MP3 players are slowly being left in the dust, with the easy and satisfying audio that we have coming from smartphones and decent enough headphones to pair with it, there is not really a need for good and decent MP3 players. In addition to that, with Spotify being the biggest music streaming service, there is no need to search and download for music anymore. However, companies like Hidizs are still holding on to the belief of good sounding music and they have shown that with the Hidizs AP80, one of the most simple and easy to use HiFi music player.
The AP80 hits all the right marks, it is super portable with its size and at the same time, the company has given the player elegance in both its design and functionality. It comes with a glass back and front with simple controls on the side such as audio volume and playback control.
The other side has a slot for a microSD card and the bottom spots the 3.5mm headphone jack as well as a USB Type-C port. It nice to know that they are keeping up with the times to include a Type-C port, where some music players require you to use their proprietary port and cable. The front is a 2.45-inch touchscreen and comes with the company’s HiBy OS which is so simple and easy to use.
I love that you don’t need to search for where you need to go, there is one home screen that houses everything and it even supports swiping from the top and bottom to get to the options menu as well as playback control, if you don’t fancy the physical buttons.
When it comes to sound, the AP80 is using the Sabre ES9218P DAC and the audio quality does not disappoint, I been listening to only FLAC music format and it does a good job enhancing the audio listening experience. It provides crystal clear vocals, excellent clarity on string instruments, mids that have surprisingly good clarity and the base is just so satisfying with deep punches with an overall warm sounding tone. I found it to be perfect for listing to just about anything from electronic music all the way to jazz.
It will definitely help if you can pair this player with decent headphones or earphones. In my case, I am using the TFZ Exclusive 1, which was made to produce strong highs and lows, and it really does bring out the full potential of my earphones which I am extremely pleased with.
If you do not have good headphones to pair up with this player, the equalizer offers you a lot of room to play it and you will definitely hit a sweet spot playing around with it.
It even supports Bluetooth connectivity alongside AptX, I realize that you will not get the same audio quality that you will get by plugging in a headphone, but you will definitely feel the full potential of the AP80 using a wired audio listening device.
Other than that, the audio player supports DAC out mode, which allows you to connect this device to your computer and use it as a DAC to which you can connect to your speaker system. I definitely recommend to try this out especially if you have decent quality speakers. However, with smaller speakers, you might a not hear much of a difference.
Lastly, we come to battery life and the company has claimed that the AP80 will offer 35 days of standby time, while it is a far-fetched number, I have still not charged the player after 2 weeks of using it. However, my usage is roughly one hour every day which comes from my commute to work and back. The player has an auto shutdown mode which I found to be very useful and probably the main reason that I did not have to charge it until now. However, using every day and disabling the auto shutdown mode will roughly give you around 5 days of usage which is still very decent. If you do run out of battery, it will charge from 0 to 100 percent in just an hour.
Verdict
If you would like to explore a world of great sounding music without breaking your wallet, the Hidizs AP80 is the perfect place to start with its high-quality DAC and low price point of only $115 as a Kickstarter Early Bird deal. It might lack the features and functions of other music players but it offers simplicity and elegance which other music players forgo, reminding us that audio quality trumps over bells and whistles any day.
