HIBY R4: EVERYTHING you NEED to know

In today's video, I tell you everything you need to know about the HiBy R4, HiBy's first entry into the R4 series and is priced at $249. An insanely good value device! I hope you enjoy the video and learn something new about this awesome device.
WATCH UNBOXING HERE: • CYBERPUNK DAP??? | HiB...
If you would like to buy one, use the non-affiliated link below:
store.hiby.com/products/hiby-r4
NOTE: The device will be available for release on the 3rd to 4th week of April.
00:00 Intro
00:08 Overview
00:21 Unboxing
00:28 Physical Attributes
02:53 Internal Specs
03:43 Features
05:41 User Interface and Usage
07:03 Personal Experience
07:48 Chonkster but not a hulkster
08:24 Button Placements
08:45 No L in Lanyard
09:28 Build talks
09:45 Performance talks
10:30 UI talks
11:30 Battery talks
12:23 Sound talks
14:36 Power talks
16:11 Conclusion
DISCLAIMER:
All thoughts and opinions shared on this video is of mine and mine alone. I was not compensated in any way and I was not told to say anything about the product. These are all my honest observations.
Audio is a very subjective hobby and as much as I try to objectively explain my thoughts and opinions, your mileage will vary. My preferences will also affect how I perceive the gear that I review. Sources and other accessories will also modify your experience. Lastly, my reviews should always be used only as a guide and not as the definitive bible. Trust your ears to know what’s good.
Spotify Playlist: open.spotify.com/playlist/2aQ...
==================== OTHER REVIEWS ====================
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MY FAVORITE AUDIO GEARS:
HiBy R3 II: store.hiby.com/products/hiby-...
HiBy R6 III: store.hiby.com/products/hiby-...
Simgot EA1000: www.linsoul.com/products/simg...
Yanyin Canon II: www.linsoul.com/products/yany...
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[@DJHaworth]

A lot of Hiby R3 owners wanting an android dap will want to step up. Can you compare the sound of the two? ( We love our R3 sound )

[@kirbydadragon]

Seems like a great new option for people that want a digital audio player at an affordable price. It doesn’t quite fit my use case, mostly due to the battery life which is an absolute deal breaker for me, as I require an option that lets me listen to music non stop from waking up until going to sleep. I’m a particularly odd use case though as I don’t imagine most people are listening to music CONSTANTLY, while conscious. Great video, cheers.

[@LeeCollier-px5sz]

Well done review. Appreciate your thouroughness👌

[@krishnaprasad9571]

I really enjoyed the way you explained the details.👌👍

[@obodioreviews]

Thank you

[@Mr-Raccoon]

Hi, great review. One question : does this device work well with Apple Music (Lossless) ?

[@vaisakhmurali6918]

Do you find noticable difference from R6 3 ? I hope both are class A amp.. ( R6 have both A & AB mode). Does this R4 have coaxial dig output?

[@warth45]

very tempting stuff

[@Andrew-ps9zp]

Do the screws on the back allow access to replace the battery?

[@KurtKloetentreter]

Awesome review man, didn't know about you at all before this but found your post on headfi. Gonna leave a sub mate 🤝🏻 Btw, does this do PEQ with MQA decoding enabled ?

[@obodioreviews]

Thanks, mate! I appreciate that! Also unfortunately, MQA still borks the system wide PEQ and MSEB. Gotta stick with non MQA files if you want a proper system wide PEQ and MSEB

[@rymnzz]

hi, would you recommend using a 3rd party player as it is android based or just stick with its default. thanks

[@uruguayo6395]

Thanks for info, looks like a cool gadget.

[@Haydos]

How do you buy the Chinese exclusive one. Because they seem to be selling the black one on their site but doesn't say if its the one you talked about with class ab and longer battery. Also where did you find that image?

[@obodioreviews]

I'll clarify this in an addition but the black variant on the site is just a black colorway while the MIDIfes exclusive is the one with the class AB amplifier.

[@chunga396]

NIce Rv...Can we download offline content from tidal for example?

Great review of the R4! 👌 2 questions, if you may: - how is the softness and noiseness of the buttons (play, FW, RW and +/- volume)? - BTW, what DAP can you recommend with sufficient power to drive the HD600? Thank you.

[@obodioreviews]

Thanks for watching! I appreciate your comment and your question. 1. The buttons are VERY soft, not very tactile imo 2. The HD600 can be driven by the R4 in 4.4 Balanced mode quite satisfactorily, but you really wanna get an external amp if you wanna get the most out of the HD600 IMO

​@@obodioreviewsThank you!

[@hokagoteatimereviews]

Great video! I think so this makes a great upgrade path for the r3 pro ii owners who want an android dap

[@rexexile9960]

May i know where did you bought it?

[@adriansy4237]

Sounds awesome and planning to buy one soon and does this bypass the android resampling with streaming apps like Apple music

[@dan44762000]

Yes it’s has system wide bypass, so there is no android resampling at all

[@squidwerd1981]

Where do you download your music files from?

[@christoph9510]

I was days away from buying an R3 gen 2 when this was announced. Is the R4 noticably better sound wise?

[@obodioreviews]

Not noticeably, but it's more neutral sounding compared to the R3 II's brighter tone. If you compared the two side by side, I don't think you'll find that big of a difference and the main difference is the function

[@duytranhuu8241]

Could you please give me some advice? Should I pick the Hiby R4 or Shanling M3 Ultra in terms of sound quality. Many thanks. Really appreciate.

[@obodioreviews]

I personally haven't tried the M3 ultra, so I can't say for sure

[@Biohazard_Zer]

the sound is good compared to R5 (gen1) ?

[@andy.w]

Curious about the battery life. Maybe you can try to observe how many percent of juice is lost during idle, ie. when you sleep. Ten percent or greater might be an indication of an unoptimized background process(es) doing mysterious things unknown to the user.

[@obodioreviews]

Sure! I can do a conclusive test on this soon, thanks for suggesting!

[@chibesamusenga6145]

Which one is better in terms of sound quality, HIBY R4 OR SONY ZX707?

[@TechieFelixLP]

Second! Also, they look cool af!

[@donaldjuan4934]

Does it have Aptx Adaptive codec?

[@m.varelpataheldra1004]

sound wise (especially technical quality), should i get this or dongle dac's like questyle m15 or cayin r7 ?

[@obodioreviews]

I have not spent time with those specific dongles, but the R4 is quite capable for what its worth.

[@Pasebe]

I used DAPs the I had the idea of getting dongles for my phone. Well the connection of the USB ports is not stable after a while when you are moving. It disconnects and reconnects and now it got on my nerves so I will definitely get back to DAPs

[@christoph9510]

If you listen to it more can you install a device info app and let us know what kind of temps you're getting on the battery and soc? I've never had a class A amp of any sort definitely a little nervous about excessive heat

[@obodioreviews]

Sure! I'll make a post or a video about this soon

[@minx3rs]

I somehow enabled a digital audio lock and can't figure out how to disable the feature :cry: plz halp

[@Dandalandan117]

Do you recommend this device if I'm planning to use it mostly with my wireless earbuds?

[@obodioreviews]

Yep! These have all the hi-res codecs you might want and a very stable connection with bluetooth

[@Dandalandan117]

@@obodioreviews thank you so much for the response

[@rajeebdas1724]

Hello Ob. I was wondering if you could honestly tell me what the difference would be between this one and any good 100-150$ dongle dac , purely in terms of sound. Would the dac be better? Would this one be better? I've always wondered that.

[@obodioreviews]

I'll make a video about this soon, actually! But I think dongles are more focused device and has the tendency to sound better than DAPs, especially at the 100 - 150 dollar range. If you dont need a specific device for music, dongles are great choices.

[@rajeebdas1724]

@@obodioreviews Thanks a ton. I've always asked this and everyone has given me a gray diplomatic answer showing the 100 advantages of a dap! I'm obviously not ignorant to those advantages of a dedicated device! However I'm definitely limited by my budget! If I spend 300$ on a dap, I'll have nothing left to spend on an iem/headphone. If I could've demoed, I would've done that. Since I can't demo, I ask people like yourself. Thanks for replying. It would be great if you made such a video!. Trust me, a lot of people wonder about this.

[@EtreGenerique]

Do you want to drive a Ferrari with a trailer? Or with a BMW sportive ?

[@rajeebdas1724]

​@@EtreGeneriqueDo you want to make a sensible comment? Or do you want to ramble like a drunk?

[@leonardopapantoniou4227]

​@@rajeebdas1724an audio store employee interrupted me when I was speaking of a dac and said: "dacs don't sound. Speakers do". Quite right. In sound most important thing Is to get Best recordings with Best Masters possible. Then the Best headphone or speaker You can afford while being amplified properly with a minimal decent Quality with dac which has all the Connectivity You want. Then later in future You could step up dac and or AMP. Never put your coins first in dac AMP because You Will be límited in Quality and the greater expense in dacs or amps Will be nosense

[@chalchagoloso]

Will it be enough to drive my sennheiser hd660s? Thanks 😊

[@obodioreviews]

I haven't tried the 660s on this, but I was able to try the 600 and it was perfectly fine!

[@daniellima9305]

thats one hell of a design, I really like the futuristic aesthetic! Also the r4 has pretty good hardware for the price, Im curious how it would compare to Tempotec V6, wich is my dap at the moment.

[@nikdhamigo6476]

In Thailand it's only 14 $ (Limited Presale Price) more than M300 .... only thing I want from R4 is the 4.4 Jack for my resources. I just wonder the sound character of the R4 compare to M300 and Hidizs Ap80 Pro X...

[@obodioreviews]

Against M300, it's definitely a more capable device as it does bitperfect unlike the M300. Against the AP80 Pro X, it's more neutral sounding.

[@nikdhamigo6476]

@@obodioreviews Thank you. ok,I might get R4. haha

[@linnane666]

Sorry if already asked..Does this have line out?

[@obodioreviews]

No unfortunately

[@SomeRandomUser]

I wish there were more pocketable android DAPs out there, mostly for the capability to stream. I can't deny that most of my favourite songs were discovered from algorithm recommendations. Biggest limitation is just the software support (Streaming apps will outright refuse to work anymore if outdated enough) and that most Android DAPs are the same size as a smartphone, mainly for battery reasons (I only use two pockets ffs)

[@DREAMREC0RDER]

I have the R3 II with 23,000 songs between Flac and MP3 and it sounds divine, if only the software were more efficient and refined, such as showing the covers also in the "Albums" by Artist, and adjusting the Bluetooth output volume, it would be the best sound player in the world.

[@rikkufan009]

Sometimes you have to re add the album art

[@chimika5025]

are there any android DAPs that have dolby atmos?

[@MarcoRodrigues040]

isn't it useless? To listen to Dolby Atmos you don't have to use 5 speakers and a subwoofer (5.1 or 7.1) (all of this is to listen to lossy music...my opinion)...it could be useful if you want to use the DAP as a streamer...It's the only way I see it being useful with Dolby Atmos

[@keshin18]

Hi 👋Can R4 output usb audio to dac ?

[@obodioreviews]

Yes you can!

[@keshin18]

​@@obodioreviews thank you😀

[@anansi6344]

Does Hiby 4 use sd or microsd? is a SanDisk alright?😊

[@BMakk205]

Google play services?

[@DJ_PROMO_PR]

Just bought the M300 less than a month ago. Damn 😡

[@dan44762000]

I’m waiting to get one of these, they said Mid April but it’s past Mid April already, hurry up and release plz plz hahaha

[@obodioreviews]

Yeah I'm hoping they release this soon too fr

[@childofthe60s100]

You ALSO need to know that the design is a virtual copy of the excellent, older, DAP - the PIONEER XDP-100R-K

[@djvalentin]

Hiby R4 overheating issue!! I'm quite disappointed with the product. Although it looks impressive and should be worth more than $600, just by looking at it, it appears to have been built with cheap components and has poor heat dissipation. Mine is overheating; I cannot even touch it. Is anyone having this issue?

[@kankan4731]

THANKS FOR THE REVIEW LOL

[@hyperborean]

How does this compare to the Hidizs AP80 Pro-X? Is it worth upgrading for the sound of will there just be a bigger screen?

[@leonardopapantoniou4227]

O boy I had it. The balanced output broke. THIS is Android AND has wifi. That means you can stream apps such as Tidal or Qobuz and Even listening offline and with wifi You can use airplay. Also 4.4 output is physically stronger than the 2.5 of ap80 which does not have NONE of this functions. To sum up, R4 is bigger but more complete

[@Sidgeee]

Damn, a 4500mAh with an HD screen is bad but you're okay with Hiby Digital M300 with only 2000mAh????

[@Bambamcrypticglow]

Damn didnt realize this was special edition for China only..now im stuck with this brick....

[@leonardocruzaldana6207]

how this compare to the tempotec v3?

[@obodioreviews]

I heard many bag things about the V3's reliability, so I'd be more comfortable to recommend these over the V3

[@mickeybreg1]

might get snatched somewhere like philippines 🤣

[@sensoryexpanse]

First frrrrr

[@ImAWSMDanny]

First #2

[@obodioreviews]

@@ImAWSMDanny ya'll are too fast wtf

[@jinz0]

for 250 dont use case, whats the point may aswell enjoy it, it's not 2.5k

[@ShrineStudios]

Why do they have to make a color a Chinese only exclusive 😭😭😭

[@obodioreviews]

Correction on this, it's just the class AB amp and rock tune that is Chinese only. The black colorway is available for international

[@TAKUMI143]

It's like carrying an old Walkman😂 to bulky, why not use your phone 😅

[@obodioreviews]

headphone jack

[@cynthiaj.simmons870]

"Great Review!!!" I just bought the orange player. I was torn between the R6 Pro Gen 2 this KZbinr Luke Reid from the UK is selling his Hiby R6 Pro Gen 2 but he's in the UK but since I'm in the US I would be paying over $400.00 to have it shipped here to the US and he's charging $349.00 dollars UK price and I could get Affirm payments but I have to ) $311.00 as a down payment just to get the $20.00 dollars a month payment. Since my husband gave me $200.00 from our income tax we got back I went ahead and ordered the Hiby R4 in orange. I remember from your short video here on KZbin if you have $200.00 lying around well I got $200.00 along with a $10.00 coupon Hiby gave me so I only $239.00 instead of $249.00 for it and I but one and I can't wait to get it!!! 🤗❤️🤗❤️🤗❤️

[@christianwagner9790]

Nah, battery life that bad, is NOT to be expected.

[@kurocxl5497]

lol

[@jakesmith5278]

Mp3 player???

[@edx2556]

Slow down. And use punctuation when you speak. You should like a bad text-to-speech app.

[@MrPatosexyhot]

How would you compare it against a R3ii or M300?

[@obodioreviews]

Both the R3 II and M300 serve a different target market compared to the R4. The R3 II are for those who want a dedicated listening experience without any distractions from other applications. The M300 is a multipurpose device with focus on music that is lightweight, pocketable and efficient. The R4 mixes the use case of the R3 II and M300 in a more versatile but less efficient device. Still, all the devices are great!

[@BMakk205]

Google play services?

[@obodioreviews]

Yep!