Hidizs AP80 ProX
The Hidizs AP80 Pro X is a digital audio player (DAP) that is able to drive wired IEMs and portable headphones as well as Bluetooth earbuds and headphones. It is battery powered and is well constructed from a CNC milled block of aluminium with glass sides.
The AP80 Pro X utilises a licensed copy of the HiByMusic touchscreen app. It costs about USD190 but I got a 10% discount from the official online store. Compared to other luxury $$$ DAPs by Astell & Kern, the AP80 Pro X is actually a lot of cheaper and comes with a ton of features missing from the former.
Key features:
-Bluetooth AAC
-Dual DAC Chip & Precision FPGA Chip
-Pocket sized music player(DAP)
- Bi-Directional Bluetooth 4.2 & UAT Technology
- SE 3.5mm & BAL 2.5mm JACKS & Samsung IPS HD Touchscreen
- Two-way USB DAC & Sony LDAC & CSR APT-X
- Step Counter & E-Book Function
I bought the Hidizs AP80 Pro X because it has 3 features I like:
A balanced 2.5mm connection. I can use my balanced Astell & Kern Beyerdynamic TP5 p 1st Generation headphones.This is a reference grade closed back headphones specifically made by Beyerdynamic for portable use with AK’s $$$ DAPs because it was rewired as a balanced 2.5mm connection. . The AK TP5 p is now into its 3rd Generation.
A selection of digital filters for the dual DACs. I normally use the Apodising Sharp Roll off filter. Not many digital music players offer a selection of filters to tailor the sound to your liking . See here for why digital filters are useful. The AP80 Pro X also has a user adjustable equaliser and pre set eq settings, which I do not use. See screenshots below.
A simple UI design. A small form factor plus a simple menu navigation structure allows quick selection of tracks (by album, artist, genre, folder - assuming your microSD card library has the necessary embedded information in its MP3 or FLAC files), equalisation (a choice of preset EQ or a user PEQ ), digital filters for the DAC) DSD playback.
The DAP has high end Bluetooth codecs, eg Sony’s LDAC and Qualcomm’s AptX as well as lower quality SBC and AAC. See screenshots below.
I tested the AptX Bluetooth connection using my three year old B&W PX wireless ANC headphones and the low end SBC Bluetooth connection with my Earfun Free Pro special edition wireless earbuds which cost about USD70. Both produced acceptable sound.
The Bluetooth function is bi directional. So if you connect a wired pair of headphones, either 3.5mm or 2.5mm balanced to the AP80 Pro X, you can stream music or movies from your Smart TV, TV box or music streamer like the Yamaha Musicast streaming turntable.
Conclusion
Who is the market segment the Hidizs AP80 Pro X is targeting for?
With a recommended price tag of USD189 or around RM900, it’s meant for music enthusiasts who don’t mind paying extra for a portable DAP that delivers a ton of features that gives premium DAPs (Astell & Kern , Luxury & Precision) and mid tier DAPs (Fiio, Shanling) a run for their money. These have of course Brand name cachet and slightly better sound quality. But are they worth paying 2x to 10x more than the Hidizs AP80 Pro X? If I employ a car analogy, most people will find a Honda Civic a car that is good enough, But of course, some people who can afford the price tags will buy a Lexus (luxury end) or Volvo (Mid tier). You decide which combination of price to performance you like.
But if you already own balanced headphones with a 2.5mm termination or quality wireless headphones, I think the Hidizs DAP should be on your shortlist.
RM900 will buy you now a mid tier smartphone that has Bluetooth streaming ability like my Redmi Note 8 Pro that I use to shoot pictures for my blog. So if you have budget to $$ wireless earbuds like my Earfun Free Pro or inexpensive wired headphones, you might be better off upgrading to a new smartphone and buying a microSD card to store your music library in the smartphone.
