HiFime Avis 2

I ordered an item that arrived malfunctioning. Instead of a straightforward replacement, I was suggested a more expensive model which I was asked to pay for in advance. While the company eventually agreed to ship the new unit before payment, the experience remained disappointing. I ended up spending more money and time than intended on a "more advanced" product I didn’t actually need. To top it off, they refused to cover the shipping costs to return the original defective unit. I expected a free replacement for a faulty item, not an upsell and additional return expenses.

Seems like great value given the price vs. chips used, but implementation/ design is important. Take their flagship DAC+AMP, the UDA38Pro with ESS Sabre ES9038Pro DAC chip. You get a DAC that objectively measures horribly (see audiosciencereview.com), has a hizz you can't get rid of (in my experience), and the company has terrible support. I did not get a new unit, I did not get my money back, and the company has not proven their design are good by providing us the results of objective measurements, not admitted to their poor design, nor created a new revision that fixes the problems. If they claim they have fixed it: Show us the measurements. Look into companies with known, proven, measureable good designs, like Geshelli, Gustard, Hidizs, JDS Labs, Loxjie, Questyle, Sabaj, Schiit, SMSL, Tempotec, Topping.