HiBy Yacht10 Review – The Perfect “Cyberpunk” Companion
The Yacht10 is the first IEM crafted with the concept of “Voyage & Discovery” in mind. Boldly combining the Cyberpunk-inspired mecha-style casing (pioneered by the R4) with an ergonomic fit, the Yacht10 features a newly designed 10mm magnesium-aluminum dome with low-distortion drivers.
At the core of the Yacht10 is a 10mm high-performance dynamic driver. We have carefully optimized every aspect of the dynamic speaker, including diaphragm materials, coils, cores, and damping. After extensive testing and comparisons, HiBy custom-designed this new low-distortion 10mm magnesium-aluminum dome composite driver. It achieves a total harmonic distortion plus noise (THD+N) of less than 0.4% across the full frequency range of 20Hz to 20kHz, with even lower distortion levels of 0.045% at 500Hz and 0.098% at 1kHz.
The Yacht10 combines advanced materials and innovative design for exceptional performance. Its magnesium-aluminum composite dome provides a lightweight yet rigid diaphragm, enhancing tonal accuracy and detail. The polymerized diaphragm suspension optimizes internal resistance and reduces unwanted resonance. Dual magnetic cores generate 1.2T of magnetic flux for a powerful drive, while the high-tension, lightweight CCAW coils deliver 150N/mm of tensile strength, making the earphones easier to drive,
For dynamic drivers, balanced airflow is crucial to enhance tonal naturalness and soundstage. To optimize the 10mm magnesium-aluminum dome high-performance composite speaker, HiBy redesigned the Low Standing Wave (L.S.W.) metal rear chamber, by finely tuning both the air intake volume and airflow.
The Yacht10 features a housing made from T6063 aluminum alloy, carefully selected for its outstanding strength, plasticity, corrosion resistance, toughness, and lightweight properties. This combination of high rigidity and toughness helps to significantly reduce resonance and distortion, ensuring a clear and accurate acoustic transmission from the dynamic driver. The earphone undergoes a precise CNC cutting process, followed by repeated hand grinding and polishing. Finally, an anodized treatment is applied to the surface, creating a smooth, delicate finish that not only enhances durability but also offers a refined tactile experience.
The Yacht10 seamlessly combines a durable, armor-like design with an ergonomic fit, offering long-lasting comfort. Its thoughtfully crafted structure ensures optimal sound transmission while adapting to extended wear, making it ideal for hours of listening. To enhance the experience further, HiBy provides a variety of ear tips made from different materials to suit various wearing preferences and scenarios. These ear tips ensure a secure, airtight fit.
The Yacht10 features a 0.78mm 2-pin detachable cable design, offering enhanced compatibility and endless cable options for users. Paired with the Litz Type 4 braided PCOCC (Single Crystal Copper) earphone cable, its fully balanced coaxial construction ensures superior signal transmission with minimal loss. This design provides effective anti-interference and delivers a warm, dynamic sound, allowing for rapid and accurate signal transfer.
The Yacht10 features HiBy’s innovative 4-pin-lock multifunctional adapter system, allowing users to easily switch between connectors such as 3.5mm single-ended, 4.4mm balanced, and USB-C digital outputs, with its screw-tightening design. This system ensures compatibility with both audio players and smartphones. The USB-C digital output head HiBy HC1 Plug is sold separately.
Technical Details
- Model: HiBy Yacht10
- Drivers in Each Side: 10mm high-performance low-distortion dynamic driver x1
- Impedance: 24Ω
- Frequency Response: 20Hz – 40,000Hz
- Sensitivity: 95dB @ 1kHz
- Max Input Power: 100mW
- Cable Length: 1.25m
- Wire Material: PCOCC
- Total Harmonic Distortion (THD): <0.1% @ 1kHz 94dB SPI<0.4% @ 20Hz – 20kHz @ 100mVrms
- Interface Type: 0.78mm 2-pin detachable
- Price: $129
I want to thank HiBy for providing me with the Yacht10 IEM review sample.
Inside the Box
- 1x Yacht 10
- 2x Adapters (3.5 Stereo & 4.4 Balanced 4 Pin-lock, gold-plated)
- 1x Litz Type 4 Coaxial PCOCC Balanced Earphone Cable
- 3x Pairs of High Transparent Silicone Eartips
- 3x Pairs of Slow Rebound Memory Foam Eartips
- 1x Cleaning Brush
- 1x Storage Bag
- 1x User Guide & Hiby Card
HiBy HC1 plug
- HiBy HC1 Plug ($20 when bought with Yacht10) integrates HiBy’s HD audio decoding technology and low-power HD DAC. It is capable of hard-decoding up to 384kHz/32bit PCM audio format in very small size and has a high dynamic range of up to 120dB, which makes it suitable for earphones of 8-100Ω impedance.
- With a distortion as low as 0.0018% at 32Ω loading, the system provides a HiFi-level experience in most audio & video playback situations.
- Supports 4Pin-lock multifunctional cable system with screwcap-fastening design.
- The HiBy HC1 plug, when used with the Cu4 cable, is a HiFi grade headphone cable with an HD audio decoder that allows phones, tablets, and computers to readily access high-resolution music as if it were a 3.5mm audio jack.
- Plug Type: USB TYPE-C
Sound
The HiBy Yacht10 has a well-balanced sound with a focus on the mids and a clear, detailed, and natural tone. Its tuning is consistent, which is unusual for a single dynamic driver IEM, as they often sound like hybrids with boosted bass and strong mid-treble. In contrast, the sound here is clean and natural, smoothly transitioning through all frequencies. When paired with more powerful portable sources, both the bass and treble can increase, but the smooth flow and transitions stay intact.
The tuning of these IEMs is great for those who love natural effortless details in mids/vocals without exaggerated bass or treble getting in the way and still want accurate bass timbre and natural treble sparkle.
The bass in HiBy Yacht10 is slightly elevated, but not exaggerated. I would never consider it to be neutral or flat, it is definitely above the neutral level. It has a rather nice analog texture with a healthy amount of rumble and softer punch which scales up depending on the source you pair these with. The bass here is more about the quality rather than the elevated quantity and has a nicely pronounced articulation and plenty of air movement you can feel.
There’s just enough lively texture mixed with natural detail that keeps these lows engaging. It’s a subtle bass that offers clear layers that separate its mid-bass and sub-bass for a balanced but direct performance. The Yacht10 has a smooth consistency to its timbre that results in satisfying grooves on most bass instruments. It has the right amount of gain to feel impactful, while also featuring a tight grasp on dynamic range. This creates a bass response that establishes a clean resolution with minimal bloat and maximum control.
Mids are very clear, detailed, and resolving, with a natural tonality without being too smooth or warm. Lower mids are neutral, adding a moderate amount of body to the sound to keep it from being lean. Upper mids have a more forward presentation, very clean, layered, and detailed without being too resolving.
The midrange is as clean-cut as a pair of IEMs can get in this price range. There’s a balance in the low-mids and upper-mids that lays down an even range of detail across most midrange frequencies. It’s a bit more exciting than neutral though, as various accents on instruments and effects showcase some color. The strike on some notes can be quite blissful but can be revealed to be slightly veiled sometimes. This never takes away anything from your pure listening enjoyment though. The frequencies still have very good clarity for the price.
Treble also has a natural modest amount of sparkle without any exaggeration, giving you clean details without a hint of extra brightness or harshness. The upper mids effortlessly flow into the lower/mid-treble, a very linear transition. The high frequencies possess a fair amount of extension while keeping the brightness to a minimum. It combines a relaxed region with areas of height topped with light sparkle. It’s an uncomplicated frequency response, but its clean and tight resolution is hard not to enjoy.
The soundstage expansion is big and open, not super wide or exaggerated, and also scales up well depending on the pair-up source. It is spherically expanded in all 3 directions with imaging that has a realistic placement of instruments and vocals. It is not on a 3D holographic level, but realistic and natural, being very convincing how everything is positioned in space. Also, despite having a well-controlled amount of air in treble, the layering and separation of the instruments are pretty good, nothing is congested or veiled, and the sound has a high level of natural clarity.
vs HiBy x FAudio Project Ace
Looking pretty similar except for the upper midrange (Presence) region right? Yes, the Yacht10 is more mid-forward sounding compared to the Project Ace, but other than that difference, you get a close sound profile, or character we can say. The Project Ace tends to be closer to a more neutral sound, on the other hand, the Yacht10 is to a more “fun” sound. The whole bass and treble line of both IEMs are very similar. We have a baby Project Ace in our hands. This is a good thing, considering the price difference, almost double.
Sum-Up
The HiBy Yacht10 is an affordable IEM that still delivers on key features. The sound quality is impressive for its price. It offers a balanced audio experience while highlighting nice details in the bass and treble. The overall clarity is enhanced by precise imaging, making the sound even more polished.
HiBy Yacht10’s tuning is really enjoyable for all types of music, especially when you connect them to a good source that enhances the bass and treble. I liked listening to everything from EDM to pop, rock, classical, and instrumental music with them.