdoors. The HiBy logo shows up in white as the system boots up, and the blue indicator LED on the side further confirms the boot-up process even before you see the logo. Given my set shipped from HiFiGo in China, it defaulted to Mandarin, and I had to use my phone's live translate feature to select a language and confirm before entering the language settings and adding English. Funnily enough, that was not enough as I still had to move English above Mandarin in the languages list, and only then was the system set to work and respond in English. Seen above is a photo of the HiBy R5 (Gen 2) fully booted, and the standard booting time is on the order of 22–23 seconds, which is not bad at all, but certainly not class leading. The shared images will all be screenshots since I want to go over the software experience before coming back to the hardware.