Sounds like a 4 cyl. Engine
Iām sure @Rikudou_Goku has some insight on this tech. Iāve never heard ofā¦ 4 piston? Maybe itās a play on words. 2 pairs of those forward facing DDs like what we have in the Blessing 3 perhaps?
Its going to be a very affordable set.
That i know.
I think it may be some kind of weird 2x double coaxial DD array (like that from B3 times 2).
Mon MK3
A quarter of a year without trying of a new source would not be complete, so here it is. I found a great deal for 2nd hand Hiby R3 Saber (non 2022 version) which was on my watch list forever, so I pulled a trigger.
Initial impressions:
-
apparently I am a snowflake which was additionally spoiled by M0 Pro compactness, but R3 is very large in hand as compared to that Shanling (see pic. Itās proportions are also not the most user friendly as it is very close to square shape, where being thinner and taller would be more hand friendly in my opinion.
-
the screen is large, good quality and vibrant - only minor problem is that deviceās processor limits the frame rate and sometimes it is laggy (especially compared to 120Hz phone). But that is a nitpick most of the time I donāt look at the screen anyway and it is so much easier to operate the screen in general as compared to M0
M0 < R3 Saber -
sound difference as compared to Shanling? Yes, no, proceed to the next question.
However small note - on Tidal it sounds somewhat shitty bright and sibilant and I donāt know if it is limited by streaming data speed, me being used to good quality local FLAC files or just a placebo as I am listening mostly to unknown tracks and they just sound like that. But it looks they are generally more compressed and play louder as compared to my local masters of the same songs.
M0 = R3 Saber -
usability for online streaming - the major feature why I wanted to try this device out as it is missing from M0 Pro (the second reason being lack of WiFi transfer). The Tidal that I specifically bought subscription has very mediocre experience to use - it is very hard to use on such a small screen, has some problems with playlist synchronization between android app and DAP and also player drops connection with WiFi when on idle (even with Idle mode off) and then needs a minute or so to reconnect after waking up. It is somehow eye opening - streaming services are probably not the best choice for such a small player. I donāt need that probably as much as I thought I would as well - BT streaming from phone could be much more convenient as it is so much easier to navigate at and while not at home I would need to hot-spot wifi ruining benefit of saving of the battery of phone. Probably only way to use tidal properly from a DAP would be from full size android, but then we are talking about either brick device or shit device (A105/A306)
M0 < R3 Saber -
**usability for local files playback ** -I find the UI somewhat non intuitive and not as snappy as M0 Pro, but maybe I need more time with it. It is hard to get where I want to as quickly as I can do with Shanling (like default positions in menu are weird)
*M0 > R3 Saber * -
**hardware usability ** - even though M0 Pro has significantly smaller screen and only one multifunction knob instead of 6 tactile buttons I would rate it much higher overall in that area as it seems it was much more optimized for the use without looking at the screen (and that is my main mode of operation). I can operate M0 from the pocket or blindly at night without risk of blinding myself with the bright screen very intuitively. With R3 I had many misclicks while in the pocket.
Also it is so cool little small device I can drop in my pocket wherever I go without big worry of it getting damaged. With R3 I have some slight fear about the screen + it is a device I feel I have in pocket all the time.
M0 >>> R3 Saber -
battery life is very good. Seems significantly better than Shanling.
M0 < R3 Saber -
in-built balanced port without adapter is great to have, wish it was 4.4 as in M1S though. If Shanling would get Tidal support as advertised that would be the sole reason to choose that instead as those are most likely direct competitors.
M0 < R3 Saber -
WiFi connection - quite good range, never dropped a signal while in usage, but a shame it goes to sleep on idle.
*M0 < R3 Saber * -
BT - did not test yet
-
overall functionality - it has same functions as m0 + more (tidal, wifi transfer, MSEB EQ, pedometer etc).
M0 < R3 Saber
Overall it seems like a device that should fulfill the needs of most of the audio enthusiasts I know probably better than Shanling. I on the other hand know I would keep the M0 for sure, while this Hiby would most likely get sold sooner than later as it does not fulfill my use scenario as good - if only this 4.4mm would be thereā¦ (looking at you R3 gen II and M1S!)
Nice comparison! If you havenāt already got it updated, the newest firmware for the r3 (pro, saber pre-2022 and 2022) is v2.2, which seems to be the best one yet IMO.
I updated almost immediately (OTA updates are also nice feature!), so I donāt know what did I gain honestly. But I heard that it is advisable to do factory reset after update to avoid some software hiccups (like screen freezing etc) - do you agree?
It probably couldnāt hurt anything, but Iām not sure that itās absolutely necessary; only hiccup I have had post-update is that occasionally, it seems to repeat a track at random in playback.
Supernova I think
If 5-7dB of gain is too intense for you (or someone) there is almost no IEM you could use
I meant compared to SA6. Otherwise I use much more intense IEMs!
Iāll get a chance to hear them but my hypothesis is I donāt expect them to be too intense because theyāre flat across to the resonance. SA6 would be smoother because it has the 4-6k cut, but I expect Supernova to be a little more energetic, but without harshness
I hope that they donāt botch the tuning on these; I miss my Vernus every now and then, and these look like a potential piece to fill that hole in my heart.
I can see what youāre saying about it being potentially too intense relative to the bass response, but I feel as though with quality drivers and a still lower than average gain region, itās probably just a hint forward without being harsh as @GooberBM pointed out. But good analysis, definitely not out of pocket imo.
That looks pretty great to me, the SA6 MK2ās midrange and vocals were too recessed for me personally
On the contrary, I think P8 is actually quite relaxed and smooth.
Mk2 mids were too recessed for me.