[thescientist]

Has anyone found a visual side-by-side comparison of the R3 vs R3 II? I'm an R3 owner and definitely interested but I'm trying to ascertain how it will feel in hand.

 

[HuoYuanJia]

Hello, fellow Head-Fi‘ers. In a spontaneous decision, I placed an order yesterday. I haven‘t used a DAP in ages. I have a Mojo (2) + Poly, as well as Hugo 2 + 2Go setup, but usually just feed directly off of my iPhone via CCC. (Can‘t wait to finally get USB-C on the iPhone end of this month!) Home setups include Qutest + Anni, ADI-2 DAC and ADI-2/4 Pro.
I have some dongles and older PMPs in the drawer, but I just felt like I needed a new toy.

I admit to using Apple Music a lot since it finally upgraded to Lossless + HD, but I noticed that my curated audio library often has superior masters of my favorite albums, so I cannot completely rely on streaming. I expect to mostly replace Poly‘s function and use R3’s OTG to feed Mojo 2 for travels, but maybe I‘m in for a surprise and the R3 II will exceed my expectations.

 

[o0genesis0o]

Howdy folks,

My review of R3II is online on YouTube. In case you want to read, you can find the review article on head-fi here

Spoiler: My Take

I admit: I didn’t have much expectation when I heard about R3II. However, the device quickly won me over with the portability and sound quality. No, this tiny box does not offer the sound quality that makes my DX300 redundant. However, it does not hinder the soundstage performance of my IEMs significantly whilst being much more compact and pocketable. And that’s what a micro DAP should do.

Absolute Sonic Performance: 3/5 - Good.

Bias score: 4/5 - I am happy to add this device to my rotation.

Pros:

• Size
• Price
• Battery
• Good detail retrieval
• No significant compromise in soundstage

Cons:

• Audio latency over AAC connection
• Album art compatibility issue

@thescientist I have detailed comparison between R3II and R3 Pro saber in my video. The R3II is slightly longer, thicker, and heavier. I like how it feels in hand more than the R3 Pro Saber.

 

[thescientist]

Howdy folks,

My review of R3II is online on YouTube. In case you want to read, you can find the review article on head-fi here

Spoiler: My Take

I admit: I didn’t have much expectation when I heard about R3II. However, the device quickly won me over with the portability and sound quality. No, this tiny box does not offer the sound quality that makes my DX300 redundant. However, it does not hinder the soundstage performance of my IEMs significantly whilst being much more compact and pocketable. And that’s what a micro DAP should do.

Absolute Sonic Performance: 3/5 - Good.

Bias score: 4/5 - I am happy to add this device to my rotation.

Pros:

• Size
• Price
• Battery
• Good detail retrieval
• No significant compromise in soundstage

Cons:

• Audio latency over AAC connection
• Album art compatibility issue

@thescientist I have detailed comparison between R3II and R3 Pro saber in my video. The R3II is slightly longer, thicker, and heavier. I like how it feels in hand more than the R3 Pro Saber.

Awesome review! Super detailed and informative. A welcome tonic to the proliferation of reviews that take more time than they need to provide only a superficial analysis. Really appreciate the detailed comparison between the physical and performance attributes of the R3 and R3 II

Definitely buying the R3 II based on this The only question for me now is how high on the priority list it sits...

 

[rlw6534]

Howdy folks,

My review of R3II is online on YouTube. In case you want to read, you can find the review article on head-fi here

Spoiler: My Take

I admit: I didn’t have much expectation when I heard about R3II. However, the device quickly won me over with the portability and sound quality. No, this tiny box does not offer the sound quality that makes my DX300 redundant. However, it does not hinder the soundstage performance of my IEMs significantly whilst being much more compact and pocketable. And that’s what a micro DAP should do.

Absolute Sonic Performance: 3/5 - Good.

Bias score: 4/5 - I am happy to add this device to my rotation.

Pros:

• Size
• Price
• Battery
• Good detail retrieval
• No significant compromise in soundstage

Cons:

• Audio latency over AAC connection
• Album art compatibility issue

@thescientist I have detailed comparison between R3II and R3 Pro saber in my video. The R3II is slightly longer, thicker, and heavier. I like how it feels in hand more than the R3 Pro Saber.

Just to note that the R3 Pro does have Qobuz as well as Tidal. You just long press on the Tidal icon to change over...

 

[o0genesis0o]

Just to note that the R3 Pro does have Qobuz as well as Tidal. You just long press on the Tidal icon to change over...

I didn’t know that. Let’s see how I can add a note to the video. Thanks for sharing!

 

[rlw6534]

I didn’t know that. Let’s see how I can add a note to the video. Thanks for sharing!

I think a lot of people have missed that feature. It's definitely somewhat hidden in the UI, along with internet radio. The new version is much more clean.

 

[InvisibleInk]

I think a lot of people have missed that feature. It's definitely somewhat hidden in the UI, along with internet radio. The new version is much more clean.

Streaming, Internet radio, those features are just gravy. The real meat and potatoes are local files on the SD-card storage.

 

[o0genesis0o]

Streaming, Internet radio, those features are just gravy. The real meat and potatoes are local files on the SD-card storage.

True. I like how fast I can reach the music with R3 II (or any non-android DAP). Turn on, BAM, music is there. With my DX300, I need to wait for android to boot, then find the app, then search for album. Sometimes, the play/pause button gets confused because there are multiple music apps on the devices (e.g., instead of playing local file, it starts apple music instead).

Very curious about the RS2 now.

 

[InvisibleInk]

Very curious about the RS2 now

Or maybe the Shanling M1s, with its next-generation CPU…

 

[sicnesse]

Order placed, hopefully a leather case will be available soon

 

[Pylaczynski]

I think a lot of people have missed that feature. It's definitely somewhat hidden in the UI, along with internet radio. The new version is much more clean.

Wow, is there internet radio in R3S? How do I access that?
@o0genesis0o - fantastic review mate!
In regards to usage of such small device my best recommendation is to have them on standby as their battery do not get drained in that mode almost at all. Then the access is even more seamless as no power up is required. R3 Saber works for me for a week with that kind of use type, let's see how R3 II would behave once it is sent to me. One caveat is it would need to be in your constant rotation not to get battery killed quickly by getting it discharged to 0

Btw - don't you find the volume knob to stick out too far from the main body? It looks like potential point of failure.
Also - is the black anodised aluminium frame prone to scratches in your case? I am wondering if not to switch from black one to silver to prevent that from being visible since mine has not been sent yet :

 

[o0genesis0o]

Wow, is there internet radio in R3S? How do I access that?
@o0genesis0o - fantastic review mate!
In regards to usage of such small device my best recommendation is to have them on standby as their battery do not get drained in that mode almost at all. Then the access is even more seamless as no power up is required. R3 Saber works for me for a week with that kind of use type, let's see how R3 II would behave once it is sent to me. One caveat is it would need to be in your constant rotation not to get battery killed quickly by getting it discharged to 0

Btw - don't you find the volume knob to stick out too far from the main body? It looks like potential point of failure.
Also - is the black anodised aluminium frame prone to scratches in your case? I am wondering if not to switch from black one to silver to prevent that from being visible since mine has not been sent yet :

If I put the device in the included case, the volume knob does not stick out that far anymore. I mostly use the device without any case, and I have no problem with volume knob or scratching the frame. I kept the device in the pocket of my suit jacket or trouser, so not as tight as jeans.

Keeping it on all the time is an interesting idea. I'm quite annoyed by how quickly it turns off to preserve battery.

The unit is on a trip around Australia to reach other reviewers and friends. I already miss the device

 

[Pylaczynski]

If I put the device in the included case, the volume knob does not stick out that far anymore. I mostly use the device without any case, and I have no problem with volume knob or scratching the frame. I kept the device in the pocket of my suit jacket or trouser, so not as tight as jeans.

Keeping it on all the time is an interesting idea. I'm quite annoyed by how quickly it turns off to preserve battery.

The unit is on a trip around Australia to reach other reviewers and friends. I already miss the device

Thanks, I love the idea of volume knob as a whole, but this particular implementation by Hiby looks a bit worrying - like dropping on the knob or shearing load may cause a catadtrophic damage...

Always on for main driver is my strategy to all DAPs I had/have and it never failed me. It was especially helpful with Sony DAPs (A55 and ZX300) where the boot up time was close to one minute, within which I could loose my hype and interest in listening to something altogether
But it was very nice experience even with fastest loading DAP I had - M0 Pro, where boot up was less than 20s.
You know, just waking up and pressing "play" to continue the latest track is such a nice feeling - sometimes even without looking at the screen

 

[rlw6534]

Wow, is there internet radio in R3S? How do I access that?
@o0genesis0o - fantastic review mate!
In regards to usage of such small device my best recommendation is to have them on standby as their battery do not get drained in that mode almost at all. Then the access is even more seamless as no power up is required. R3 Saber works for me for a week with that kind of use type, let's see how R3 II would behave once it is sent to me. One caveat is it would need to be in your constant rotation not to get battery killed quickly by getting it discharged to 0

Btw - don't you find the volume knob to stick out too far from the main body? It looks like potential point of failure.
Also - is the black anodised aluminium frame prone to scratches in your case? I am wondering if not to switch from black one to silver to prevent that from being visible since mine has not been sent yet :

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/hib...ions-including-somafm-181-fm-and-more.931918/