From Boiled Cabbage to HiBy RS6 Headphones

When Emperor Guangxu was having his meal, Empress Dowager Cixi would always order over a hundred dishes to be served in front of him. Sometimes, she would be too lazy to hear the names of the dishes, and she was unlikely to remember so many of them anyway. But on this particular occasion, she was curious about a dish that looked simple and bland: "Hey, Xiaoli, how come this dish looks so simple with just a few cabbage leaves?"

Li Lianying immediately called over a kitchen attendant, Xiao Guizi, who looked both scared and proud at the same time: "Your Majesty, this dish is called boiled cabbage from Sichuan. It may appear simple and clean on the surface, but it's actually quite complicated to make. It requires a lot of ingredients and time, and the taste is very deliciously fresh. Would you like to try some, Your Majesty?"

Anyway, as fate would have it, the HiBy RS6 player reminds me of boiled cabbage - you look at its size, it's about the same as a regular HiFi player and it doesn't have any fancy shapes or weird geometric patterns (so it's very comfortable to hold and won't poke you when you put it in your pocket). In terms of three-dimensional volume and weight, it's not much different from my own R6 Pro machine, with R8 of course being smaller by a whole circle. But the appearance is more beautiful than all the other HiBy music players I've seen, with a pure copper casing, frosted gold finish, and a brand new aesthetic interface that looks very tempting.

However, even though the appearance is very tempting, it's hard to imagine how many techniques are hidden inside this machine. It's so amazing that even if I don't list them one by one, just mentioning a few is enough to make people amazed:

It uses the Darwin architecture based on R2R technology, which is more powerful and rich, integrating adjustable pure FIR filters, harmonic controllers, NOS/OS switching, DSD direct, and other technologies. Basically, you can imagine it as a brand-new designed Gundam machine, with strong expandability. You can change your configuration in the future, making it a forward-looking machine that opens up a new path.

Low-phase noise audio-specific crystal oscillators, two of them, one at 45.158MHz and the other at 49.152MHz, effectively reducing phase noise and clock jitter. In plain terms, this means that the internal components used in the machine are sophisticated, high-fidelity, and well-crafted.

A luxurious rear audio circuit, with OPAMP1642 + two OPA1612 and four OPA1622, 8-channel independent, which translates to "the amplifier design is particularly solid and the parts are plentiful."

MQA 16X unfolding, MQA is a new and trendy format that takes up little space, but the sound restoration is far higher than the space it occupies. It's like a very sophisticated and practical new lossless format.

In addition, there are also a lot of technical highlights such as R2R resistor network linear compensation, global DTA, USB Audio direct, etc. In my opinion, HiBy Music has been making players for several years, from being a technical innovator in the beginning, to becoming more comprehensive and powerful later on, and now they have become absolute super experts. They leave no flaws where you can see them and strive for excellence where you cannot. They have everything you want, and they may have even included things you have not thought of yet. Plus, the HiBy OS system itself is well known for being easy to use. So, with a machine like RS6, you don't have to worry about it not being bold or aggressive enough in terms of technology. The only two things you need to worry about are whether it looks good to you and whether it sounds good to you.

Just like boiled cabbage, you have heard of it, and you know that it takes a lot of effort to make, using chicken, duck, ham, pork ribs, and several hours of preparation. You understand why it is expensive, and the only thing left is whether it suits your taste or not.

As for my personal first impression of RS6, it can be described as very, very, very good (yes, I used three "very"s).

It's not a very serious or solemn sound. It's not like the character of the patriarch in TV shows or movies who only cares about solemnity and has no interest. Of course, it's not random or warm-blurred, either. The listening experience of HiBy RS6 presents itself as an upright and high-quality core, with excellent qualities and lively energy. When you listen to it, you might even be amazed at how lively its sound foundation is.

The sound foundation of this kind is already difficult to achieve. We know that some machines with strong qualities of tens of thousands of yuan attach great importance to momentum, dynamic control, and density, such as their flagship machine HiBy R8, which is representative of this type of machine and gives a very formal impression when listening to classical music. We also know that there are many machines that can produce sounds with either a small and delicate charm or steady and stable tones. However, machines like RS6 have solid enough foundations to match with the R8 and are not inferior in terms of quality except for the lack of momentum. The large-format soundstage has a great dynamic control, and the interpretation of instruments and information presentation is no less than that of the R8. Under this premise, RS6 has achieved a very lively, beautiful atmosphere and a natural and peaceful tone without any sense of oppression. In other words, this machine has combined the advantages of both quality flow and listening experience flow, which means that this machine has achieved the strength of a tens of thousands yuan-class machine as well as the good listening experience that many such machines do not necessarily possess.

The low frequencies of RS6 are not inclined towards grandeur, with a medium-to-larger sense of quantity, and beautiful texture, speed, and harmonics that are beyond reproach, with a very rich detail. The mid-frequencies are objective, solid, and flexible, with the position of human voices slightly forward and the articulation very clear and detailed without being aggressive. Additionally, the suppression of sibilance is very appropriate. The high frequencies are smooth, with clear details and a certain level of elegance. The full frequency range achieves a thorough grasp of detail while also managing to create an open and clear atmosphere. I really can't find any fault with the quality of this machine.

Let's continue to discuss the listening experience. Sometimes, the liveliness of sound and the accuracy of sound can easily conflict with each other. After all, too much liveliness can be frivolous, and too much clarity can lead to distortion. This is almost unavoidable... There is a popular saying that "good ingredients often only need the simplest cooking", but the person who said this did not tell you that simple cooking often looks simple, but is actually very difficult. The listening experience that RS6 provides seems simple but is, in fact, very accurate in reproducing music, with precise and well-organized three-frequencies, resolution, and dynamics. It presents a beautiful and orderly image while still feeling light and joyful, with an atmosphere that is not colored but rather lively. However, to achieve both accuracy and liveliness, it often requires the level of some high-priced European desktop CD players. The fact that such dynamics can be achieved in a portable device is truly impressive, and I respect HiBy’s accomplishment!

Additionally, I wouldn't say that this machine is picky about pairing with earphones. Rather, it has a strong foundation in accuracy and delicacy, with sufficient density, which can showcase the characteristics of an earphone and even provide some amplification. If you pair it with a stable earphone, whether it's balanced or 3.5mm single-ended, RS6 can give you the earphone’s inherent strength, while adding a little bit of agility. If you pair it with a lively-sounding earphone, it will help control the liveliness a bit, which is appropriate. If you pair it with a serious or even "court style" earphone, then it will perform as expected, without being picky, and will coordinate with any earphone. It also adds a bit of its own interpretation, which means that it allows you to relax and play, so such a machine is perfect for being a judge at a trade show.

For example, when paired with QDC V14, the V14 earphone is not easy to handle, and even a slight deviation from the front-end can make you feel as if you are not giving justice to its excellent sound. However, with RS6, you don't have to worry about this problem at all. The information volume is explosive, and all of the information is presented with high density, high texture, and high dynamic range. There is bone, flesh, skin, and tendons, with the whole pot boiling and pulsating... At this point, you should be worried about the source of the music, rather than the front-end or earphone issues. Fortunately, Hiby has solved this problem from the root by directly accessing Sony's selected music collection. Though it is expensive, their classical jazz music has high quality, which is clearly higher than buying CDs. Adding MQA, it's just too enjoyable!

In terms of listening experience, this machine is even more successful than its quality. On the one hand, it has the level of quality that a successful machine can exhibit, with accurate and well-researched sound and reproduction. On the other hand, it has its own fresh atmosphere and a certain amount of elegance, which is highly recognizable among machines in this price range. This atmosphere can guarantee that many consumers will love it at first listen and that seasoned audiophiles will be pleasantly surprised: "Can dishes be made like this? They taste natural and delicious without MSG? Then these dishes are really impressive!”

Furthermore, it also comes with MQA, is compatible with convenient and popular music apps such as Apple Music and NetEase Cloud Music, has MSEB self-adjusting tuning, has a stylish appearance, and even comes with a nice leather case...

In conclusion, to put it simply: if you're considering buying a HiBy player, even if you weren't thinking about it initially but became interested after seeing the HiBy RS6's appearance, I highly recommend finding an opportunity to listen to it. After trying it out, you may fall in love with it. This machine not only plays all genres flawlessly, but it is also not picky about its owner. It can be used for both the initial burn-in and the subsequent cooldown period. Perhaps for you, having such a powerful and excellent-sounding player is enough for your life.