HiBy RS8 II portable DAP promises top-notch audio performance for discerning high-resolution music enthusiasts

HiBy has launched the RS8 II flagship digital audio player (DAP) with an MSRP of $3,899 in black or gold. It is available for order from HiBy and will likely arrive soon in the HiBy store on Amazon.

The RS8 II is powered by a Qualcomm Dragonwing QCS8550 SoC, 16 GB of RAM, and 512 GB of storage running HiByOS, a customized version of Android 13, inside a machined monoblock aluminum alloy chassis topped by a 5.5-inch 1080p LCD display.

The HiBy player leverages the company's latest Darwin III R2R digital-to-analog converter (DAC) to achieve a THD under 0.0008% while reproducing high-resolution music with a frequency range of 20 Hz to 50 kHz with a SNR over 121.6 dB, dynamic range over 115.2 dB, and channel separation over 94.2 dB (depending on the output connector). The RS8 II incorporates both Class A/B and higher-powered Class A amplifiers, and the DAP can use either one or adaptively switch between both during playback.

The unit supports both 3.5 mm unbalanced and 4.4 mm balanced headphone connections while playing DSD1024, MQA16X, and 32-bit, 1,536 kHz PCM lossless music. The RS8 II also supports wireless headphones over Bluetooth 5.3 connections using the Sony Hi-Res Audio LDAC and aptX Lossless codecs. Owners can also leverage the Sankofa AI tonality feature to simulate the sound of music playback on classic players, such as record and tape players.

The DAP is powered by a 6,000 mAh battery for over 10.9 hours of runtime (depending on amp mode), according to HiBy. The battery supports 80-watt PD 3.0 fast charging in under two hours.