You are really helping me out as you will have reviewed or will be reviewing every DAP I have been considering. The R6 III is another DAP I have been looking into recently along with the DX180 as my next DAP to own. Needing to immediately buy a 1 TB card if I bought the M5 Ultra pushed it way...

I agree with you especially when you say once you find a DAP you like you keep it as long as you can. I have owned several DAP's that I kept for a few months and then sold because I was not happy with them. With my A55 with custom firmware I have been the happiest with it over every other DAP I...

Well to experiment you have to get your hands on one. As I stated I never buy a DAP on first release and I am not looking to get a DAP right at this moment. So I can afford to get impressions from reviews and posts. I also want to make sure there are no issues which most Chinese DAP's seem to...

Okay remember I said looks and I honestly prefer the look of the DX180 over the R4, it looks more like something someone my age would carry vs the R4 for my millenial and Gen-Z's out there. It has a larger higher resolution screen than the R4 which is something a 60 year old man appreciates. I...

I first became aware of it on the Sony A306 and ZX707 sold in North America and Singapore I believe which seem to start enforcing it at the same time after the EU did. There has always been a North American volume cap but it was before now applied to audio products for children only. I am...

I haven't had a chance to hear it yet so for now specs wise it is a step up from the M5 Ultra for me as it offers better battery life, and the power output is more inline with my needs. It has 128 GB onboard memory as well vs none for the M5 Ultra, my 512 GB card is maxed out and the oboard...

I wonder how it compares to the Shanling M1s though a non-android DAP it is almost the same price. I had a chance to listen to my nephews M1S and I rather liked it as a real alternative to my custom firmware A55 sound wise. It pairs pretty well with my NAD Viso HP50's but the bass is a little...

Looks great, did you get yours from Bloom Audio or import it from outside North America? I ask because I was talking to my buddies in Canadian audio sales about the North American volume cap and the buzz is it would be a hard cap on units sold domestically in the US and Canada just like the...

Are you sure this will be legal in volume capped countries? Sony did not make the volume cap bypassable on the A306 and ZX707 on units sold within North America. If it is legal to do this why wouldn't Sony have done this? This volume cap is the law and generally laws are not meant to be...

Hiby is now complying with the EU volume cap through firmware updates on their Android DAP's. It is being discussed in the R4 thread. Thing is if it is only possible to disable it in developer mode how hard would it be for Google to remove that ability with an Android update if mandated to do...

There has been discussion on this thread about the EU volume cap being applied via firmware updates. Can I assume the North American volume cap will also be applied for units sold in North America? We all know how the the volume cap has crippled the Sony A306 and ZX707 making importing from...

What about the North American volume cap on these units? It was been discussed at length how the North American Volume cap on the Sony A306 and ZX707 have crippled these units. If I purchase the DX180 from the Bloom Audio site will the unit come with the Volume cap applied? If not what are...

I get that but this is something I experienced and it is not a direct complaint about A&K DAP's, merely another perspective on why some people buy DAP's. I am simply pointing out that there are other motivations to buying a DAP that having nothing to do with audio capabilities. I did not...

Glad I am not planning to order an R4 for a couple more months. Hopefully this overheating issue will be sorted by then. I know it is only a few units with the issue but it is still a gamble I would rather not take if possible.

I think to some degree those that buy the really expensive DAP's are more about the bling than the technical capabilities. There was this tiny Portable audio dealer I bought some stuff from (has since moved into a larger location). He sold A&K DAP's and he told me he would sell 7 or 8 a week...

Yes the ability to swap out tubes to change the sound tuning is a nice bonus to getting a desktop tube amp. I certainly can't comment on his DIY design implementations going back 15 years. He is a bit of a mad scientist and may have abused the tubes quite a bit. Ultimately though the...

That is stretching my budget a little to far, I am looking more in the $500 US range which fits the R6 III and also maybe the Shanling M5 Ultra. An updated R5 gen2 (to gen3) would probably hit the perfect spot if Hiby included the gen2 features with some upgraded hardware and software.

I am very interested in the R4 but I would also consider stepping up to a higher end Hiby DAP. I really like the look and features of the R5 gen2, any chance you could give a heads-up on a possible R5 gen3 coming out in the future? I certainly understand if you can't. I also just started...

Thanks for the information, will they ever be linked on the Hiby site under Downloads? It seems like a logical place given the Changelog for the firmware updates are listed their.

Can you explain how this works to a newby? If I click on a firmware update on the Hiby site for the R5 gen2 V1.30 for example it only shows the Change Log but no link to the firmware file. This would be my first full android and Hiby DAP which will require more updates than I am use to and I...

Is it possible to manually install firmware updates on Hiby DAP's. I was just on the hiby site and in the download section it appears the only way to do a firmware update on the R4 and most other DAP's is via wifi. I don't have access to wifi right now due to technical issues only have an...

I need for some funds to become available before I can buy another DAP so there is plenty of time to watch and wait to see how the N3 Ultra and other new DAP's mature with updates and more user feedback before the actual purchase. Yes I am also investigating some desktop tube amps to possibly...

Yes you are correct but in terms of someone I know and trust and my own experiences I feel better with the known vs impressions given by people I don't know.

I'll pop open a cold one and make some snacks and check it out this weekend, looking forward to it! Edit: great review once again and I did actually have to pause partway through to make a snack. The great thing about your reviews despite the length is you throw in everything including the...

I have no personal experience with JAN6418 tubes, the 1 to 3 year figure came from a friend of mine. He has experience using these tubes in his DIY tube preamps and amplifiers builds going back 15 years and I got this timing from another DIY site. This also falls in line with my own experience...