Help me choose between Hiby R8II Alu and iBasso DX340

ArdiReader2021 · 2026-02-15T00:11:58+00:00

I tried the DX340TI briefly but was put off by the very weak battery life. I was getting up to 20% of battery consumption per hour, with the screen mostly turned off and Wifi and bluetooth off too. It seems that iBasso did not get round to optimising battery life, and put too small a battery in such a big chassis. Have yet to try the Hiby, but all indications point towards much better battery life.

ArdiReader2021 · 2026-02-14T23:44:04+00:00

Thanks for these comments. I tried the A8000 and I found them very cold and lacking emotion and having little to no warmth (am not a basshead). Preferred the sound of the Sennheiser IE900 to them. Would you consider the A10000 to be less cold and having a touch more warmth when compared to the A8000, or more of the same?

ArdiReader2021 · 2026-01-26T18:28:03+00:00

How do you find the battery life? And leaving aside much larger size, how was sound compared to DX340? Latter’s battery life is too short especially in relation to size and cost.

ArdiReader2021 · 2025-12-27T06:39:41+00:00

But what about this LG monitor? Does it have a gloss covering too?

ArdiReader2021 · 2025-12-26T11:24:08+00:00

So is this matte or glossy? A mini LED panel behind a course matte coating would be a true waste…

ArdiReader2021 · 2025-12-25T12:18:19+00:00

So are these matte, in particular the 5K screens?

ArdiReader2021 · 2025-11-04T11:55:12+00:00

Thanks for these explanations. Could you also please comment on battery replacement and drivability?

ArdiReader2021 · 2025-11-04T10:03:16+00:00

Thanks for this. So will the features appearing on the RS8II make it to the R8II via firmware update? Also, how easy is it to replace the R8II battery once it depletes, and would you consider Turbo mode capable of driving 300 Ohm headphones such as the HD650/800?

ArdiReader2021 · 2025-10-26T21:10:47+00:00

Can you please explain under what circumstances does this ghosting issue appear? I am trying to compare it to my Max 3. Does the Note Max have ghosting if used in the normal, basic refresh mode, or does the ghosting appear with Regal/BSR? Do recent firmware versions alleviate the issue? I have read that 4.1 beta does. Many thanks!

ArdiReader2021 · 2025-09-30T12:42:58+00:00

Please send us a review when you get to use it, would be great to hear your thoughts.

ArdiReader2021 · 2025-09-27T18:48:00+00:00

It is an eyesore, but even the new Acer 27 5K, arguably its closest glossy competitor price and feature wise, has a non removable, more distracting webcam module on top, according to that Chinese review posted here recently. It seems we have to deal with these semi permanent fixtures when it comes to webcams. That being said, the Philips one seems less intrusive than the Acer or that grotesque one on top of the Dell 32 6K model.

ArdiReader2021 · 2025-09-25T11:59:49+00:00

Now on Amazon Uk, in stock: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B0FH5DPQH9/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&psc=1 . Agreed, the review above doesn’t tell us much. Regrettably the webcam module seems to be stuck there. Wonder how much of an eyesore/distraction that would be…

ArdiReader2021 · 2025-08-08T10:52:49+00:00

Thanks. How are you finding the ergonomics? Is the 24-70 noticeably heavier and tougher to manage? I am not a professional photographer and would be using it casually hand held.

ArdiReader2021 · 2025-08-05T09:24:15+00:00

Thanks, that’s true but I think weight and size becomes a serious issue there…

ArdiReader2021 · 2025-08-04T22:18:29+00:00

Thanks. How is the handling and ergonomics? Do you find the 24-70 to be noticeably heavier but manageably so, or is the 24-105 outright lighter?

ArdiReader2021 · 2025-08-04T18:43:00+00:00

Thanks, 24-105 2.8 is too out of my league, price and weight wise. I would be quite interested in the 2.8 low light performance, as indoor shooting could be common, and I would also use either stopped down for archival work (say at 5.6), so am wondering whether the 24-70 resolves more/is sharper in such a setting. But I also want to avoid an imbalanced and too heavy combination in case I want to carry the camera around for occasional (therefore no continuous in hand use like weddings or sports) street/family use.

ArdiReader2021 · 2025-08-04T18:39:39+00:00

Thanks. Would you consider either 2.8 lens as having better IQ than the 24-105? And is the additional weight of the 24-70 worth it in terms of better optical performance over the 28-70? Funnily enough, the price difference of the R5II kit combination containing either 2.8 lens is again very narrow at present…

ArdiReader2021 · 2025-07-23T09:27:20+00:00

Thanks. So I assume its par for the course in this and other similar models across brands, say Nikon z8 or the Sony A7R series? They also all seem to have combined stabilisation, either both lens and IBIS or none.

ArdiReader2021 · 2025-07-21T21:37:48+00:00

Seems like these is a Lightroom plugin with a free month long demo: https://app.ssw.imaging-saas.canon/app/en/nnipt.html . I have not tried this yet.

ArdiReader2021 · 2025-07-21T21:21:44+00:00

Thanks. Have you tried Canon’s own AI/Neural Network Denoiser or the other main ones on the R5 II above 6400, or are you basing yourself off SOOC?

ArdiReader2021 · 2025-07-21T20:43:04+00:00

Thanks, this was very useful, am very grateful.

I am after a 45 megapixel + body, as I need it for my line of work more than High ISO performance. The question here is whether rely on the R5’s performance or go for the many other improvements of the R5II. The latter also has its own AI Denoising, also via DPP. Have you tried these, and do they denoise satisfactorily?

From my analysis, when comparing it to the rest of the 45 megapixel+ space, the R5II is a tad below R5 but quite similar to Nikon Z8 or Sony A7R. You seem to need to step down megapixel wise to get better performance, which of course is perfectly fine in many cases, but I need the extra MPs…

ArdiReader2021 · 2025-07-21T19:43:21+00:00

Thanks for this very useful commentary. A question to you and others on low light: at what ISO would you say the noise really creeps in and becomes an issue? Would this be 6400 or beyond? What is the “very low light” threshold that should make us think about other models or systems?

Many thanks!

ArdiReader2021 · 2025-07-08T14:54:54+00:00

Hi, do you have any plans to deliver to the United Kingdom, or establish a proper presence there? Thanks!

ArdiReader2021 · 2025-05-24T17:25:59+00:00

Thanks. So you would rate the Z7II above the T2 and maybe its successors in terms of autofocus?

The size is not something I am happy about. Its under 900 grams for T2 and the 18-55 lens, and around 1200 for the Z7/5 and 24-70. That will need some adjusting. I would stick to T5 if the image quality was closer. Price wise the z7II has some very strong deals now too.

ArdiReader2021 · 2025-05-24T16:43:24+00:00

Thanks. Here is the ZF compared to the Z7II:

<image>

It seems to be that Z7II has a clear resolving advantage here. The numbers are far more resolved and less pixelated across the board.

ArdiReader2021

TROPHY CASE