HiByR3 II 2025 Hi-Fi Lossless Audio Player – Portable with Bluetooth 5.1, WiFi, DSD, PCM, MQA Streaming, Dual ES9219C, MQA 16X, Tidal/Qobuz, 2TB Extended Memory (Red)

Good quality music player that can be updated by updating the little SD card - easy enough to do.

I went down the DAP rabbit hole when my old ipod died. Repairing or buying refurbished was too expensive for what the ipod is.I tried and returned 4 other DAPs - a couple of cheap kids' versions, the HiFi Walker and the Surfans F28. This is definitely the best of the bunch, and I am sticking with it. The Surfans was close, but the rounded edge design had me pushing stuff on the touchscreen inadvertantly all the time and it had problems connecting to my MBP via USB cord.I think this HiBy player is suppressed on the Amazon search and suggestion functions. I discovered it on the HiBy website and only found it on Amazon by typing in the name directly. Chose to buy it here due to Amazon's liberal return policies.Sound, size and overall function of this player is very good, though obviously not as seamless as an ipod. However, I have found a couple of minor issues:1) No bookmark function I can find. I listen to podcasts and it will lose my place if the player turns off or if I switch to listening to music then come back to the podcasts. I have to memorize the time stamp when I stop listening to one before it is over.2) Stop and track forward buttons are not separate. It's easy to push track forward when you mean to push stop, especially with the clear cover on. I took a razor knife and slit the cover to try to make it easier to push stop only.

I received the R3II for about 5 days and I am extremely satisfied with it. Here is my short review.Size:HiBy R3 II is very small and extremely pocket-friendly. I use it mainly when I am in the gym, working out, or hiking outdoors. I found it has a perfect size and weight for exercising, and it won’t bother me when I am powerlifting or challenging a steep hill.Features & OS:HiBy R3 II is the smallest DAP that can stream Tidal and Qobuz. I am a heavy Qobuz user, 90% of the time I stream online. R3 II’s streaming interface is simple and straightforward; it provides the weekly new releases and new playlists from Qobuz and I can search for the playlists or albums that I want. I do hope it can store my own playlists like a “Full Android” version of Qobuz, but hey, I can’t complain more for a DAP at this price.The UI/OS is very simple, nothing fancy or over engineered. It is easy enough to find the album I want in a few seconds when I was playing local files. The response is fast, no lags so far. SD card reading only took me 5 seconds for 300+ DSD files. The OS is more like a simplified Android, a lot of the icons look similar to an Android phone.The Hi-Res Wireless is a big plus for iPhone users. It will allow you to use high quality wireless Hi-Fi headphones like Focal, B&W, B&O, etc. It is essentially a small Android streaming device with extremely long battery life, a much lighter weight, and a smaller size.Power and Sound:I didn’t expect too much from the sound and power. But I was so wrong! It is a very powerful little DAP! The 380mW output doesn’t look very high, but the power is so clean and clear that you can reach as high volume as you want without sacrificing any details or resolution. It is leaning towards the warmer side compared to their more expensive offering (R6 Pro II), but the technical performance doesn’t fall short at all. I can still catch a lot of the details and great dynamics from this small player. I was shocked by how wonderful this small toy sounds! Highly recommended!

Seriously, do not buy the HiBy R3 II unless you have researched everything about this, and are absolutely certain this is the MP3/audio player you will need for whatever application you are using it for.It's much more Hi-Fi audio player, than portable music device to put it simply.First of all, you have to be willing to accept that to search music and input text you will have to use an old-school multi-tap keypad text system, like when phones only had number and call buttons.Second, there's only 2 streaming services on the phone when you get it, Tidal and Qobuz. (Not sure if you can get more.) I didn't want it for streaming features, but I know that's important to a lot of people.Third, to get to playlists you have to go through the favorites menu, and it did not accept my playlists from music player application. I don't know if I imported them wrong, but I can already tell this thing is not worth it for me, and am not looking further.For a $100+ Audio Player, it might be good if you need something very specific to play high-fidelity audio files, but for anything else, I would suggest any buyer look elsewhere.

Its very middle of the road and after 2 months it has developed a very loud problem a shrill whistle other than that its ok its saving grace is its 4.4 mm and pretty loud if you go to "about" tap Hiby 7 times it gets you to developers page where you can get the volume increased,I hope I can return it