Hidizs S8 Pro's Review

 

General/Packaging/Build

Hidizs is a brand where most in the community are familiar with, particularly with their sources (Mini DAP, Dongle Dac Amp), recently, they are upping the ante by releasing several IEMs which are well received by the community. MS3, MS1, and the most recent Planar MP145, back to the S8 Pro, it is called Robin, why Robin? Here’s the snippet taken from Hidizs’s S8 Pro product page “Embodies seamless harmony between technology and sound. Named to highlight biodiversity's importance, it serves as a reminder to cherish our natural world. Through "Robin", we hope to deepen appreciation for the creatures around us, bridging the gap between nature and innovation”

Packaging is the usual Hidizs style packaging, minimal yet doesn’t look cheap. Build quality is fairly good, front and black glass panel looks premium but the trade off being prone to micro scratches and fingerprints. The bundled USB-C cable is not bi-directional, meaning one end is input, and the other end is output, so if you plug it incorrectly, there will be no sound or power to the dongle. The cable with the Hidizs logo will be the end to plug into your phone/laptop, the other end without any logo will be plugged into the dongle itself, or if you have any other type C cable that’s bidirectional, just use that, not really a big deal.

Specifications

•  Dual 32-bit High-performance DAC Balanced Architecture - CS43131×2

•  PCM Supports Up to 32bit/384kHz

•  Native DSD 64/128/256

•  4.4mm Balanced & 3.5mm Single-ended Output

•  CNC Aluminum Alloy Integrated Molding

•  Practical Function Buttons (volume +-/filter switching)

•  Sampling Rate Indicator

•  80mW+80mW@32Ω 3.5mm SE / 160mW+160Mw@32Ω 4.4mm BAL

•  Compatible with All platforms: Windows/Mac OS/iPad OS/Android/iOS/HarmonyOS

Gears used for this review

• Hidizs S8 Pro

• NF Audio NE4

• Fiio FT3 32 Ohm

Foreword

My review is solely based on what I hear via my equipment and I never consider my reviews to be objective in any way rather a subjective approach. Do take into consideration that everyone’s ear anatomy is not the same, so the psychoacoustics perception might be different as well, but i believe it will not stray too far

Battery Drain on Smartphone (iPhone 15)

• From 100% to 40%, running for approximately 7 hours +-

• Volume level at 3/10

• Streaming from Apple Music Loseless

• Doesn’t consume that much battery based on my observation, unless you pump up the volume to around 6-7/10

Sound Impression (NOS Filter)

*The listening is done on my Macbook Air M2, occasionally on my iPhone 15

Having heard several DAC with CS43131, it's safe to say they all sounded different due to the implementation of the amplification stage. S8 Pro is certainly not neutral, slightly coloured, and it is a very dynamic sounding dongle dac/amp. Bass has good control and not boosted, the mids are neither too forward nor recessed, treble has good enough extension for the asking price, not overly boosted and not harsh even when you crank the volume up.

Another point to note is that, IEM pairing is also crucial, a bright sounding IEM works pretty well with the S8 Pro, the highs are slightly smoothed out, and added some body to the overall presentation, pairing it with warm IEM will make the overall sound thicker, but if you are someone who likes this kind of presentation, by all means, go ahead, nothing wrong with it. 

Overall, it is a very dynamic and fun sounding dongle dac amp with plenty of power to spare for most IEMs out there, it can even power efficient headphones without any issue, the Fiio FT3, i’m not saying it sounds the best with the S8 Pro, but it’s safe to say it is at perhaps 70% of its performance, which is totally fine if you’re just casually listening to it instead of going into analytical mode.

Sound Characteristics of various Filters based on my own listening experience

High Pass Filter

• Many would assume that high pass and that naturally means the highs are smoothen out, no, this is not the case at all, the high pass filter actually attenuates the bass, slightly tighter bass response based on my listening experience

NOS Filter 

• It is balanced sounding overall, nothing on either end are overly boosted

Deemphasis Filter

• This filter attenuates the treble based on my observation, the difference in terms of treble is very different compared to high pass and NOS, i would say it is dark sounding in a way and note weight is rather thick overall

The other 3 filters, honestly, i can’t really tell much difference between the 3, of course your mileage might vary.

My Impression with the above filters are, they do sound different from each other, but to my ears, the differences are very minor, the most noticeable for me will be the three that i mentioned above, High Pass, NOS, as well as Deemphasis.

If you are interested in knowing more about the digital filters, please check out the spec sheet of the DAC here

Comparison

Fosi Audio DS1

• The sound profile is fairly neutral to my ears, doesn’t add any coloration to the frequencies

• Clean and balanced sounding

• Hefty in terms of weight

• Independent volume control on the DS1, S8 Pro doesn’t have that

• Slightly higher power output for DS1, 220mw on Balanced. For IEM usage, it doesn’t really matter than much unless you are using it for headphones

Final Thoughts

Having tested several dongles from Hidizs, it’s good to see they are moving away from the 2.5mm and started to adopt 4.4mm for the balanced out port. In terms of sound performance, S8 Pro is not targeted at the high performance/high end market, it is fun sounding, slight warmth with natural timbre, combined with all the factors mentioned makes for a dynamic and engaging listening experience, it is also priced very competitively, hence, at this price, it is fairly safe to recommend this dongle to anyone who’s in the lookout for a new dongle.

If you are interested in grabbing a pair, head over to the following link:

It is currently on sale at 79$ instead of the usual 99$

Hidizs S8 Pro - Non Affiliated

*Received the review sample from Hidizs for the purpose of this review, big thanks to them for the support and opportunity as always