Hiby R5 Saber vs Shanling M3x

Equipment / Electronics / Gear / Accessories DAPs
1

Hi!

I am trying to decide which DAP to buy. And as it would be my first DAP, I do not know all the details of the player would be important to notice.

I inclined between these two DAP: the hiby r5 saber and the shanling m3x. And I have some questions regarding them:

  • Is the processor on the shaling m3x (snapdragon 430) a huge upgrade from the processor on the hiby r5 saber (snapdragon 425)?
  • Can the newer android version of the hiby (Android 8) make a difference in the performance and future proofing compared to the version of the shanling (Android 7)?
  • Is the power difference between the two significant noticeable on the sound if I just use easy to drive headphones? [Shanling: 240mW @ 32Ohm (Bal) / Hiby R5: over 500mW @ 32Ω (Bal)]
  • I never heard anything on MQA. Is the difference in 16x (Shanling) unfolding bigger enough to notice, compared to the 8x (Hiby) unfolding? Can use the unfolding on tidal streaming?

Thanks!

2

It really depends on how much you like shanling tuning(generally thin and sharp slightly warm mostly neutral sound).

What headphone/iem are you paring them with and any prevous amp/daps you have as a reference point?

Btw both hiby R5 and Shanling M3 run smooth. Generally my preference would be towards the shanling m3x as you can disable android although if you rely on streaming that would be a moot point.

With reguards to the unfolding I didnt notice that any difference with reguards to 3X vs 2X unfold.But I have scruffed ears that detect time domain changes much more than FR domain changes.

But yeah the more important thing is how do you like your sound coloured and the pairing.