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Enter the modern hifi world. Try this test.

HiBy FC1 vs. just about any modern or vintage DAC out there. 

Cost? Just around 20 dollars or so.

I doubt anyone will be able to tell a difference with their system. 

Let’s assume  the following case scenario: 

1. same speakers

2. same cables 

3. same amplifier 

 

The test:

Use a 3.5mm cable to RCA or balanced in to your preamplifier or integrated amplifier on a spare input. 

basically, it’s 2v plus a little extra mw, designed to drive headphones. 

If anything it’ll be a bit louder than your system, but fundamentally, you won’t be able to hear any difference between it and any solid-state DAC out there in terms of resolution, detail, timing, or instruments/vocals clarity.

Why? Because digital audio has advanced to the point where we are at its limits, and can shrink down the electronics this small, without sacrificing anything. Just look at how far computers and smartphones have come. Audio reproduction is no different in the digital domain.

frank009
fastfreight
1,276 posts
 

No

frank009 OP
30 posts
 

After downloading the Hiby app on you smartphone, and of course once you have it plugged in, these are the settings you need to toggle on: 

See the photo. Exclusive USB audio access and UAT connection mode = connection quality. This eliminates jitter entirely; something that common USB DACs with (software, FPGAs etc.) drivers cannot do, because they are working around a problem, rather than eliminating it in the first place. This is the point where even high end digital cables stop making a difference. 

HiBy FC1 2024 Version

If a configuration or DAC set up revolves around a set of compromises anyway, and a set of variables need to be there in place to circumvent those weak links, then you can expect digital cables to make a difference. Everything you need to experience digital audio is contained inside this unit. I have tried numerous DACs over the years and found them to do more to "color the sound" but this one morphs with the music, allows me to hear details I’ve never heard before. That’s why I’m posting about it.

I said it would sound the same to see if audiophiles like me would react to it. But I guess not. 

It sounds BETTER, not the same vs. older vintage DACs, and many high end modern DACs. It's ultra-transparent and the sound is so clear, it's like looking through a polished window from the inside. Enough so the birds would fly into it! 

knock1
360 posts
 

Whatever you are smoking, enjoy it!

frank009 OP
30 posts
 

@knock1 

I don’t smoke anything. I don’t even drink alcohol. 

So with that said, either be game for a challenge, or ignore what I’ve written and move on. Maybe you'll wonder if I was right all along.

kirkwallace's avatar
kirkwallace
279 posts
 

Does the cable have to be 3.5m? Can’t be shorter?

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