HiBy RS8 Digital Music Player

Hiby RS8 - A New R2R Flagship

The new Hiby RS8 is a high performance flagship DAP featuring a new-generation advanced R2R DAC architecture and an impressive Class A headphone amplifier. The ultimate in portable audio.

Pure titanium chassis

The Hiby RS8 employs a monocoque titanium chassis. Formed with a process that involves 6-stage CNC milling, 17 advanced treatments, 19 hours of labour and polishing, and yielding a high-quality, tough-wearing exterior with beautiful texture that’s both comfortable and satisfying to hold.

Darwin II Architecture

The Darwin architecture is HiBy’s in-house developed all new hi-res digital signal processing architecture.

In a breakthrough evolution of traditional R2R architecture, the system for the first time includes advanced functions such as linear FIR filter, nonlinear harmonics control, switchable oversampling / NOS, and DSD bypass on portable equipment. The end-to-end flexible architecture is fully configurable, creating endless possibilities for future upgrades and endless evolution.

Evolutionary Darwin audio architecture II

The R2R resistor ladder DAC consists of 12 high speed switches and 184 high precision resistors, double the amount of the last generation, effectively increasing dynamic performance and fidelity at low signal levels. Further addition of a DC offset correction circuit allows for use of a fully DC coupled output stage, further improving impulse response. Sample rates up to 1024x DSD and 1536kHz PCM are supported, surpassing the specifications of many full-size systems in a portable device!

Darwin I: 6 high speed electronic switch, 92 high precision resistors, Unipolar
Darwin II: 12 high speed electronic switch, 184 high precision resistors, Bipolar
15dB dynamic improvement compared to 1s gen Darwin architecture

R2R technology

The R2R resistor ladder DAC architecture’s core is the high-precision resistor ladder, consisting of 12 high-speed switches and 184 high-precision resistors. The digital signal is driven via high speed electronic switches, with drive voltage modulated by the resistor network to obtain an analog voltage waveform corresponding directly to the digital signal, avoiding the high frequency modulation of traditional D-S DACs for a more natural, transparent and emotional presentation.

Resistor ladder linearity compensation

The RS8 compensates for nonlinearity caused by resistor resistance mismatch in the R2R network. In tandem with the unique harmonics control system of the Darwin architecture, the resistor ladder DAC produces a more relaxing, natural listening experience.

NOS/OS mode switch

The NOS mode is non-oversampling, responding more immediately and directly to signals. By converting the digital signals to analog output directly, a more analog sound signature is produced. It is more suitable for music files / streams of 192kHz sample rate or above; Traditional Oversampling mode easily removes aliasing artifacts via the tried and true combination of oversampling and ultrasonic lowpass filter, yielding superior measured performance. By giving the user a choice, the powerful Darwin II architecture allows users to customise the sound to their own preferences and equipment.

Audio dedicated femtosecond crystal oscillators

The RS8 employs 2x femtosecond precision crystal oscillators, clocked at 45.158MHz and 49.152MHz respectively. The two crystal oscillators ensure high precision timing for both 44.1x (including DSD) and 48x (including MQA) kHz families of audio format sampling rates. The RS8 achieves phase noise as low as 159dBc/Hz @1KHz offset, ensure precision playback of all music formats with zero audible jitter effect.

Audiophile parts selection

The RS8 spares no expense in part selection. Handpicked gold-tantalum capacitors were utilized to ensure clean power output and higher power supply ripple rejection. The result is vanishingly low harmonic distortion.  The use of 4 Elna SILMIC II silk fibre capacitors produces silky highs comparable to tube amplifiers. With an additional count of 47 high capacity tantalum capacitors and 10 Panasonic thin- film POSCAPs, every component has been chosen for true audiophile-grade performance.

Class A headphone amplification

Comprised of 2x OPA1652+8x NXP dual bipolar transistors, the class-A amplifier of the RS8 features minimal zero-crossover distortion and instantaneous transient response.

Maintaining peak output at all times, the class-A amplifier maintains ideal drive and control characteristics for full-size headphones, high and low impedance IEMs. The RS8 maintains composure while playing any complex music passage through any headphone load.

Turbo mode

Full power output! Unleash turbo mode for 25% extra power supply at the touch of a button! The RS8 Headphone amplifier supplies ±6V by default, and ±7.5V in turbo mode. Turbo mode yields 56.25% extra power! (Heat dissipation and battery drain increases significantly when turbo mode is on)

12000mAh power bank

A huge battery, custom designed for the RS8, ensures adequate current supply and battery life for the DAP's class A amplifier. High performance reproduction of musical transients combines with battery life endurance: 12 hours through 3.5mm SE and 8 hours through 4.4mm balanced for extended listening!

Independent power supplies

The RS8's Digital, DAC, preamp and post-amp circuits each have indepdendent power supplies for zero interference. The Headphone amplifier circuit is supplied by 2 high quality DC/DC transformers and 6 high magnetic flux, ultra low internal resistance, fully shielded high power inductors. The 3.5mm SE and 4.4mm balanced headphone outs have indepdendent power supplies. The ultrasonic lowpass filter is supplied by another DC/DC transformer and 7 LDO regulators, supplying the left and right channels independently. The R2R ladder is supplied by yet another DC/DC transformer and 2 ultra-low-ripple LDOs supplying each channel independently. All of this is done to ensure the lowest possible noise and distortion.

Strong and cool

A pure copper battery case ensures high heat dissipation efficiency for cool internal temperatures even in the heaviest operation scenarios. The optional CR08 cradle provides even better cooling performance and flexible inputs and outputs for desktop use.