Happy 4th to the Americans celebrating! Taking it easy tonight and tuning out the fireworks with some music.
One of the pairings I find myself going to often. The Hiby M500 is one of the most stable and portable clean audio source I’ve ever used. It works wonderfully paired with the Thieaudio Valhallas and the Effect Audio Cadmus II cable.
Have been using the ooopusX Op.22 in my ears for around 4 weeks now and yeah, this thing is kinda dumb but in a good way.
I bought/listened to it expecting the tuning dial to be the usual budget IEM party trick where you move a switch and then convince yourself you heard something because the graph said so. But no, the dial actually does something. Very obvious too. This is a cheap 2DD + 2BA hybrid, usually around the $30-40 zone depending where you find it, and the whole point is basically “do you want normal bass or more bass?” That sounds overly simple, but honestly that’s why I kept reaching for it. Not because it’s the most refined set ever. It is not. Not because it has insane detail. It doesnt. It’s just fun and flexible in a way a lot of budget sets aren’t.
Fit first because this almost ruined it for me. The shell is fine, not massive, not tiny, but the nozzle angle is a little annoying until you find the right tips. With the wrong tips I thought these were thin, bright, and slightly cursed. Like “why are people liking this?” cursed. Then I switched tips (HE Sonic Galaxy), got a better seal, and suddenly the bass dial made sense. So yeah, tip rolling is not optional imo. Stock tips are usable but not amazing. Cable is whatever. It works. I’m not going to write poetry about a budget cable. The dial itself is small and a bit fiddly, so I wouldn’t sit there spinning it all day like a fidget toy, but it feels solid enough. Comfort was good once I sorted the seal, though I still wouldn’t call the fit universally safe.
Sound wise, there are basically two moods. Open-dot / neutral mode is the cleaner one and probably the one I used most for normal listening. Bass is there, but it stays out of the way more. Mids get more space, vocals are clearer, guitars have better bite, and busy tracks dont turn into soup as fast. It’s not boring-neutral, more like “budget clean with some energy.” Good for rock, acoustic stuff, podcasts, gaming, random playlists, and anything where I’m not trying to melt my brain with sub bass. Full-dot / bass mode is the fun mode. It adds actual low end, not placebo. More rumble, more warmth, more weight, better for hip hop, EDM, pop, darker electronic stuff, late night “one more track” listening etc. But the tradeoff is also real: bass gets a little softer, lower mids thicken, and some tracks lose clarity. Not awful, just not free.
Overall I like the Op.22 more than I expected, but I would not call it a universal budget king or whatever. It’s more like a cheap little experiment that actually works. The bass dial gives you two useful tunings, and that alone makes it more interesting than another safe Harman-ish budget set that everyone buys, posts once, then forgets in a drawer. I’d reccomend it if you listen to mixed genres, like messing with sound, want something fun for cheap, or want bass flexibility without EQ. I’d skip it if you’re seeking detail, dislike warmth, want super natural vocals, or need a polished all-rounder with zero rough edges. For me, after 4 weeks, it stayed in rotation because it does one thing really well: it lets me switch between cleaner and funner without changing IEMs. Not perfect, definately a little janky, but weirdly useful.
My favorite HiFi stack right now. Penon Archangels paired with my Hiby x Hatsune Miku DAP and Plexamp.
Clean, engaging and very immersive sound. Creates a concert stage atmosphere.
New Hiby update today that brings in Cassette mode, similar to the FiiO retro DAPs. Looks really great 😊 and I highly recommend it for anyone looking for a solid and stable digital audio player.
Cable is iVipQ-176 from Aliexpress
A wonderful pairing. In fact it’s become my go-to lately.
The Mega5EST remains my favorite JM1 tuned set in my collection.
Been listening non-stop to the Hiby M500 lately and it’s a great and clean sound source for a portable DAP. Goes head to head with my desktop sources and has such a unique vibe with its retro controls.
I’m actually not the biggest Hastune Miku fan, so I bought this more for the feature-packed Android 14 DAP that would complement my HibyOS based Tempotec devices.
Happy to answer any questions - I highly recommend both of these devices for anyone on the market for some new sound gear.
Recently got the Hiby M500, and after using it for a bit, I’m surprised how much Hiby managed to cram into this thing. It feels less like a traditional tiny DAP and more like a small Android music phone that cares about audio.
As an anti Android DAP maxi, I didn’t realize how nice it would be to have a dedicated Android player that can handle streaming apps like Plexamp and TIDAL. Each type of DAP has their use cases - but it’s quite nice to be able to stream any song from a well maintained official streamer.
The dual CS43198 setup is solid, and while I wasn’t expecting it to blow me away, the sound is clean, smooth, and way more enjoyable than I expected for something this lifestyle-focused. The amps they use makes it a solid step up above the CS43131 style DACs.
The form factor is probably my favorite part. It’s pocketable, the 5-inch screen is actually usable, and Android 14 makes it feel much less sluggish than a lot of cheaper Android DAPs. The physical controls are also a big win. Having real playback buttons and a volume wheel makes it feel like a music-first device instead of just another phone pretending to be a player. I do wish the buttons were inverted in push direction, I find that I trigger the buttons accidentally a lot if I don’t use the lock mode.
The weird part is all the extra stuff: speakers, mics, camera, Wi-Fi / 4G depending on the version. I don’t really need a camera on a DAP, but hey - it adds to the charm. It feels like HiBy tried to make a weird little music companion instead of just another black rectangle.
Full review coming soon, but so far the M500 gets an 8.5/10 from me.