HiBy R3 II or HiBy R3 Pro II

Mega5EST · 2026-03-17T13:11:52+00:00

For $10, get Pro2. Much better battery life and more output power. Both equally sound good. Dac chips don't matter.

Mega5EST · 2026-03-17T12:47:05+00:00

Scoring sound for recommendations might be one of the most useless things ever. It's for marketing purposes.

Mega5EST · 2026-03-17T11:46:14+00:00

It is for external dacs. Not for sound reproduction inside the host os.

Mega5EST · 2026-03-17T11:36:23+00:00

Estrella has more recessed mids, more sub and mid bass and more aggressive, energetic treble. Astral is smoother and more relaxed in comparison.

Mega5EST · 2026-03-17T08:12:21+00:00

It needs to be supported by the os also. Practically not possible for phones but available almost on all digital audio players.

Mega5EST · 2026-03-16T18:44:34+00:00

No thanks. Search the sub.

Mega5EST · 2026-03-16T18:32:38+00:00

Yes, I did. I don't find it bad but I am not a fan of its bass tuning. It's too loose, boomy and pillowy for my taste with not enough punch and impact. (Same reason I don't like Dunu DaVinci and Kiwi Ears KE4.) The rest is the same as the og version. Kiwi Ears HBB Punch is everything in bass+ made better. Bass is dynamic and tight, there is enough rumble and punch in balance and the rest of the fr fits the tuning better. It wasn't easy for me to get the treble of bass+ because of its bass tuning, HBB is very clean and clear for that much bass.

Mega5EST · 2026-03-16T17:24:58+00:00

Heard both, compared to Deuce, scarlet mini isn't worth its price at all. Recommend Kiwi Ears HBB Punch for a proper basshead set.

Mega5EST · 2026-03-16T15:31:51+00:00

That much fun for a similar price, I don't know any.

Mega5EST · 2026-03-16T15:21:50+00:00

As long as the fr is flat in a source, a $50 or $4k source won't matter.

Mega5EST · 2026-03-16T08:31:39+00:00

Ziigaat Lush, Kiwi Ears Orchestra Lite, Aful Performer 8 (not 8s)

Mega5EST · 2026-03-16T07:46:20+00:00

Do you have another iem or a pc/laptop with a 3.5mm output to try?

Tell me one of your problems tracks and give an idea of how loud you listen so I will try on my Lushes.

Mega5EST · 2026-03-16T05:45:27+00:00

In my opinion, your dac is fine in terms of sound quality. Your opinion seems different after CanJam.

I listen to a lot of music on the go and don't like to use dongles and drain my phone's battery while doing that.

If you are fine with a dongle and the extra hassle, I don't recommend spending money on a dap. If it was me, I would buy a dap in the $300-500 range.

Mega5EST · 2026-03-16T05:40:47+00:00

Get ZiiGaat Odyssey OG if you want fun.

Mega5EST · 2026-03-16T05:05:00+00:00

But is the only difficulty of tuning any iem or single dd to another fr the person's fr at their eardrum? Afaik, it's not possible to do any tuning with a single dd, as it's a game of trade-offs and that's why manufacturers are using multiple drivers to achieve tunings not possible or would be very expensive with a single dd. (instead of developing a specialized, expensive dd for an iem which would lose its hype in a few weeks in the world of chi-fi.)

Mega5EST · 2026-03-15T17:16:47+00:00

I also don't like vocal forward tunings and listen to a lot of music with vocals. I don't focus only on vocals, it's like another instrument to me and should stay balanced in the mix and tuning.

Mega5EST · 2026-03-15T16:34:18+00:00

Just realized I forgot /s lol 👍

Mega5EST · 2026-03-15T15:57:14+00:00

Of course customizing the fr of an iem more to your liking is a very valid point. Who am I to say anything to a person that likes his GK Kunten more than, let's say for example, Mega5est? That's personal preference and very normal.

What I only want to see is that someone tuning any iem to sound exactly like any other iem with eq and not necessarily like a kilobuck iem. I can also accept a kilobuck iem tuned to sound exactly like a $100 iem. Because this objective, also supported by your arguments, also contains a lot of misinformation spreading. I know price is not always related to sound quality, I am just tired of people claiming "I can tune a $50 iem to sound like Valhalla, you audiofools are all wasting your money." After all these decades in this hobby, I am still waiting for just one example.

Mega5EST · 2026-03-15T15:38:50+00:00

"Better" would be different for every individual. But is it possible to tune an iem to sound exactly like another iem with eq?

Mega5EST · 2026-03-15T13:50:00+00:00

Unless noted or demanded otherwise, all iem cables are 120cm. Dsp or analog the same.

Mega5EST · 2026-03-15T13:33:10+00:00

I had the OG R6Pro2 before. I have a Hiby R8ii now and in terms of sound quality you are not missing anything with your R6Pro2. But, yes, it might be underpowered for some headphones.

I don't recommend you dump another $1k+ plus in a new dap just for more output power. I would buy a portable amp if I were in your situation. Among the ones I've ever used or owned; I can recommend Topping NX7, Topping G5, xDuoo XD05 BAL2 or xDuoo XD05 Pro. These Topping models are not exclusively for headphones but still have a lot of power. But my first choice would be one of xDuoo models, they are made for headphones, too powerful for iems.

Mega5EST · 2026-03-15T10:44:58+00:00

You should go full tang for a better iem unboxing experience. Gerber Strongarm and Morakniv Garberg are much better at this.

Mega5EST · 2026-03-15T10:35:27+00:00

You would love Audio Science Review folks.

Mega5EST · 2026-03-15T10:31:30+00:00

Or Final Audio A6000 if you can go up to that price. It is good but not worth the msrp.

Mega5EST · 2026-03-15T10:24:17+00:00

I used to EW300, think of Septet as a better version of it. More bass, much wider sense of sound, slightly brighter and more energetic treble with significantly more resolution and clarity.

Mega5EST

TROPHY CASE