Hidizs S8 Pro "Robin"

A pragmatic little “Robin” from a brand that keeps delivering

Hidizs has been on a roll lately. Their AP80 Pro Max really impressed me for how capable and straightforward it is, so I’ve been genuinely curious to see what their compact S8 Pro “Robin” dongle can do.

I’ve spent the past month with the S8 Pro and very much enjoyed the experience, and I finally feel I have enough impressions to share in this review. While I do like the S8 Pro, I have a few niggles which I’ll highlight along the way. But before I get to those, here is the unboxing.

Unboxing and first impressions

The package is compact and straight to the point.

• Retail box front:

• Opening the box:

• The unit seated in protective foam:

• Box contents, I do like that it still comes with a lightning to usb adapter (my wife’s iPhone still uses a lightning connection as she still has not upgraded):

• Back with branding and model info:

Overall: a tidy, no‑nonsense unboxing that matches the price point.

Build and everyday use

The chassis follows Hidizs’ current design language with clean lines and the trademark Hidizs Gold rotary dial.

But sadly, it just acts like a regular play/pause button on the S8 Pro rather than how it works with the AP80 Pro Max and you have to use the other buttons to increase/decrease volume:

And while, the dial has me a little conflicted as I do like how it feels. However, it did catch in my pocket a few times, so it might not be as convenient, and it also “wobbles” so I was slightly worried it might break over time.

Aside: I spotted a recent video tour of the Hidizs Factory by AndyAudioVault. While the video is mainly focused on the AP80 Pro Max, but I think it was very interesting to see how Hidizs assemble their devices, including the dial. These types of videos give you new respect for how these devices are built:

Dual outputs on the end with both 3.5 mm single‑ended and 4.4 mm balanced, as you will see in the specification section, you get some decent power from the 4.4 mm output:

In daily use the buttons are responsive, the unit runs cool, and the compact shape makes it mostly pocket‑friendly (except for that possible issue with the volume dial). The RGB logo doubles as a sample‑rate indicator, so you can see what the host is sending at a glance.

Filters and how to switch them

The S8 Pro supports multiple digital filter modes that you can cycle through using the hardware buttons. To change the filter, press and hold the volume up and volume down buttons at the same time. The LED momentarily shifts to the filter color to confirm the change, then returns to the regular sample‑rate color.

Here’s a quick reference to the filter options and their intent. In practice, the audible differences are modest and mostly occur in the upper treble; think fine‑tuning rather than wholesale changes.

• Red (High‑Pass Filter; PCM 352.8/384 kHz)
• Green (NOS, Non‑Oversampling; PCM 44.1/48/88.2/96 kHz)
• Blue (De‑emphasis; PCM 176.4/192 kHz)
• Yellow (Fast/Slow filter; DSD 64/128)
• Purple (Low‑latency, phase‑compensated; DSD 256)
• White (Wide‑band flatness; PCM 705.6/768 kHz)

I generally left it on Yello (NOS) for day‑to‑day listening and occasionally switched to Blue for sharper recordings or treble‑forward IEMs. Again, these are light touches you can welcome when tailoring the top‑end to taste.

Missing Features

But there is some tough competition in the dongle dac market, especially this year, and I feel the S8 Pro is missing some niceties that you do see in some other competitors:

• No onboard PEQ or companion‑app DSP. You get the DAC’s basic digital filters, but not the parametric EQ and extra feature sets that many recent dongles have introduced this year.
• No gain modes or user‑configurable power behavior.

That said, the competitors that do have these features like the CrinEar Protocol Max or the FiiO Snowsky Melody are more expensive.

Battery consumption and thermals

Despite not being the most powerful dongle on paper, the S8 Pro has plenty of drive for essentially all IEMs and most portable headphones. Importantly, it sips power from a phone—battery drain feels comparable to a simple analog dongle, which makes it easy to use on the go. Over longer listening sessions it stayed cool to the touch for me.

Sound impressions

The S8 Pro sounds very similar to other well‑executed CS43131×2 dongles: clean, quiet, and transparent, letting your IEMs/headphones and recordings take the lead. At this price, the resolution and composure are excellent.

• Bass: Tight, controlled, and linear. With neutral IEMs the low end feels honest rather than hyped. On tracks like Billie Eilish – bad guy, the sub‑bass is firm and well defined without artificial bloom.
• Midrange: Clear and even, with good separation of vocals and instruments. Acoustic tracks like Norah Jones – Don’t Know Why present naturally without shout.
• Treble: Smooth extension with enough bite to render cymbal detail, avoiding brittle edges. Daft Punk – Instant Crush shows crisp percussion without glare.
• Soundstage & imaging: For a dongle, staging is appropriately sized—coherent and stable left‑right placement with clean center image. Depth is source‑dependent but never congested.

Overall tonality leans neutral with a musical, unfussy presentation. If your transducer is capable, the S8 Pro gets out of the way.

Comparisons

Here are some comparison notes against similarly priced dual‑CS43131 dongles I’ve used recently.

Quick spec/feature comparison across the models shown above:

I’ve also added a few extra comparison photos to this section to give a clearer look at physical design differences and I/O.

• Against newer releases with onboard PEQ: Those devices tend to win on flexibility and feature depth, though the S8 Pro often matches them on baseline sound quality.
• Against single‑DAC budget dongles: The S8 Pro usually offers cleaner channel separation and a bit more headroom via 4.4 mm, which helps with dynamics on sensitive over‑ears.

Specifications and measurements

Technical specifications (as provided):

Rating explanation

I have given the S8 Pro a Pragmatic Rating of 4 out of 5 stars. At $43.99, the S8 Pro “Robin” still packs a lot of value into what matters day‑to‑day: dual outputs including 4.4 mm, nice tactic physical buttons, a clear sample‑rate indicator, and a clean dual‑CS43131 implementation. It’s easy to carry and easy to use. However, it’s an older design, and the lack of onboard PEQ and other 2025‑era niceties makes it less competitive than some newer peers. Power is decent for the price but not class‑leading in 2025.

Niggles:

• Balanced output power is good for IEMs and many portable headphones, but it’s not a desktop replacement for insensitive full‑size cans.
• It is a pity the volume dial isn’t just a button.

Who it’s for:

• Listeners who want a compact, no‑fuss dongle with 4.4 mm balanced out at a budget price.
• IEM users who value low noise and clean, neutral output.

Conclusion

The Hidizs S8 Pro “Robin” is exactly the kind of product I like recommending: affordable, practical, and thoughtfully specified. It doesn’t overreach it focuses on doing the basics well and adds genuinely useful touches like tactile controls, an RGB rate indicator, and a proper 4.4 mm output.

If you’ve been looking for a clean‑sounding, balanced‑capable dongle on a very tight budget, this one still belongs on the shortlist just be aware that newer competitors now include PEQ and some other features the S8 Pro lacks.