Snap And Pop Of Color – Hiby Yacht10 IEM Earphones
Hiby Yacht10 is a 129 $USD pair of IEMS with a 10mm Dynamic Driver at the core, Mg & AG Alloy Dome and Dual Magnetic Core construction. Today we will review the Hiby Yacht10 and broadly explore how it compares to the market.
Introduction
Hiby always creates fun products, but they seem to have been focusing quite a bit on Cyberpunk fans, with their Hiby R4 DAP, and also on portable earphones fans with their Hiby R6 PRO II Music Player. Indeed, this is a company mainly focused on DAPs, but they also creates a couple of very popular and rightfully nice sounding earphones.
As an Amazon Influencer, I earn from qualifying purchases, and using the purchase links in my reviews helps me maintain this website and Youtube Channel. Huge thanks to Hiby for providing us with the sample for this review.
Product Link
Official Link – https://store.hiby.com/products/hiby-yacht-10
Build Quality / Aesthetics
Hiby Quotes themselves that Yacht10 is built on the concept of Voyage And Discovery, combining mecha-style casing and ergonomics for a good overall wearing experience. With a 10mm dynamic driver at the core, Mg-Al Alloy Dome and Polymer Diaphragm, and a Dual Magnetic Core, Hiby seems to be very confident in the heart of the Yacht10. This being said, we know by now that the driver is not everything, so Yacht 10 also uses an Air-Pressure Valve and a Dual Acoustic Chamber, with a High Purity OCC Cable and a Litz Type4 Wire.
A bit more rare for this price range is the Modular cable, which is not only removable from Yacht10, but also modular at the jack side. The driver of the Yacht10 has a THD+N of 0.4% across the full frequency range of 20 Hz – 20 kHz, and this THD is lower than 0.098% at 1kHz, where voices and most music information resides.
To complement the high raw performance of the driver, Hiby designed the Low Standing Wave metal rear chamber, so that the dynamics of the drivers are better. With shells made of aluminium you will notice that Yacht10 is fairly lightweight, and despite the edgy surface, they are also fairly comfortable. With cables based on the 0.78mm standard connector, you can easily replace the cable, although as it is modular I can’t image why you’d want to replace it.
Hiby Also designed a Hiby HC1 for CU4 Digital Adapter, which can be purchased separately, which we will explore too, and with an impedance of 24 OHMs and SPL of 95 dB, Yacht 10 is both sensitive to source hissing and noise, and fairly hard to drive for a pair of earphones. The max input power is 100 mW.
Fit / Subjective Usage
First off, the mechanism to replace the audio jack has arrows that let you know how to do it properly, but Hiby HC1 Type-C Adapter is only compatible with Yacth10 and other IEMs that may use the CU4 Cable. HC1 has a very obvious Blue Light that makes it uncomfortable to use if you’re watching movies or video content on your smartphone.
Default eartips of the Hiby Yacht10 are usable, but not very comfortable for my ears, feeling dry, and hard on my ears. This being said, the comfort of the IEMs is excellent, they are lightweight, ergonomic, with a medium fit, and although the passive noise isolation is not very high, at around 15 dB, they also have no driver flex and no void, feeling very open and relaxing to wear.
Hiby Cu4, the copper cable included in the package is a tiny bit springy and remembers kinks quite a bit, but it is also lightweight and does not conduct microphonic or handling noise. Overall, Hiby Yacht10 will be a delight for those who enjoy a Cyberpunk themed product, feeling really nice while in actual wear. Hiby bundled the pair that they’ve sent my way with the WG01 Eartips, a transparent pair of eartips, but they change the sound quite a bit from the original eartips, although they feel much more comfortable. As the price is just 10 USD, I would recommend purchasing the Yacht10 with WG01, but Hc1 is fully up to you and whether you will be using Yacht10 with a smartphone or not.
Sound Quality
Pairings – To test the new Hiby Yacht10, I have paired it with a selection of sources, including Shanling M1 Plus, FiiO BTR17, Creative Sound Blaster G8, Lotoo PAW GT2, iBasso DX340, and Dethonray Listening M1. With those sources, I am hearing quite a bit of hissing and background noise, even with sources that typically do not have it. Also, Yacht10 is quite hard to drive compared to most IEMs I reviewed for the past half a year, requiring quite a bit of power to achieve the same loudness.
Hiby HC1 Type-C DAC / AMP Adapter – Although many have tried doing this before, Hiby designed the smallest, most ergonomic Type-C adapter ever made, as this is more ergonomic and simpler to use than all dongle adapters. This being said, it also has a good driving power, no background noise, and although it is not as detailed as an audiophile source, most folks using Hiby Yacht10 are not likely to use them with a DAP above 300 USD, and unless you go for Hiby R4, most sources will have a similar level of detail and resolution, so HC1 is a very good purchase.
Overall Signature – Hiby Yacht10 is an airy, holographic sounding IEM with a fairly strong and warm bass, natural voicing, and a smoother textured treble, but with a good extension. It complements female voices as much as it complements male voices, works well for all music styles, but works best with modern pop, EDM, Dubstep, and even modern rock, and it is less made for classica, Jazz and Orchestral. Hiby made Yacth10 as a mid centric, vocal sounding IEM, but added a fair amount of bass and treble to balance things out.
Bass – Starting from the deepest lows, Yacht10 can reach as low as about 30 Hz, with a hump in between 40 Hz and 60 Hz, above which it settles a bit, allowing the sound to have kick and punch with a low amount of boominess and veil. Bass is on the sloppier and slower side, creating a fairly warm presence and long decay. Yacht10 is perfect for those who want a less analytical and more analogue-sounding bass.
Midrange – Hiby had a focus on the impact, dynamics and emotion with Yacht10, while making it sound as detailed as possible, but not forcing you to hear details in the same style most analytical entry-level Chifi IEMs handle the resolution. This means that although there’s an increase in presence in the upper midrange, there’s no peaking or forced frequency range to simulate details. This allows music to sound rich, organic and full, while having a forward presentation for female voices.
Treble – Yacht10 has a hump at the 9 kHz, which would be the loudest part of the upper midrange / lower treble, above which it very slowly rolls off in presence. Both due to the acoustic chamber at the back and the driver, most music has the same tonality in the treble, a specific sound for the cymbal crashes.
PRaT / Textures / Dynamics – Hiby pulls a somewhat wet character for the Yacht10, with a fairly metallic tinge for the treble, a really dynamic and punchy, colorful sound, and with a natural impulse response, edging on the slow end of things.
Loudness Saturation Gradient – Although Yacht10 has a quoted THD of 0.4% for the whale 20 Hz – 20 kHz range, and a 0.01% for the 1 kHz range, it changes the sound quite drastically from a warm, lush and smoother sound at quiet volumes, to a sharper, punchier and more focused, compressed sound at louder volumes. The sound can get harsh and fatiguing above 105 dB, and you will most likely enjoy them the most at around 100 dB max, but you can go as quiet as you want in the low end of volume.
Soundstage – If you like a wide soundstage, Hiby Yacht 10 delivers one of the widest soundstages, a holographic, fun sound with strong separation between the forward and background layers, and with a really nice space in general.
Value and Conclusion
Hiby already has a really strong performance for the price with their Yacht10 IEMS, but they also offer a good package, modular cable, fun sound, and with the cyberpunk themed design Yacht10 really stands out in the vast sea of entry-level IEMS in today’s market.
Hiby Yacht10 is one of the easiest to recommend IEMS if you want a modern look, and if you mostly listen to modern pop, rock and electronic music styles.
PROs
- Comfortable fitting
- No Driver Flex, No void
- Sharp and balanced signature
- You can bundle a type-C adapter for 30 USD extra, and a better pair of eartips for 10 USD extra
- Transport case, modular cable
- Wide soundstage
Cons
- Sounds rather aggressive at loud volumes
- Not the most detailed sound out there
- Hissing with most sources and hard to drive
Product Link
Official Link – https://store.hiby.com/products/hiby-yacht-10
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Full Playlist used for this review
We listened to more songs than those named in this playlist, but those are excellent for identifying a sonic signature. I recommend trying most of the songs from this playlist, especially if you’re searching for new music! The playlists are different for Spotify, Tidal and Youtube, and based on the songs I enjoy and are available on each!
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_cjBXGmwSHSdGcwuc_bKbBDGHL4QvYBu
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5J3oloz8Riy9LxEGenOjQ0?si=979ba4f082414be7
https://tidal.com/browse/playlist/330fd544-8e5b-4839-bd35-676b2edbb3d5
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