On this characteristic, Lynn evaluations the TempoTec V3, a brand new entry-level Twin AK4493SEQ HiByOS DAP with as much as 610mW of balanced output energy. It’s priced at $199.
Disclaimer: I acquired this pattern in trade for my trustworthy opinion. Headfonics is an impartial web site with no affiliate hyperlinks. I thank TempoTec for his or her help.
Click on right here to be taught extra about TempoTec merchandise beforehand reviewed on Headfonics.
This text follows our newest scoring pointers which you’ll be able to learn in additional element right here.
TempoTec V3 Assessment
Abstract
The TempoTec V3 DAP gives a top quality listening sound, with low-end pairing and a musical nature to it that comes throughout as detailed. Whereas the element isn’t one of the best throughout the board, the V3 is a listenable system.
Execs
Comes loaded natively with Tidal and Qobuz.
Easy to make use of.
The sound signature is musical sufficient to fulfill many.
Cons
Streaming points, even after firmware replace.
The case is nice for cover, not to be used.
The genesis of the TempotTec V3 DAP lies of their Kickstarter-funded flagship TempoTec V6 was reviewed by us again in 2022.
Coming away impressed with the sound high quality, however much less so with the slower OS, we lauded its place out there as an alternative choice to these extra well-known DAPs. I’ve beforehand reviewed the V6 for my weblog, sharing a lot of what was said on Headfonics.
The V3 is a slimmed-down model, operating a fundamental HiByOS, with streaming capabilities for each Tidal and Qobuz.
Costing underneath $200, the V3 hopes to seize its justifiable share of the market. Its twin ESS AK4493SEQ DAC chips permit for some sound specialization with 3.5mm SE and 4.4mm balanced output choices.
As a fundamental each day person funds DAP, how would the V3 fare in opposition to the success of some such because the lately reviewed HiBy R1, and older R3 II? We will see.
Options
TempoTec makes use of HiByOS as its working system, sharing a lot of the sound {hardware} because the V6. Utilizing twin DAC AK4493SEQ, the V3 achieved an SNR of 124dB and a THD+N distortion of 0.0005%.
It has the identical Crosstalk specs because the V6 (84 dB/32Ω/3.5, 116d B/32Ω/4.4), and even the identical energy scores (610mW for 4.4mm balanced, 330mW through 3.5mm SE from the headphone output and a typical 2Vrms SE and 4Vrms balanced for the road out).
Operating a pyramid analog amplifying circuit for every channel, the order flows from the mono ESS chips to twin OPA1652 Opamps for every channel sending the sign to both the three.5mm SE or 4.4mm balanced in LO mode.
Put up swap, the sign is fed via twin OPA1688 Opamps per channel in PO mode for each 3.5mm SE and 4.4mm balanced.
Skilled FPGA digital expertise, matched with a custom-made dual-crystal oscillator system, retains the standard excessive.
Decoding ranges are greater than a lot of the competitors, which performs proper into top-quality sound choices at DSD512 and PCM 32bit/768kHz, with MQA 16X Full decoding help.
Two-way Qualcomm 5.1 BT help, together with 2.4GHz WiFi, HiByLink, AirPlay, and DLNA Audio sources: Micro SD Audio, LDAC, AAC, APTX, and USB DAC spherical out the listening choices.
Design
The V3 is on the smaller facet of DAPs, however not fairly as small because the HiBy R1 (or R3 II) that Thomas beforehand reviewed. With dimensions of 100x65x17mm, and a weight of roughly 200g, the V3 suits proper into one’s palm with out an excessive amount of burden.
The oblong form has a “rounded” proper facet (entrance) for straightforward use along with your proper hand. With the case on, entry to the buttons on the proper and backside was acceptable however might have been extra tactful.
To me, these facet buttons have been too near the bend within the V3, rendering them much less intuitive to the touch and entry.
The three.2” display screen shows the system’s native apps, together with music, books, streaming, wi-fi, and “about.” The display screen brightness might be adjusted in black and white in order that viewing isn’t a difficulty.
Each the back and front include display screen protectors already put in, and also you get an additional for every within the bundle. You solely have to take away that final layer of safety such as you would in your smartphone. The safety is appreciated, however the entrance continues to be fingerprint-prone.
The case suits very snuggly, and the one cause you would want it off is to alter SD playing cards. Whereas the case could be very comfortable, I appreciated that the V3 is not going to slide out, comparable to on another producers’ case choices.
The usage of the play, FF, and REW buttons on the underside was not good with the case on, requiring a really arduous push to make any modifications. Since these three buttons are on a barely recessed panel with out the case, thicker button factors would have alleviated this.
I/O
The V3 has a single-ended 3.5mm and balanced 4.4mm Line Out mode which might then be fed to a balanced amplifier or the AUX of a two-channel system for amplification. This can be a constructive, particularly since many have already got such a tool with a 4.4mm enter.
In PO mode, although, the amount ranges of each are fairly ample, with low, medium, and excessive achieve settings. I might increase each the Campfire Audio Solaris 2020 and Meze Audio 99 Classics to uncomfortably excessive ranges utilizing 4.4mm balanced cables.
The USB-C connection is for charging functions solely, or firmware updates when linked to a pc.
Controls
The V3’s simplicity extends to the controls. On the curved proper floor, the facility on/off button is nearest the highest, adopted by an LED indicating bitrate, with quantity up and quantity down under that.
The underside homes the jacks and USB-C connection. The left facet has the SD card slot (which was fairly arduous to have interaction), which is roofed when contained in the case. That’s it.
I do respect how tightly the case suits for cover, however really feel the rounded edge hinders management of the on/off and quantity buttons unnecessarily.
The smaller, black-and-white 3.2” contact display screen features adequately, however there’s a lag when pushed. I usually needed to faucet the supposed icon twice to have interaction, and I discovered no place to regulate the haptics.
You’ll be able to change the order of icons throughout the settings menu, which is a pleasant characteristic. It locations these icons you employ most near thumb motion, very like a smartphone.
When the case is off, the play/pause, FF, and REW buttons are recessed a bit under the display screen. With out an additional “bump,” which permits for that additional little bit of recessed house, performance with the case on was compromised. Because of this, I needed to concertedly push all three to realize performance.
Packaging & Equipment
The TempoTec V3 is available in a small, environment friendly rectangular bundle laden with the mandatory graphics in white lettering, protected properly from jostling.
A smaller cutout inside homes the USB-C charging cable, with the mandatory playing cards mendacity in a sleeve under the V3. An opaque “TempoTec” laden sheet lies over all of this (together with a skinny foam insert), giving the trace of opening a present whereas affording extra safety
Case
The case got here in one other small, unlabeled white field. After inserting an SD card, I slid the case onto the V3, discovering the mandatory effort fairly excessive. Match was wonderful, although. Performance was not.
As talked about above, within the case, essentially the most wanted perform buttons (on/off, quantity up and down) have been set proper on the curved space of the case. This made accessing them harder, and functionality-wise tough as properly.
Whereas I just like the case, functionality-wise it fails to fulfill the mandatory wants, so I ran the unit case off principally.
Wi-fi Connectivity
Bluetooth
Pairing with TWS IEMs or headphones functioned as wanted, directly, and I paired the Noble FoKus Apollo wi-fi headphones with out subject.
Since there is no such thing as a video possibility, latency couldn’t be judged.
WiFi
Connecting to my short-term house AT&T 5G router was additionally painless. Nevertheless, the WiFi connection was usually unstable, so I needed to keep nearer to the router than with any system I used earlier than on this technique.
Qobuz usually dropped out with an “error code,” which might have been the unit or my router. Some songs in my playlist have been additionally not acknowledged, usually stopping and both exiting the app (throughout the streaming icon) or just stopping.
When the V3 functioned although, Qobuz and Tidal functioned fairly properly, with album covers current on the house display screen while you woke up it. This can be a setting you must consciously change, very like different DAPs.
Total efficiency of the WiFi connection was simply ample, for my part.
A pleasant characteristic, although, is the flexibility to make use of the HiByLink in your smartphone to manage the V3. This lets you stream out of your smartphone or just use it as a distant. I appreciated this characteristic.
The 2-way BT allowed me to manage the V3 whereas streaming it into my wi-fi listening supply. Pairing was additionally attainable through Apple Airplay to be used with my Apple system. Utilizing this technique to look at YouTube movies or soccer matches on my iPad, latency was commendably low.
Wired Connectivity
Line Out
Utilizing the V3 via the 4.4mm balanced jack permits for a balanced sound via a corresponding amplifier. For kicks, I used the LO on the V3 with out subject in an upcoming amplifier assessment to make sure this perform labored.
Battery Life
The 3500mAh battery inside is considerably bigger than anticipated, and in accordance with the specs, it permits for as much as 10-20 hours of playback.
I verified this via 4 makes use of, averaging 10 hours, relying on utilization. Whereas streaming sooner or later additional away from my router, utilization time dropped to eight hours, and the identical is true for streaming YouTube or soccer matches talked about above.
Streaming music nearer to the router, and SD card music allowed for longer periods, balancing the 4 choices out.
Latent battery time whereas not utilizing got here within the vary of 5-7% in a single day, however not persistently. Some nights have been subsequent to zero, whereas others have been greater.
Updating to firmware 1.1 shortened the battery loss a bit and considerably helped stabilize the unit general. There have been nonetheless play glitches as famous.
Sound Impressions
The next impressions have been made utilizing the Campfire Audio Solaris 2020 (ddHiFi Nyx Internet 4.4mm balanced cable), Meze Audio 99 Classics (ddHiFi BC150B 4.4mm balanced cable), and the Noble FoKus Apollo wi-fi headphones.
Airplay via my iPad supplied an evaluation of that performance, whereas the HiByLink app was utilized on my iPhone 13 Professional Max utilizing any of the identical listening gadgets listed above.
Abstract
Once I reviewed the TempoTec V6 for my weblog, I discovered it to hold excellent ranges of element and readability, with out a lot coloration.
The identical might be mentioned of the V3, with excellent extension up prime. The low finish carries on with aplomb and pretty good management. Reaching pretty deep as properly, the V3 supplied an general degree of element that must be appreciated by most listeners.
I appreciated the sound signature with its potential to painting a pure, sensible signature that portrayed the intent with out coloration or any false sense of sound heard all through the testing.
Timbre
The TempoTec V3 comes throughout as clear, clear, and crisp with out coloring the sound. Element retrieval is kind of good, with out changing into analytical or boorish. The notice high quality carried a way of realism that was appreciated with none false sense of being overly cogent or thick-sounding.
I discover the V3 to current a practical, natural sound that comes throughout as extra exact than natural. Right here I imply natural within the general completion and cohesiveness of the signature.
The entire works properly with none one vary superseding the opposite. The movement is easy with out subject, but in addition exact and concise in presentation.
That is one factor I preferred concerning the V6 (earlier than it bricked), and I respect that carrying over into the V3. Sound-wise the V3 competes properly inside this bracket, letting the music spell the small print or hassle. The realism of the signature could be very a lot appreciated.
Staging & Dynamics
The soundstage has neither a “wow” issue nor an intimate issue. Very like the sound signature talked about above, the soundstage presents itself as pretty typical with a cubic nature to it, that doesn’t specific any additional power in any course.
If there’s a fault within the sound presentation of the V3, it could be the dynamic response. With that common cubic soundstage, the following sound appeared to meld collectively properly, however with none true definition.
Layering and imaging combined in a lower than cohesive method the place it’s best to focus extra on the general sound than objects comparable to micro-details or imaging. Sophisticated items can turn into misplaced throughout the sphere introduced, however that isn’t to say they can’t nonetheless be musical.
Taken as a complete, the V3 presents a reliable sound signature. However focus too carefully, and the discrepancies can hinder your enjoyment.
Click on on web page 2 under for my really helpful pairings and chosen comparisons.
