HiBy R5 Saber
HiBy R5 Saber
The Saber difference
The R5 standard edition gives a warm, smooth sound while the Saber edition ruthlessly cuts through the most complex of recordings to reveal detail for all to hear..
Resolution beyond its peers
4 470µF Panasonic electrolytic caps round out the output stage to increase current capability for transient response..
Panasonic electrolytic caps.
With this state of the art Digital HIFI Decoder for home audio, office, or desktop use, you will hear a difference and clarity in your audio system whether you use speakers or headphones
Bigger than it looks
Weighing only 160g, with a 4” 16.8 million colour LCD taking up almost the whole front bezel, the R5 is as big as it is handy. With 3.5mm SE and 4.4mm balanced headphone and line outputs and up to 1040+1040mW@16Ω of drive power through 4.4mm, this tiny package is as big as almost any headphone needs..
Systemwide MSEB for your customized sound .
Systemwide MageSound Eight-ball tuning board allows you to tune the player’s sound to your specific headphones and listening tastes. Note: Systemwide MSEB available on firmware v1.6 and higher, does not effect DSD, MQA. Only processes onboard headphone outputs (i.e. excludes Bluetooth, USB, line and coaxial digital outputs).
All-format audio support
Fully supporting DSD, DXD, APE, AIFF, FLAC, WAV and WMA lossless music formats; MP3, AAC, WMA, OGG etc. lossy formats; also MQA..
MQA Support
MQA’s award-winning technology captures and reproduces the sound of the original studio master in a file that’s small enough to stream and download easily. HiBy R5 is capable of MQA rendering to 8x.
Open Android 8.1 System
The HiBy team, with its strong software team, optimized the Android 8.1 system for bit-perfect playback, using the DTA system to bypass the resampling Android audio stack for systemwide bit-perfect audio, while at the same time supporting practically all Android applications, for a smartphone-like operating experience while outclassing them in audio performance.
Technical Details
- 1 x HiBy R5 Saber
- User Manual
Customer Reviews
When I first got the device 2 months ago, I was really impressed. The build was solid. The glass felt classy. The metal frame felt sturdy. The buttons were tactile. The battery life was wonderful. It even came with a nice charging cable! This is where the good ends.
While the player feels like a premium device, it does not act like one. The player runs fine for the first couple weeks, but then slowly degrades. It now stutters and freezes, leaving me to kill Spotify and relaunch it every once in a while. The actual touchscreen is one of the old ones used in budget phones from a decade ago. It doesn't properly register your finger, and occasionally detects ghost taps. It will open the player in my pocket, sometimes skipping back and forth between songs.
Which brings me to the buttons. While they are satisfying to click, they are extremely sensitive. If something bumps your pocket, or there is anything else in your pocket, or if you bend down, or even move your leg, there is a good chance you will trigger a button. This has caused the player to skip forward, go backwards, max the volume all the way up, turn the volume all the way down, and sometimes pause the song I'm listening to, all while in my pocket. There is an option in the settings to deactivate buttons while the player is off, which I did. This works fine... until the power button gets bumped. Then you're back to square one. It also makes the controls more tedious to use. If you have to deactivate them, why have them?
I would return the device, but a stray pebble broke the glass back while I was trimming a lawn. Launched at my pocket, causing a crack. This crack grew over the next week, and then started falling apart. The battery is now exposed, and I'm going to resort to covering the back with duct tape. The glass back is very thin. While the player feels sturdy, it is actually very delicate.
I really wanted to love this device, but while it feels like a high quality product, it is slow, fragile, and cumbersome to use. It looks good, but fails to function as a basic music player. It sounds great, lasts forever, and looks fantastic, but can't properly play songs without something going awry. I wanted to get more into music with a nice music player, but I'll be sticking with my smartphone for now.
Excellent DAP for the price. Neutral, clear and detailed sound. Two useful output options: single ended 3.5 mm, and 4.4 mm, also serves as DAC and bi-directional bluetooth device using LDAc. To improve screen sensitivity and bluetooth stability, especially when connected through UAT, which requires both devices be really close to each other, and preferably been of the same brand, I tested with Hiby W3 and SMSL SU 9.
Regarding the support provided by Linsoul team, simply 5 stars.
If you have the money, go for the R6 version.
I very much enjoyed dealing with Linsoul Audio. I needed a little support which they gave quickly and completely. Shipping was fast and I'm loving my HiBy R5S. I would do the whole thing all over again. No regrets.
