There’s always a first time for everything in life. In my case, I’m meeting Hiby Music and all their doings and in case of Hiby Music (Hiby from now on), they just finished working on a very different portable digital audio player.
You probably heard about their portable DAPs and Bluetooth gizmos by now, they’re literally everywhere. Even Hiby Music and Hiby Blue software are extremely popular among Hiby’s own portable players and you can find them on many other platforms…as you can install them on unlocked Android devices. Their Hiby Link two-way Bluetooth controller was so popular, that many companies started copying its features, releasing their own remotes. If you give it a search, people still use it today in tandem with portable DAPs of Shanling, Cayin, Tempotec, Questyle and Hidizs.
With 20 years of experience under their belts mostly in the portable audio field, a time came to unleash their geniuses, crafting a very different DAP and cementing themselves as road openers for R-2R and FPGA technology to be used in a portable device. The biggest splashes are making the tallest waves and that’s why behind closed doors Hiby went all-in with R&D, coming out with quite a special digital audio player that I will be testing today. I don’t remember ever trying an R-2R ladder DAP infused with a freshly developed Darwin architecture that provides a plethora of tuning options, so you can make it your own. Arming it with a speedy SoC and spotting a Direct Transport Architecture, a full MQA decoder, adjustable FIR filters, an OS/NOS mode, tens of plugins and many other sound enhancements, RS6 is not your off-the-shelf DAP, but a very different one from multiple points of view. Hiby’s RS6 goes for $1399 and it’s time to check if it’s worth it or not.
Unboxing Experience
Everything came double boxed as an extra protection measure, thicker card-board boxes have been used, there is plenty of foam that will surely protect the precious cargo during shipping and it seems that Hiby prepared an outstanding unboxing experience. Upon opening up its case a message is being revealed, as their goal is to Make Music More Musical. I’ve raised my right hand as I’m with them on this brave quest.
Hiby provided plenty of accessories for casual and seasoned audiophiles alike. The unit itself is being protected by thick layers of foam, below it you’ll find a small accessory compartment that holds a high-quality USB type-B to Type-C cable that is wrapped in a nylon jacket, another USB Type-C to Coaxial (RCA connector) cable can be spotted - just in case you’ll want to use it as a digital transport. Going deeper, a really nice leather case is being revealed which makes me extremely happy, knowing that everything I need is already in the package. The finishing touches will be provided by two screen protectors, by a warranty card and by a Quick Start Guide.
I can’t get my eyes from that beautiful leather case that fits it like a glove. It’s masterfully made, I find it thick enough, it’s smooth on the outside and soft on the inside thanks to a velour padding. I don’t think you’ll ever need a third-party case, as the preinstalled one looks and feels outstanding. This is everything you’ll find inside its package, just add a big capacity micro-SD card or connect wirelessly to your favorite streaming app and you’re ready to rock!
Design & Build Quality
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