Seems kinda surreal... I'm down. Opinions?

Just posted in their Instagram 🎵🎶🩵

M500 notes

• Long term use warms up similar to my EVA R4

• Today from 100%-40% span of 4.5 hours mostly listening to music near full volume before next charge

• Buttons are DEFINITELY sketchy and questionable on longevity as seen in videos

• Camera is a Straight Gimmick, needs to be removed, barely anyone will ever use it even less for WiFi only units(can use for “Spotify codes” etc but might as well use your phone) Camera takes a while to focus and takes 7-8 sec to load your photos and still doesn’t fully render for another 3 seconds (side note, it has a flash but doesn’t by default allow to use for a flashlight outside of the camera app)

• Volume output is louder than my R4 EVA on medium gain (can run my HD6xx but 60-80 vol for acceptable performance) can’t change gain like r4

• Side light never turns off while unit is powered and doesn’t change color depending on track coding like all other hiby units, you can have the light always on or off that’s it. (Can get annoying at night AND Can drain battery if left on at night without charging)

• Speakers are mediocre (not surprising)

• Build quality is pure plastic (Reminds me of android phones of 2012-2017 made of pure plastic like budget HTC phones,1st gen Razer phone, or the Robin phone etc)

• Way less audio settings compared to my hiby R4 Eva. All you have is [Digital filter] and [Output power mode]

• No “Mode change” like the R4, so no USB DAC, BT RECEIVER MODE, or pure audio mode.

• Definitely NOT Left handed friendly: vol control hard to reach/use and fn key is hard to use. Sorry lefties

• Screen is a big improvement over the r4, even though the r4 has a higher resolution of 750x1334 compared to m500’s 720x1280, the colors pop out way better and you can change the amount of color your screen displays in settings, and the m500 seems to have less lag compared to the r4 when watching videos in testing

• Not useable in pocket, most buttons feel the same and vol wheel catches in pocket, must take out fully to use

• User interface does run faster than R4 in some applications, in others you can’t tell the difference, I took off the miku theme because it did actually lag certain stuff like changing songs: songs skip to the next FLAWLESSLY, but the miku theme player struggled to change album art and froze if you skipped to fast

In conclusion it’s still a fun dap but for people who want there first dap or an everyday/everywhere dap, i wouldn’t recommend it since there are other android daps in the same price range. Some of the software stuff ive mentioned can be fixed over updates but this is first day impressions with no updates yet announced

P.S. for people who want more of an audio review I’m currently testing my iems and headphones on it, it DOES sound fantastic, don’t hear any audible lag or distortion. currently with my iems it’s hard to tell which is better my Eva or miku but the HD6xx headphones definitely show the EVA r4 shine

But TBH just wait for one of the YouTube audiophiles to post since they got more experience, equipment, time, bishes, etc.

Well, at this point and so close to 11.11 I'm sorry HiBy I'll be spending my money elsewhere 🤷🏻‍♂️

My first DAP and the only reason I got this one is because it's Hatsune Miku themed. I will test it later with my stuff but for now, have some photos. And feel free to ask me questions about it

NOT MY VIDEO*

The camera isn't as bad as I thought. Scroll wheel isn't that loud either. Still clicky. Super* Review mentioned the buttons can be easy to press accidentally.

I'm bummed that my mental calendar was a day behind. Now will have to wait till they release the case separately to be able to purchase the 2 together.

Got this as my first DAP ever, both because of Miku and to reduce distractions, it did take some setup but otherwise has been a charm to use. So here some of my thoughts:

Hardware

The build is mostly plastic, though the screen is glass and even has a perfectly applied screen protector (so well you can barely see the outline). So don't use the second one that comes with it until you need replacement. The size of this DAP, compared to my phone (Xcover 6 pro) is pretty compact, although apparently there are DAPs that are quite a bit smaller. The size is fine for me though, as I have large hands and as such I can perfectly hold it in my hand and still access most buttons except the volume wheel and FN button (left-handed).

Speaking of which, the buttons are glossy plastic and indeed very slightly wobbly, but they remind me of older radio/cassette player buttons, which definitely is very cool. Pressing them does require a bit of force. I don't see them breaking anytime soon though, assuming you aren't throwing this thing around. The wheel is full-metal and has a very satisfying clicking sound and feeling, definitely one of my favorite features on this thing.

Software and smoothness of running

The Snapdragon 680 and 4GB of ram is definitely decent enough for a DAP, I have had no hiccups with the built in Hiby Music app, though getting it to work my way was a bit tedious. I like to throw my music in a single folder, as I have them sorted by type and the built-in sorting definitely doesn't work with that. I listen to mostly anime music and Vocaloid music, which has so many little albums that it's better to just throw it onto a single shuffle pile. However, Hiby Music doesn't like that very much and I had to add those folders to a playlist each in order to avoid having to go through all my folders each time.

As for playing, everything works perfectly smoothly, track switching is very fast and very smooth, but skipping too many songs too fast can cause it to freeze a little.

I also have installed VLC as backup, in case Hiby Music ever fails me. This does lag a bit though, but that's to be expected.

As for Miku, you get a custom themed Hiby Music app, a Miku character on the home screen you can interact with (single tap/double tap/tap and hold), certain actions give Miku voice lines (such as (un)plugging headphones, USB or nearly running out of battery) and the entire OS is very Miku themed. After the latest firmware update, you can change that independently from the OS language (so classic EN OS + JP Miku is possible).

Battery

The elephant in the room for some, seeing as there have been multiple users complaining about it draining very fast or even on standby. Mine however, seems to be a good unit and I have not had draining issues at all.

I did some tests, with max brightness, wifi on and with and without battery saver. On idle (no battery saving) it got 6.30 minutes for 1%, which equates to about 10.5 hours and with battery saving on max brightness, it got about 8.30 minutes for 1%, which is about 14 hours. Playing audio didn't impact it too much, most of the battery consumption came from the screen (80/20% screen/CPU).

Overnight without charging, it consumed about 5%.

EDIT: After 5 hours of casual use, with 3.5mm on low power, battery saving, screentime being 50% and screen brightness being about 40%, battery sits at 88% after a full charge. Safe to say if you aren't pushing this thing to its limit, battery will last an eternity.

Sound

Now I am unfortunately not an audiophile by nature and I run the consumer-grade Sony WH-1000 XM4 and Samsung EHS64 earphones seperately. So this part is very subjective and may be very inaccurate. To me, the sound was almost perfectly engineered for me, it's very neutral and the WH-1000 XM4, notorious for having too heavy bass, with only changing some of the bands on EQ was enough did perfectly well.

EDIT 2 (5 January 2026): There are two issues left I have, the first being that LDAC is currently not working for some reason on my WH-1000 XM4 (despite it being able to on my smartphone). The other is that there's a volume spike when pausing for more than 6 seconds and then resuming using either the in-app play button or physical play button without switching tracks. For both issues, I expect firmware updates and I have contacted Hiby support for the first one, another user has mailed for the second issue. This post will keep being updated when I have more information.

Salut tout le monde,

Je cherche enfin à me lancer dans le marché des lecteurs audio numériques (DAP) et j'ai besoin de conseils pour mon premier achat.

Configuration actuelle

• Écouteurs intra-auriculaires (IEM) : Moondrop Kadenz

• DAC actuel : FX-AUDIO DAC-X3J PRO (ES9023P)

Vais-je vraiment entendre la différence ? Les IEM Kadenz sont relativement faciles à alimenter. Le passage de l'architecture ES9023P et de l'alimentation USB/externe à la batterie du M500 et à sa configuration double-DAC supérieure se traduira-t-il par une différence de qualité sonore perceptible, "du jour au lendemain" (propreté, détails, séparation, etc.) ? Ou l'amélioration sera-t-elle probablement subtile/marginale pour cet IEM spécifique ?

N'hésitez pas à corriger toute incompréhension que j'ai concernant le matériel ou les différences de qualité sonore attendues.

I guess everyone knows everything about this dap. but I share this japanese review here:

The special edition of the HiBy M500 DAP is inspired by Hatsune Miku and was announced today (22) on the “HiBy Music” profile on the social network X (formerly Twitter). HiBy has decided to launch a new Digital Audio Player (DAP) under its “HiBy Digital” brand — the HiBy M500. In addition, the Chinese audio equipment manufacturer took advantage of this collaboration with the Vocaloid to boost sales. Check out all the details at the link below (the news is written in Portuguese, sorry for not being in English)

https://www.hifihub.com.br/lancamentos/hiby-m500-hatsune-miku-dap-edicao-especial

A digital audio player (DAP) isn't an Android phone. Learn what it is here: https://www.hifihub.com.br/cpt-artigos/por-que-utilizar-um-dap-digital-audio-player

Instagram post description said "full product page coming soon". Hopefully "soon" is tomorrow lol

Salut tout le monde. Je suis assez nouveau dans les DAP, donc je m'excuse si c'est une question bête, mais est-ce que le M500 de HiBy (je suis intéressé par celui de Miku si, pour une raison quelconque, ça fait une différence) peut lire des vidéos ? J'ai regardé les spécifications, mais je n'ai rien vu qui le confirme. Genre, si je voulais insérer une carte SD remplie de vidéos, est-ce que je pourrais regarder ces vidéos sur le M500 ? Merci d'avance.

Hi!!!! I've been lurking on this subreddit for a while and I thought I'd share some photos of the m500!!! It's my first ever DAP, so any advice regarding maintenance and care is greatly appreciated.

Also, if you guys have any questions, I'll do my best to answer. I'm not quite an audiophile specialist, but I'll do my best. :)

Hiby just announced a collab DAP M500 with 4G and 5G variants priced at $299 & $269 respectively. Are you getting yourself one?

Hello, I’ve been considering buying a DAP. At first I was looking at the R6 III 2025, but they recently announced the M500. They seem similar to me, but the M500 has newer Android, better battery life, and similar 4.4 balanced output power. I have some discounts, so I can get the R6 III 2025 for the same price as the M500. Because of that, I’m wondering which one would be better as a daily work/travel DAP, and also for occasionally testing headphones at audio shows.

For reference, I have the Ori 3.0 and AM7 Opal Audio headphones, as well as some IEMs (Crinacle Meta + Rinko).

Thanks for all the help and recommendations :)

I currently have an old Walkman A45 that I listen to with either my DT 990 Pro or my TINHIFI T3 Plus.

I still use my phone with my old WX3 sometimes. For battery life reasons as well as sound quality, I'd like to switch away from using my phone for music entirely.

The A45 is too inconvenient for my use case. I use Navidrome, Audiobookshelf, etc. Managing my own playlists in a second place for the Walkman makes me use it less than I should. I'd like to be able to use my regular Android apps and just download things while I'm on WiFi (or honestly, eSIM LTE - but I don't want a phone).

So I was looking at the Mechen H11 because I can get it for 75€ right now with a promotion. But it seems massive.

Would the M300 work for my use-case? How's the sound?

One if the reviews said:

The 3.5mm out of the m300 is not bitperfect, and will resample your hi-res music through the Android SRC to 48khz max. Such a poorly designed piece of Chinese garbage.