HiBy Zeta Review
INTRODUCTION AND DISCLAIMER:
The HiBy Zeta is a hybrid in-ear monitor that combines one 10mm dynamic driver, four balanced armatures, and four electrostatic drivers per earpiece. It retails for $1399. I received the Zeta through a review tour organized by HiBy. I was able to test it for a week and a half before writing my review. I covered the shipping costs to the next reviewer on the tour, and no compensation was received for this review.
SOURCES:
During my review process, I utilized the Hiby Zeta with the following sources:
- Moondrop Dawn
- Truthear Shio
- Hiby R6 Pro II
PACKAGING AND ACCESSORIES:
The HiBy Zeta comes in a rectangular square black box with a black cardboard slipcover. The included 2-pin cable has a 4.4mm balanced termination. The package includes nine pairs of eartips. This selection consists of three pairs of standard silicone eartips (S, M, L), three pairs of shallow wide-bore eartips (S, M, L), and three pairs of hybrid silicone-foam eartips (S, M, L). The package also includes a HiBy-branded hockey puck-shaped storage case with a friction-fit lid finished in turquoize leather. Two small drawstring mesh bags are included to protect the earpieces inside the storage case. A magnetic cable clasp and a cleaning brush are also provided. As for documentation, the Zeta comes with a user manual and a quality control pass chit.
BUILD QUALITY AND DESIGN:
The Hiby Zeta’s earpieces are machined from titanium and feature a puesdo-custom fit. The teardrop-shaped faceplates have mirrored stainless steel inlays featuring a two-tone geometric design. The earpieces are laser etched with with the HiBy logo and unit serial number, plus “L” and “R” indicators below the 2-pin ports. Each earpiece has a single circular vent near the serial number. The nozzles are thick and have a gently raised lip to secure eartips. I did not have any issues with eartips coming loose during my time with the Zeta.
The included 8-core litz cable uses an eight-way braid below the Y-split and quad-braids on each side above the Y-split. It has strain relief above its 4.4mm jack but none at the Y-split. Its chin adjustment choker, 4.4 mm jack housing and Y-split hardware are all dark polished chrome with white lettering (“HIBY” on the 4.4mm jack hardware and “ZETA” on the Y-split hardware). It also has pre-formed earguides and the 2-pin connector hardware is marked red and blue for right and left. My one complaint about the cable is that the chin adjustment choker is hard to slide up and down the cable due to the girth of the quad-braids.
COMFORT, FIT, AND ISOLATION:
The HiBy Zeta should be worn with the cable up. Though it has a moderate insertion depth, secureness of fit is slightly below average. However, isolation is very good. The included cable is somewhat microphonic even with the use of the chin adjustment choker.
MEASUREMENTS:
My measurements of the HiBy Zeta can be found on my expanding squig.link database:
HiBy Zeta — Squiglink by Bedrock Reviews
SOUND:
The HiBy Zeta has a refined V-shaped tuning, with the bass and upper midrange/lower treble having roughly equal intensity. The upper midrange is notably even, avoiding any harsh peaks.
The Zeta’s dynamic driver produces a thunderous, powerful bass response. The bass is most elevated in the bottommost sub-bass and recedes in a roughly linear fashion until around 700 Hz. If the Zeta’s dynamic driver were less capable, I would imagine this tuning would be muddy and bloated. Given the capabilities of the driver, however, the Zeta has some of the best bass I have ever heard, with superb articulation and resolution, impactful slam and excellent note weight and texture.
The Zeta’s lower mids are recessed, resulting in male vocals sounding slightly boxed-in compared to low-end and top-end instrumentation. With that said, harsh male vocals have body, grit, and power in spades. Female vocals are lush, vibrant, and clearer than male vocals. However, there is a hint of sibilance to female vocals. Analog percussion has an organic and snappy timbre. There is a moderate dip between 5 kHz and 8 kHz which appears to be intentional. Adding presence into this dip with equalization introduces an unpleasant grittyness to the presentation.
The Zeta has a gentle but detailed treble response that delivers the micro-level insight one would expect from an IEM of its price. I do think the Zeta could use a bit more upper treble emphasis, as there is limited air. Furthermore, the soundstage is not as spacious as the driver configuration might suggest. The soundstage width extends outside the head, while the height and depth of the soundstage are average and shallow respectively. The sustained emphasis in the mid-bass region does create a busy center-stage image, yet layering is still very good. Thanks to its punchy and highly textured bass response, the Zeta conveys dynamic swings with ease. Finally, imaging is excellent.
The Zeta is one of the best IEMs for extreme metal I have listened to to date. I felt the power of its sound listening to a high-resolution digital copy of “I Will Find You” by Whitechapel early in my review process. The galloping double bass and downtuned extended range electric guitars that kick in at 0:46 sound like a stampede, and vocalist Phil Bozeman’s growl at 4:11 sent shivers down my spine.
AMPLIFICATION REQUIREMENTS AND SOURCE PAIRING:
The Hiby Zeta is easy to drive and had no hiss with any of my sources. For best results, I recommend pairing it with a highly resolving source device, like the Hiby R6 Pro II, which offered an audibly blacker background than my Truthear Shio.
CLOSING WORDS:
I usually prefer reference-tuned IEMs, but the HiBy Zeta’s stellar bass performance and excellent build quality have won me over. I can confidently recommend the Zeta to anyone looking for an endgame IEM with a V-shaped sound profile.