TempoTec V6

Following Jürgen’s recent review of Tempotec V6, the Dongguan-based manufacturer sent me a sample unit of their TOTL DAP to obtain a second opinion / review. I thank them for that.

As per our standard in such cases I’ll keep my piece a bit less descriptive as most of the general product information is already well covered by the original article. I’ll of course fill the pros&cons table, and I will add personal notes and considerations that might – hopefully – add something new to the reader’s benefit.

What’s good for me​

Sound​

First a foremost, when judged vs its reference price V6 sounds good. Imaging (microdynamics) in particular is very nice. Extension is more than acceptable, and there is no significant sign of shoutyness or other “overdoings” from the 3KHz up. Well done.

The general device timbre, furthermore, is pleasant. It transmits a sense of silkyness – notes are well defined yet rounded. As a consequence V6 pairs best with bright / analythical drives.

On the flip side V6 is not the most resolving or microdynamical source you can get for the money – although quite likely the best one in form of a standalone DAP. On such regards it must honestly be kept in mind that miracles not being allowed, limited resources imply compromises. Cutting it with an hatchet, but not going far from reality, experience tells us that you “either” get good imaging with limited resolution, “or” a shaper accent on details but a fuzzier imaging, and fatigue on the midterm. Getting both at the same time requires different hardware (starting from the power module), therefore – by the way – higher budgets.

Power​

V6’s balanced output delivers some very nice power, which turns into a lot of good flexibility. I find its almost 4V voltage swing OK for my HD600 in most if not all occasions, and 610mW on 32ohm are a great reservoir of power vs the overwhelming majority of IEMs out there, solely barred uncommon cases like Final E5000 or RHA CL2 – and fullsize hard planars, of course (more on this below).

Audio-specific system foundations​

In exchange for being stuck with Andoid 8 (more on this below), V6 can adopt the full suite of audio-specific Android customisations originally developed by HiBy.

The most important of those is no doubt the bypass to Android’s stock audio driver, which “locks” all standard Android devices onto max 48KHz sample rate output – barred aposteriori interventions by clever apps e.g. UAPP, or, more recently, Roon ARC. On custom Android 8 there is a sort of “direct path” available between audio hardware and any higher-level apps, allowing the latter to fully exploit the former’s potential.

Another extremely interesting feature available at system level on these custom Android 8 distros is HiBy’s own user-friendly parametric EQ system called MSEB (as in “Magic Sound Eight Ball”)

The same feature is indeed included with HiBy’s music player app (“HiBy music”) – yet having it implemented down low at system level means you can exploit it also when using any other player app. Not a small thing at all.

Other nice audio features​

V6 offers full access to its DAC chips’ 6 (six!) different built in filters: Sharp Roll-off, Slow Roll-off, Short Delay Sharp Roll-off, Short Delay Slow Roll-off, Super Slow Roll-off and Low Dispersion Short Delay.

By the way: for an explanation of what reconstruction fiters are you may want to grab a coffee, then go read my article on the subject (I recommend: in the listed order…). Full AKM AK4493SEQ specs are instead available here, after some registration.

V6 has 4 (four) separate analog audio outputs: 3.5 and 4.4 headphone out, and 3.5 and 4.4 line out.

It’s worth noting that unlike other devices V6 does not offer S/PDIF (digital) coax output from its 3.5 jack port. To get S/PDIF out from V6 you need to pick it from the USB-C port, via an adapter.

While talking about digital ouputs (and inputs), V6 offers them both on Bluetooth and USB channels.

Bluetooth in particular is at level 5.0 and supports most advanced codecs including LDAP and APTX-HD. No APTX-LL however. BT in general is well implemented and I could get good connection stability both in and out on LDAP.

And good battery support​

V6 carries a 4500mAh battery, which taken per se is one of those pieces of info that really mean nothing.

It becomes good news when we consider that

• The battery itself supports QC3 fast charging : with the right charger in just 1 hour you get up tp 70%
• The device consumption is quite modest. Based on my typical usage I could get more than 12-13h effective play time.
• Android’s deep sleep is correctly implemented: you can leave V6 “on, but sleeping” (like your phone) and it will last weeks
• Last but not least, 4000mAh are enough to cope with powering a not particularly hungry dongle (e.g. E1DA 9038SG3, Dragonfly Cobalt) in case you want to use one to sensibly upgrade V6’s internal sound quality

What’s not​

Android​

In spite of the audio-specific customisations – one above all: the proprietary patch allowing for bypassing of Android’s own audio drivers – Android still impacts negatively on sound quality.

How do you know? Just try. Take the very same track and play it once on the DAP, and another time from a good quality transport after connecting that DAP as an external USB DAC: the latter will transit through at a “lower” level, and will be audibly cleaner, airier, livelier. Do the same with a non-Android DAP and the differences, if any, will be much less evident.

That being said, Android brings a lot of additional convenience to a mobile audio player. Sure! So does the smartphone I already carry with me everywhere however. So why should I use carry dedicated mobile audio player (DAP) ?

Long story short the sole valid fundamental rationale is: because I want better sound quality. Correct.

Just be warned: a) on even price conditions you can and will find non-Android DAPs sounding significantly better than same-priced Android ones, so much so that b) there is no Android-based DAP seriously rivalling top sound quality DAPs (Questyle QPM, Lotoo Paw Gold Touch).

Android 8.1​

Amonsgt the few really interesting possibilities opened by adopting Android (or iOS) is using the device as a mobile Roon terminal via the recently released Roon ARC app. Very true, very important. Too bad that Roon ARC requires Android 9 (or iOS 12)

Why is the overwhelming majority of the existing Android-based DAP still adopting Android 9 ? Quite simple if you think about it : no one wants (is able / can budget-justify) to develop new audio-specific kernel modifications. Everyone is forking / licensing the same original patches – hence they are stuck on that kernel version.

Limited system resources leading to limited system performances​

As mentioned above, Android is supposed to bring flexibility as its main advantage. Key to that is the possibility to use multiple different applications to run different tasks, and do that concurrently, read: at the same time.

To reach such target a certain amount of system resources (computing power and RAM) are required. And that’s what V6 sadly falls short of. The Snapdragon 425 SOC is a 6 year old model – which is a loooong time span in the mobile gear CPU chips market. Furthermore, it’s equipped with just 2GB of RAM. By comparison my everything-but-TOTL Samsung A52 phone runs a 2020 SOC (Snapdragon 720G) on 8GB RAM.

Surely choosing an outdated SOC and very little RAM contributes keeping market price down – no question about it – however it also hampers applicative performances especially in terms of multitasking.

Long story short: V6 works OK when you launch one music player, and use it to its full extent (including some EQ etc), but it starts showing “fatigue” (slow UI responsiveness) or “serious fatigue” (sluggish UI, stuttering etc) when you keep more than one music player and/or other (e.g. messaging, video etc) apps up together.

Other (common) shortcomings​

From some point of view V6 is a genuine son of its time – so I guess we should be mild on its main shortcomings as they are common to most if not all the rest of the market offering at the same prices, and sadly at higher prices too.

Much like most of its peers, V6’s Single ended output should be considered “there just in case you can’t but use it”. Sound quality with some meaning exclusively comes out the Balanced output line, really.

Additionally, while V6 is able to deliver some very significant output power onto high impedance (almost 4V swing on 300ohm) and mid impedance (610mW on 32ohm) loads, its architecture quickly drops the battleaxe as load goes down: current output vs sub-16ohm drivers is seriously limited, so much so that it does not pass the E5000 acid test. Again: V6 is in great company ! It would then be too severe to point this out as a shameful limitation or such. Just be warned that – as always – money matters, and “there ain’t such thing as a giant killer”(tm).

A couple of significant comparisons​

Sony NW-A55​

Simply put, NW-A55’s worst defect is that… it was recently discontinued. Until a year ago it was still on sale as new and, while already good in itself, thanks to a great humanity benefactor anyone could (and still can) even upgrade its internal operating system adopting more sophisticated versions Sony normally dedicates on their higher tier DAP models, turning A55 into a real sound quality masterpiece for a very modest budget (a bit less than 200€ retail).

A55 is worth mentioning as a part of our discussion today as it’s a glowing example of how a much lower priced device, free from the Android “burden” (see above), in terms of sound quality, audio features and UI/UX can closely rival a (good!) Android DAP like the V6 costing more than twice as much. Indeed in my opinion A55 still surpasses V6 in terms of sound definition and UI, while is succumbs as for sound extension, sheer output power, flexibility and compatibility.

HiBy R5​

Also recently discontinued to be replaced by the much more expensive “R5 II Gen-2”, R5 was HiBy’s lower end Android-based DAP.

Lastly priced at the exact same ex works price as V6 ($369), the original R5 is extremely similar to its Tempotec competitor in terms of internal system hardware (same Snapdragon SOC, same system resources, same Android distro, same standard mods and apps), the meaningful differences consisting essentially in the audio section, whereon R5 is equipped by two CS43198 instead of V6’s more modern 2 x AK4493SEQ, complemented by 2 x ADP8397 opamps vs V6’s OPA1688.

R5 also has a smaller form factor (and screen), BT 4.2 instead of 5, and is minorly less powerful in terms of output wattage… details, really.

What’s most important: V6 sounds better. Not like day / night better, no, still very much audibly better. R5 sounds edgier, grainier, less refined.

Again, what matters to our discussion today is that the two devices are very similar under multiple design aspects, and they mainly differ insofar as V6 adopts a more modern DAC chipset. The existing although not excessive differences I find correspond quite exactly to my apriori expectation.

Wish I had a chance to audition HiBy’s latest R5 iteration, the R5 II GEN-2. I’m ready to bet it will be… very similar to V6 again – this time the gap being even smaller between the two, and it will be a close call wether one or the other can be called “better”.

Why do I reckon so ? Because R5 II is… pretty much again the same piece of base hardware (same Snapdragon SOC, same Android 8.1, same sw suite, same… etc), this time complemented with a more modern DAC chip set (2 x ESS9219C) and a Class-A output stage which will likely provide a tad better (cleaner, livelier) sound at the cost of a much higher power consumption.

How much difference will such more modern componentry make? Tough to say – as the burden represented by the antique (!) underlying hw and sw architecture will surely drain part of their good deeds…

Considerations and conclusions​

Taking solely output audio quality in consideration the DAP market offers better quality for the dollar on proprietary-OS DAPs vs Android-based DAPs.

That said, for many adding more applicative flexibility to their pocket audio player device is a priority, and that’s where a general-purpose OS like Android comes into the equation.

Android DAP lovers don’t seem to really care about compromises in terms of sheer sound quality, or in terms of higher price budget, or both. Their (legit) mindset calls for Android-based DAPs to be considered (paraphrasing you-know-which movie line…) a separated ballpark, if even the same sport compared to custom OS ones.

All that recalled as a crucial preamble, as I tried to outline today Tempotec V6 clearly represents a solid staple in the sub-1K€ Android-based DAP panorama.

Its original introductory price of $280 made it into an absolute no brainer to be honest. At that price V6 was “the” budget Android DAP to own – full stop.

Now that the launch campaign is over V6 retails for $369 ex works, converting into a whiff less than €450 including EU VAT – which means stiffer competition, which however won’t likely significantly outrun V6 in terms of overall quality, leaving it as a still solid choice in its category and price segment.

This review originally appeared on audioreviews.org, here.

Build is quite nice, especially nice with the faux leather case that comes with. It is reasonable for the early bird price of $280.
For people who spend $300 or more on IEMs, they are better served by a dongle or a higher end DAP.

The Tempotec V6 has been loaned to me by @cqtek of Hiendportable.com for me to try out. Cqtek already posted his review of the device on his web (here) so I suggest checking out his review which I haven’t personally read (I always try to avoid other reviews before testing something) but I know that he is usually very thorough in his reviews.

If there is anything that we (Cqtek and I) haven’t covered in our reviews, you can find out more about the V6 by visiting the official Tempotec page here: https://www.tempotec.net/

As always, I have no affiliation with the brand (or any other brand) and will try to remain as sincere and unbiased as possible in my opinions.



Intro…

The Tempotec V6 is a rather recent launch from the brand and it offers quite a feature rich DAP at a very reasonable price, at least in comparison to many other brands in the DAP world.

With native DSD512, MQA 16X, DXD and PCM 32bit/768kHz, it should cover almost any file format that you want to throw at it. It certainly hasn’t had any issues with any formats I have tried in my collection.

Based on Android 8.1, the main music player is Hiby Music, an app that will be familiar to many of you out there. However, as it is based on Android, you should be able to load just about any music app of your preference. Personally I don’t usually use Hiby Music, not because I have anything against it, but in this case I went with it as it was already available and I didn’t go through the installing/uninstalling of apps.

As far as other specs go, it runs on a Snapdragon 425 with 2GB of Ram and 16GB Rom, which should be enough to play music without issues but I’m sure you will be able to bog it down if you start getting trigger happy in the play store.

But anyway, let’s get on with the fun things…



Presentation…

There isn’t much to say in the way of presentation, it comes well packed inside a simple black box that sports the Tempotec brand an logo on the top.

Inside we get the player, a case to protect the DAP, a user manual and a USB to USB-C cable for charging.

Not a lot to get excited about here but enough to cover the needs of those hoping to open and enjoy the DAP.



Build and aesthetics…

The DAP is built from plastic, with glass on both the front and the back. At least I think it is plastic, it could be aluminium but it looks and feels like plastic to me. It does have a bit of a shaped bezel on the right hand side of the player, reminiscent of something from maybe Fiio, with a gold (or brass) coloured volume knob, but the rest is rather non-descript black with square corners.

Of course, if you are using the player inside it’s case, which I recommend, then you are not going to see much of the black or the sharp corners, as the case will cover altmost everything except the screen, wheel and connectors.

There is a fair bit of weight to the player and I also find it to be a little on the large side for my preferences but this is something that each person will have their own feelings about. Obviously the larger size makes for a bigger screen, although there is around 2cm of real estate at the bottom that is not used for the screen (this area sports a V6 logo in silver).

As far as build quality, I don’t thinks it’s bad, especially considering the price, although I am not overly impressed. I feel that a lot of the Shanling offerings are more impressive (also in the aesthetics department) but that could be bias from my part.

Once inside the case, which is a dark british racing green (at least with this one) and pairs quite nicely with the gold knob, then it does resemble something that can maybe be thought of as little more “up-market”, although that is again something that is totally irrelevant.

All in all, I can’t really complain at the build and aesthetics but I am not going to gush over them either.



Functionality…

This section could go on for days as this is a DAP that is based on Android 8.1, therefore you can basically do with it whatever you can do with a phone or tablet (except make calls), how it will perform is a different story.

However, I am not here to give my opinion on it as an Android device, rather as a Digital Audio Player, so I am going to stick to the basics.

So let's start off with the hardware side of the player itself. We have the wheel located on the right hand side, serving as both volume and as a click button. The way that the wheel is located between the cutouts of the side means that it is only really accessible by using two fingers, one at the front and the other at the back. This also makes it difficult to turn the wheel more than a few millimeters at once, making large volume adjustments by the wheel difficult.

To assist with this, once you turn the volume wheel slightly, the volume bars appear on the screen and you can quickly drag the level to where you need it. This solution stops you accidently raising the volume while it is in your pocket, but does have its own drawbacks. First, if the screen of the player is off (which it turns off automatically after a set time, which you can change of course, it is Android) then turning the volume wheel doesn't turn the screen on. That means that to get to the volume bars on screen, you need to wake it by pressing the button or double tapping, then turn the volume knob slightly, then make the change on screen. If the device is in your pocket, well, that’s just not going to happen.

Why is this something I am complaining about? Well, I have a lot of music, from all kinds of genres and years, which results in many different production qualities and levels. I am actually quite fond of hitting “shuffle all” and randomly listening to tracks from the whole library. On multiple occasions I have found myself listening to a track that is mastered at a low level and turning the volume up, only for the next track to come on a blast at me until I get chance to grab the player, double tap the screen, turn the wheel and then drag the bar. Not a fun experience

Moving on… below the wheel there is a light that changes colour to show what format of file is being played and also serves to show that the unit is on. There is cut out in the case for the light and I have to say it gives it a nice touch.

Below the lights we have the buttons that make DAPs special. From top to bottom we have last track, play/pause and next track. These work well although it is difficult to feel which button you are on, especially with the case on.

Moving to the bottom of the player, we find multiple connections. From left to right we get 4.4mm balanced line Out, 3.5mm unbalanced line out, USB-C, 3.5mm unblanced headphone out and 4.4mm balanced headphone out.

It is great to see the line outputs on the player, being dedicated ports rather than just a setting in the menu to set headphone out to full and call it line out. I haven’t measured the outputs but I am sure Cqtek will have (so check out his review). They can also be set to fixed or variable, again, a nice thing to see on a device like this.

On the bottom and top of the unit we get nothing and on the left there is the micro SD Card slot. The card slot is a simple “push to click” without having to mess around with any little silicone covers. You could argue that the silicone covers stop dust from getting in to the socket but this is a moot point once you have the case on (there is no access to the SD without removing the case) and to be honest, I always have a card inserted into my DAPs anyway.

When I received the unit, I inserted a 256gB micro SD which had less than 1gB free, so about 9200 songs. The player took 8 minutes to read the songs and load them into the library, which is not bad but not exactly lightning speed either.

So, that is it as far as the hardware side of things. I am not going to go into the software side of things, I already mentioned (multiple times) that it is Android, so you can pick and choose your favourite player. You can also check out the Hiby Music app by installing it on your phone if you want to get a taste of it.

As far as the performance (running performance, not sound performance), it runs both Tidal and the Hiby Music app quite smoothly except for when I hit “Shuffle All” on 9200 tracks. In that case, when randomly playing the whole library on the micro SD, I found that I would get the odd glitch on tracks now and again, as if a packet was dropped. This didn’t happen when listening to individual albums (even with the same songs) nor did it always happen in the same places on the songs in question, so it leads me to believe that the player has some kind of struggle when using playlists that long (yes, I did try the same songs on the same SD in a different player).



Sound…

So far, I can’t really say I have been too excited about the V6 but here is where it gets much better, in my personal opinion of course.

Once the SD was loaded I grabbed the IEMs that I had on hand, which happened to be the Dunu Vulkan, and hit play. I was greeted with a sound that I can only describe as pleasant, detailed and highly enjoyable.

As some of you probably already know, my main source for IEMs is the iFi Gryphon and I must say that moving from the Gryphon to the V6 certainly did not feel like a let down. The V6 is not quite as warm as the Gryphon but it is by no means as sterile as something like the M2X which is my usual DAP (although I don’t actually use it direct, I use it more as a source to the Gryphon).

The V6 seems to have a very clear and detailed sound, while avoiding becoming too harsh in the upper ranges, something that other sources do exhibit on occasions. At the same time, it does not go too far towards the warm side of things. I actually like iFi as they manage to give a warmer sound without losing any sense of detail or becoming “vague” and this is a similar experience with less warmth.

During the time I have spent with the V6, I have tried a bunch of IEMs and I really can’t say that I dislike it with any of them. It seems to respect the individual characteristics of each IEM without pushing them too far one way or the other (bright or warm). I can’t say that I have found any of them to be a heavenly discovery of synergy but, again, none of them seemed to not work well together either.

I also decided to give it a run with some over ears, I mean, why not?

I have to say that I was very surprised by the results.

The first headphones that I plugged in were the Hifiman Arya v3 (connected to the balanced output with the beautiful Viking Weave Cable that I still need to talk more about) and I really wasn’t expecting much at all. In low gain, at around 75/100, I was already at my usual listening level and the sound was very very pleasing. In fact, I can say that I did not miss the Gryphon at all for powering these headphones. Switching over to high gain, 50/100 on the dial was enough for me to sit back and enjoy music for a very long period.

As the V6 surprised me with the Arya v3, I decided to connect the Arya v2, which I find to be more demanding than the v3. Again, the result was nothing to complain about! I did need to raise the volume level but the overall sound was very pleasing and the V6 performed far better than I would have imagined from a DAP. Ok, it wasn’t quite up to the level of my desktop stack but I didn’t find myself wanting to switch over in order to enjoy the music.

In order to make things even more difficult, I switched over to the HD6XX. These headphones are not only 300 Ohms (making them more difficult to drive), they are also headphones that impress me on not too many devices. Yes, they sound ok on most things with enough power, but the magic only happens on certain devices I have tried so far. Just to make it even more of a challenge for the the V6, I also went with the SE output.

In this case I did find that I needed to be around 75/100 on high gain to get to my usual listening levels, which are not very loud. In fact, I could max the DAP out without it becoming uncomfortable but it was still quite impressive power for the SE output. As far as sound goes, well I wouldn’t say it was magical but that is not really a serious complaint as there aren’t that many devices that have wowed me too much with the HD6XX, and in DAP or even portable form, I can probably only list the iFi Diablo as one of them.

I didn't spend too much time with the line out of the V6, although I did some brief tests with the Atom and the THX789 being fed (both balanced and unbalance) and to bo honest, I have to say that I prefer the sound of headphones being fed directly from the V6. Yes the external amps did add extra power but that was only really necessary for something like the HD6XX and I didn’t find that the overall signature was that exciting.

That leads me to believe that the great sound of the V6 comes from the combination of the internal DAC and amplifier working together. Obviously I can’t test the amplifier section on its own, as there is no analog input, but I much preferred the sound straight from the device than feeding the external amps.

After playing around with headphones, I went back to IEMs and just enjoyed the performance of this DAP with anything I threw at it.



Conclusion…

As an overall package, I can’t say that I am overly crazy about the Tempotec V6. I find the device itself to be large and cumbersome, I don’t feel it’s beautiful or amazingly built, I am not keen on an Android based DAP, in fact, I would just personally say I don’t like it, if it wasn’t for one thing. The sound.

I really have to say that I am impressed by the sound this device puts out and how it performs with almost anything I have on hand. With IEMs I find it to be an extremely enjoyable listening experience, giving just a slight touch of warmth to things without ever being overdone. With easy to drive headphones, such as the Koss KPH40, it sounds great, and even with planar headphones it performs way better than I would have ever expected it to do.

I am very grateful for having the chance to give this DAP a listen, as it has reminded me of just how important sound is in the overall picture of things. Everything else becomes secondary when you can just relax and enjoy the music.

As always, this review is also available in Spanish both on www.achoreviews.com and on www.youtube.com/achoreviews

TONALITY: 8.5/10
TECHNICAL PERFORMANCE: 9.2/10
AMPING QUALITY-QUANTITY: 9/10
BATTERY LIFE: 8.8/10
FEATURES: 9/10
BUILT QUALITY: 9/10
SOUND VALUE: 9/10
PRICE VALUE: 9.5/10

INTRO


TEMPOTEC is an old but understated audio circuit, DAC and DAC-AMP company. They have help Hidizs creating DAC-AMP and DAP before but now work as a serious independant brand too. They were known for the Tempotec Serenade and Sonate serie, but get on the map worldwide with their first dong best seller, the Tempotec HD PRO that I praise alot at the time.
In term of DAP, they have only create 1, the Tempotec V1A, an entry level ultra portable DAP with smallest touch screen on market as well as incredible amount of feature including possibility to connect dongle. But in term of sound and power output, it was disapointing. Construction too wasn’t the most sturdy. But this is a story from the past and Tempotec continu to evolve and improve, should it be with their latest serie of dongles like the HD V using dual ES9219 and sounding marvellous or their new music station solution, the Serenade X, this company never finish to surprise us.
Today I will review their very first serious Digital Music player, the Tempotec V6, and Android DAP using dual AK4493SE DACS and 6 OPamps. This mid-tier DAP is agressively priced at 400$ and promise high value both in sound and features. It have bidirectional Bluetooth, USB DAC, Audio in and out, 2 line out and 2 audio out, long battery life, and plenty of other possibilities.

But what import me the most is the sound quality, let see if it truely can be consider as high end DAP with high fidelity sound performance in this review.

Technical Specifications:

• Series : Variations
• Model : V6
• Operating System : Android OS 8.1
• Screen : 4.2’’ 720P Touch Panel
• CPU : Snapdragon 425
• ROM : 16GB
• RAM : 2GB
• Expanded Memory : 1x MicroSD card slot up 2TB
• DAC : 2*AK4493SE
• OP-AMP : 2*OPA1612 + 4*OPA1688
• SNR : 124dB
• THD+N :-111dB
• DNR : 124dB
• Crosstalk Level : 84dB @32 Ω (3.5mm SE) / 116db @32 Ω (4.4mm BAL)
• Bluetooth Codes : LDAC, AAC, UAT, APTX, APTX-HD, SBC
• WiFi : 2.4GHz / AirPlay
• Analog Input : 3.5mm Single Ended & 4.4mm Balanced Line Out
• Output Interface : 3.5mm Single Ended & 4.4mm Balanced PO
• Output Power : 330mW/32Ω/3.5mm 610mW/32Ω/4.4mm
• Output Level : 2VRMS/3.5mm, 4VRMS/4.4mm
• USB In/Out : USB Type-C Charging/Data trans./USB DAC/USB Audio）
• Battery : 4500mAh
• Battery Life : 13h Headphone Out, 15h Bluetooth (SBC)
• USB Port : USB Type C
• Size : 53.3mm×92.5mm×11.5mm
• Weight : 240g

CONSTRUCTION​

The craftmanship of V6 have nothing to envy to other mid-tier DAP, and their nothing underseen in it’s design and hardware. The main body is made of aviation grade alloy, very sturdy and resistant, with an added tempered glass for its back and high quality 4.2inch glass touch screen on it’s front.
The left side of V6 is beautifully carved for a unique look and have an high quality potentiometer know with 100 volume step, each step are felt and make a welcome click noise. This knob act as a power buton if holded and close or open the screen when pushed. It’s made of metal and doesn’t feel cheap, too light or too loose. Under this we have a light that will show bit rate quality changing color, you can put it off in menu if it annoy you. Under this , 3 metal butons are there to change track and pause-play, they work with any apps, yet i find them a little small and too close to each other for my big thumbs, which make it difficult to precesily push the pause buton when needed. With carrying case it’s even more difficult, so this is the only drawback i found with this design. Well, at left side we have micro sd slot in the DAP, but not in protectetive case, this is another small drawback.


The V6 is over packed with output choice. And the quality of jacks are excellent, all gold plated metal, no cheap plastic to be found. From left to right, we have 4.4mm balanced and 3.5mm single ended output, USB-C Input and output which can be use as pure DAC line out with special coaxial cable as well as for connecting USB-C dongles, we have 3.5 se line out and a very welcome 4.4mm balanced line out too. Nothing less than Incredible.


Tempered glass are fingers print magnet as everybody know, well, in fact, we have pre install protective screen on both side of the DAP, which are finger prints magnet too but prevent scratching. Overall built feel very sturdy but dropping on the floor a DAP with glass touchscreen is still not suggested. The size is very portable at 53.3mm×92.5mm×11.5mm and will fit most pocket even if a bit chunky. The weight of 240g is not very heavy, yet 40g more than my LG V30 phone, so you do feel it in your hand and even more in your pants pocket. All in all, the construction is elegant and sturdy and reflect it’s 400$ price.


When it come to packaging and accessories, their nothing to say. But it’s important to note the Kickstarter package will include a special USB-C to coaxial cable as well as bonus micro sd cards depending of offer you get. Mine came with bare minimum. The very welcome leather protective case and a good quality USB to USB-C cable. Oh, and a cleaning cloth i forget to include in the pic. Box presentation could have been better, but i’m more interested in quality of what we get, and for that Tempotec do deliver.

USER INTERFACE​

Everybody that have an Android phone will be very familiar with V6 interface, and i’m not worry about Iphone user neither since this is very easy to use and understand device.


In fact, what will inflict the most on your music player experience is the music app you will choose. As well as how you will decide to custom your Android interface.
The included music playing app is Hiby Music, which is excellent and perfectly fitted for the V6 need. If you need other one like UAPP (Usb Audio Player Pro), the google store too is preinstall and very welcome.


Now, we talk about Android 8.1 as well as rather basic Snapdragon 425, this seem to worry lot of potential consumer. While it’s true it’s not lightning fast, it will be only ”problematic” for nitpicky users that really don’t like to wait 2 second to see the X appear at the upper left of the app he wanna close. Or that can’t stand see an album cover in Music app scrolling take 1 second to appear. In fact, the only complaint I would have with overall performance which is smooth, stable and fast enough, is limited to less than16G of space, already shorted 3.6G by Android System. Since we can download FLAC music from Amazon HD, Tidal etc, it would be nice if we can store those files securly in V6 memory storage.

I will not cover all options that are too similar to Android phone. For audio usage, their 2 option setting that are important.

CONNECTED DEVICES


This setting is important because it is where you can select Bluetooth reception or sending. You will find those option by pressing Bluetooth once it’s ON. By default it send Bluetooth and when you press ”Bluetooth Audio Input”, this is what happen:


Well, when it’s connected, since it will write ”waiting for pairing” until you connect it to your phone. As well, don’t forget to go in your phone setting and choose ”Best sound quality” since phone choose ”Stable connectivity” as default.

Other important option of this setting is the ”Default USB configuration”, this is where you can choose USB-C type of connectivity in Default. So, if you choose ”Charging this device” it will charge when you plug it to your Laptop or phone, while share files if your choose ”Tranfering Files”. When it come to ”Audio IN (usb power)” and ”Audio IN (no usb power)” this will inflict on passive dongle that don’t have battery and deliver more power, for ex, UAPP app sound less loud with Moondrop Dawn when ”no usb power” is selected.

AUDIO SETTINGS


This is the setting all audiophile are the most curious about.

It include 7 sounds filter choice, these do not inflict alot on musicality but tend to have subtle change on dynamic sens as well as attack edge and timbre. This is very subtle and only hardcore critical listener will make fun with this. If you are sensible to resonance of instrument and micro definition in attack timing, this can be usefull.

We have Gain option, Low or high gain. I think High gain add either 6db or 12db, but im not certain since I can’t find back the specs. Nonetheless, 3 gain mode would have been interesting for more precise matching with IEM of different sensitivity and impedance. As well, we need to go out of music app to select gain, which isn’t the most practical.

Plugins open another sound tweaking universe that I need to test, for example, there 4 plugins available in Online section, which include Balance, Sound field, Fixed Sample output and the most intriguing one: Convolution.
This Convolution plugin only take effect at 44.1khz and can modify the soundsignature in different way, this is math algorythm that affect directly the input digital decoding and will modify impulse response of the music.

We have Hiby MSEB, another way to tweak the sound intuitively, for those that are afraid of EQ without preset, this could be a game changer. It affect timbre, tonal balance, attack speed and weight and oot of other sound parameter. The fact that MSEB is already available in Hiby Music app make it less interesting, as well, some user might forget it’s ON and add another MSEB effect in Hiby music.

DSD gain compensation is interesting, you can add up to 12db to compensate lower dynamic volume gain that higher bit rate can create. The fact it’s not limited to 6db will make lot of users happy.

Channel balance talk for himself, and most music app have this anyway.

Max Volume is very welcome and can avoid unwanted max level volume ears damage, it will block the volume step to level you want. I put it at 80.

SOUND IMPRESSIONS​

(the Final A8000 are my reference IEM, but I use 20 other IEMs with the V6 for this review)
TONE-BALANCE-TIMBRE-MUSICAL PERCEPTION

The V6 deliver a smooth neutral sound with crisp open treble and added sens of airy clarity. Effortlessly analytical, yet never clinical, it offer an highly revealing and transparent musicality with a romantic twist to it’s concept of high fidelity since the overall balance is liquid, organic and highly cohesive, with homogeneous bass and mids range and vivid highs with delicate brilliant sharpness.

AKM call their house sound as ”velvety” and natural timbre has always been about avoiding unpleasant roughness in texture or peaky brightness in treble. V6 timbre is highly transparent, yet nuanced in it’s density color and while not the thickest, it isn’t dry nor thin to the point of feeling compressed, distant or artificial. Free of grain, it have this tube like softness to it with a resolution that permit you to pick up small details of texture if you seek for them.

While extremely linear in it’s tonal balance, i perceive a slight mid bass presence bump that add sens of attack, it add more immediacy to impact as well as grip to definition, keeping a clean separation with mids, not adding any resonant warmth. Low end is leaner in sub bass region, which tame rumble of bassy IEM but add texture and clarity to definition of bass line too. Is it roll off? Let say it doesn’t give extra power to bass dynamic which i will devlop furter.

Mids are the leanest frequency range. It’s highly resolved and have a magnify sens of realism and accuracy to it. Level of transparency is excellent. Instruments playing in same range are well define in their individuality and keep their own different loudness range. Accuracy is spot on, yet again unforced. This is the type of mids that seem to have softed upper mids, adding hint of breathyness to vocal instead of sibilance.

Treble is star of the show and it never stop to impress me with it’s ultra crisp and clean resolution. The V6 tend to add snap and brilliance to every IEM i pair it with, the highs have long natural resonance that never go shrill, it’s isn’t amplify in decay loudness, just very revealing. This DAP seem to make you see in the dark like a owl and hear up to 200khz like a bat. The treble is delicate in it’s impact yet can extract clicking like noise of your music in the purest, sharpest way, adding a sens of crackling richness to micro details, texture and instrument attack grip.

TECHNICAL PERFORMANCE

RESOLUTION

Crisp with smoothed edge, their no sens of blur in macro resolution and micro definition is well paint in presence, full of nuance and lush in transparency. This is near analytical resolution, but seem cleaned of any unpleasant hiss or noise too, as if it just a slight warmth to lower treble.

SPATIALITY

In my opinion, DAC part inflict more on spatial clarity and deepness while amping section inflict more on dynamic heft and spatial wideness-tallness. If i could find a comparison, i would say V6 spatiality remind me a small hall, which is quite wide and tall but have great deepness too. It’s not super wide or out of your head but sens of deepness is boosted.

IMAGING

This is an highlight of the V6 which offer very accurate and precise instrument placement with wonderfully transparent layering that permit use to dig deep in sound info. Instrument separation while not the widest is crisp and clean, this is the same with sound layers, they aren’t holographic in presentation yet have clean space between them. It seem that high pitch instrument have sharper definition in separation, which add sens of extra space and air.

DYNAMIC LOUDNESS

Here the V6 is very polite, even if not dead flat in dynamic punch it’s loudness variance seem to be tamed a bit to avoid loudness peak or overly agressive livelyness. This give a cloudy feel to impact, instead of edgy one, as well lead impact doesn’t have lot of weight to it and more a sens of ”sudden presence apparition”….sound appear front of you instead of hitting you with vibrant pressure. I can call this safe dynamic with , since it favorize lighter instrument like woodwind, harp, clavichord, sharp percussions, than heavier hitted instrument like toms, drum, piano, cello or acoustic bass.

ATTACK SPEED SUSTAIN RELEASE

The V6 is a technical beast and it is shown in complex busy music where you need fast attack timing. Sustain isn’t fuzzy or too long and create a well resolve resonance after impact that isn’t boosted in loudness avoiding phase distortion of multiple resonance gain. Low and Mids attack edge is more softed than highs, which seem to offer faster edgier snap.

AMPLIFICATION POWER & QUALITY​

The V6 use 2xOP1612 for first stage amplification and 4xOPA1688 for high gain amplification. This translate into a consequent power output of 330mw@32ohm for single ended and an impressive 610mw@32ohm for balanced output at high gain.
Output level of 3.5mm single ended is 2vrms while true balanced 4.4mm output is the double at 610mw.
Impedance output isn’t stated, but seem rather low because i dont encounter hissing or distortion issue with my sensitive IEM even with balanced output.

Amplification is powerfull, clean and linear. It remind me a bit of THX AAA amp in term of stable current flow. Noise floor is extremely black and doesn’t extract noisy artefacts. Gain stage seem very stable since it drive low sensitivity IEM without any issue, no distortion with the Final E5000 nor for any planar IEM i test. This is near reference grade in term of well controlled amping performance, yet the dynamic doesn’t get totally waken up it seem.

EARPHONES PAIRING​

I pair the V6 with at least 20 different IEM, from low to high sensitivity and impedance. Those who pair the best was all having a bassy balance, like the warmish THhifi Character that have a cleaner and better balanced tonality with less boomy impact and extra treble brilliance, this is a very good matching.

Even drived at high gain balanced way, the Audiosense T800 doesn’t distort and deliver a cleaner balance as well, sens of imaging is sharper and layering gain in transparency, we have an added sens of air on top that benefit the tonality. While near basshead with certain source, T800 sound notably more neutral and technical, yet doesn’t completly loose it’s bassy fun and rumble.

When it come to very hard to drive IEM, the capricious Final E5000 surprise me yet doesn’t charm me. It surprise me because the V6 drive them properly to deliver clean bass free of distortion caused by lack of power, the extension is linear and doesnt warm the mid range as much than with other source like Xduoo Link2 Bal. Result is a cleaner airier but dryer E5000.

A pairing I’m not very afound of too is with Final A8000, the bass is understated here and lack rumble and full bodied presence, it gain in definition and texture but not in weight. Since it an IEM with vivid dynamic, good bass punch and sharp near analytical treble, I was expecting a more edgy, snapy and sparkly presentation.

Surprisingly, the Kinera Hodur pair well too, perhaps due to it’s energic W shape dynamic and already airy treble, here the V6 solve bass resonance issue and make the punch more tight and well define while the mids too get smoothed in upper mids yet push in presence resolution. The treble gain in appealing brilliance free of noise.

And when it come to my Hifiman Sundara, let say it can drive them without any distortion even at max volume which will deliver ear-destruction clean loud sound. Yet, these benefit from extra bass and mids dynamic and the V6 sure don’t boost this region. Suprisingly, the Sundara sound open and airy and have crisp imaging here so this sure mean they are well drived. Here, Sundara gain in spatial deepness, sound a bit better define in imaging and treble gain in brilliance. They become more neutral, open and airy. But even leaner in bass and mids so a bit boring too.

All in all, neutral treble centric IEM isn’t the best match while those with bass or mids or both freq range boosted will sound very good, some time mesmerizing. In fact, V6 love IEM with upper mids boost too, which perhaps explain why they pair better with CHifi IEM than Japanes ones! The UM 3DT is a very dynamic sounding IEM too, and they pair incredibly well, so my suggestion is to use very dynamic sounding IEM or Headphones with the V6!!

COMPARISONS WITH DAP AND DAC-AMP​

VS SMSL SU9+SMSL SH9 (about 750$)

The SU9 use flagship ES9038pro DAC while SH9 is a more powerfull THX AAA amp with 2W of output. This is an unfair fight, yet the V6 doesn’t feel like a midget here.
SMSL offer a slightly brighter tonality with more vivid dynamic and more holographic spatiality. The bass is even more leaner and dry than the V6 but mids are fuller and more upfrond with greater dynamic range but not as transparent timbre. Spatiality is more open, wide and tall but about same depth than V6. Attack edge have more bite while treble is less crisp, sparkly and airy but more cohesive as a whole than V6. Imaging is more precise with greate space between instruments with SMSL too. Indeed, it wasn’t a fair fight and here the V6 sound leaner and colder.

VS XDUOO XD-05plus (280$)

This is interesting because XD05plus use older AK4493 DAC yet sound nothing like the V6. Again it’s brighter but grainier too, due perhaps to higher power output of 1W, dynamic is more weighty and bass have more rumble and slam, yet warmer definition and separation. Tonal balance feel more W shape with upper treble roll off. Technical performance are notably inferior: resolution, imaging, attack control and speed feel all blurred and more affected by harmonic distortion. Timbre is thicker, but more fuzzy and less transparent. Spatiality is wider but way less deep. Let say XD05plus sound very euphonic and entry level compared to more resolved and technical V6.

VS XDUOO X20 (280$)

This DAP use single ES9018k2m DAC, it’s tonality is a bit similar to V6 but in a edgier and more clinical way. We can say it’s less of a slight V shape in balance so everything is lean until extra treble presence, these highs are brighter and less sparkly than V6. Bass is more textured with X20, in fact, everything is more textured with X20. Spatiality feel more compressed, less wide and tall and deepness is less clean in bacckground. Power output is 2 times lower in balanced mode (300mw). Impedance output might be lower or on par. Dynamic is more energic but not as varied as V6 when it come to multiple instrument playing in same range, so imaging feel more compressed and lacking in clean separation space compared to V6.
All in all, i feel the V6 is perfect upgrade for those that like me appreciate the reference mature neutral musicality of X20, since V6 technical performance are notably better and well, right now you can get it at same price as X20!

VS XDUOO POKE2 (450$)

While the Poke2 use dual cirrus 43198 flagship DAC, it’s the nearest to sound quality of the V6 with very similar tonality. Its even more pure crisp neutral. Bass is more detailed yet more lean too. Mids are a hint more upfront. It seem even cleaner too, since complete silence in a track will have even less ultra background humming. Attack edge is less softed. Treble seem a hint more metallic and overall presentation more digital. Power output is similar. Overall musicality feel more clinical and cold with the Poke2, a bit more distant as well. Note weight is even lighter.
If for me musicality of V6 is border line in term of dynamic energy, the Poke2 bore me to death.

VS TRI TK2 (280$)

Ok a last one. This time it use dual ES9038q2m DAC and special A-B amplification that can deliver more than 2 times V6 power output with it’s impressive 1250mw@32ohm. TK2 is warmer neutral with more boosted mid bass that add warmth to timbre and mids, but slight euphonic blur too. Resolution is inferior and darker, attack edge even more smoothed. Bass hit with more weight and density, yet less well define separation. Mids are lusher and more open but tend to affect macro resolution and embrace the whole tonality, they are less clean and detailed than V6. Treble is less airy and sparkly, with lower micro details amount. Imaging is notably inferior and less sharp. Spatiality is wider taller, drastically less depth. Timbre while more colored, feel more natural and pleasant, thicker too than V6. Tonaly wise their no doubt I prefer TK2, yet technicaly their no doubt V6 is superior from blacker background to sharper attack definition to more extend treble and more high fidelity accuracy.

CONCLUSION​

There’s alot to love about the Tempotec V6, i mean ALOT. And it’s not only it’s extremely competitive price for such a pristine craftmanship.
This is to me a budget End Game reference sounding DAP with enough features to make it a Do-it-all music station even including the possibility to change it’s sound in multiple way, should it be using different apps, plugins, MSEB tone EQ or PEQ, or even changing the DAC using a dongle when you feel like enjoying different musicality. The possibilities are literally infinite.
Bluetooth DAC, USB DAC, dual line out and pure coaxial line out….
Will I complaint about Android 8.1 here or old Snapdragon CPU? Absolutely not, since i will never use the V6 to watch movie or play game. This is NOT a phone, yet, if you add a mic and camera it could have been a phone.
And this is where subjective appreciation come to play. I’m not a big fan of Wifi DAP, and for touch screen, it can be usefull if it doesn’t limit tactile butons. Yes, i would have love more butons control and better thinked design in that regard, unless i’m the only human with big thumbs, the small butons are a bit problematic and their no way to fast fowards music.
V6 choose to follow other DAP company and is succesfull in this way, in fact, they surpass lot of them which is incredible for a first real DAP offering.
Their no doubt the Tempotec V6 is among most competitive DAP in term of plain price value, and I don’t talk about questionable product like Zishan DAP but a serious mid-tier quality one with no lag or quality check issue.
If you enjoy smooth neutral sound that deliver ultra clean resolution with incredible micro details and nuances, the V6 will transform all your IEM into audiophile experience, improving their resolution and spatial deepness and never struggling driving properly any of them. The V6 might be supreme DAP army knive budget minded audiophile were waiting for, it’s a statement of sound refinement and high fidelity, with a mature musicality that doesn’t sound clinical or over done.
Highly recommended!

———–

PS: I want to thanks Tempotec for sending me this review sample. I’m no affiliated to this company and i’m unbiased by the fact i’m a big fan of them. This review reflect my honest subjective critical listening and opinions.

You can buy the Tempotec V6 on KICKSTARTER right now, and hurry up since the early birds are on sale for 280$, after this, MSRP price will be 400$:https://www.kickstarter.com/project...6-dsd512-android-hifi-music-player?ref=a9ml4s

For more diversify audio reviews, give a look to my No Borders Audiophile website HERE.

Tempotec seems to be very experienced while releasing their new products.
Previously their released items like sonata hd pro, sonata hd III / V, sonata e35, sonata MHD have already drawn attention among the music lovers. Their last released dap was the V1A(2019) which was obviously not android os supported but was full of good specs like AKM4377ECB dac that decodes 768khz/32bit, DSD direct stream digital, LDAC for Bluetooth,1200 mah battery at 0nly 100$

Now they have come with their latest Android dap Tempotec V6 Variations.I think .Tempotec team has done a lot of R&D works before launching the V6. Because it seems to be a great DAP with less price. The V6 is available now on kickstarter only at 279$ with a free 64gb memory card, one year warranty & Worldwide free shipping.

Many many thanks to Tempotec for giving me an opportunity to test the Tempotec V6 but of course that will not influence my review.




Specifications:
Android System: Android 8.1
Screen: 4.2", 720Pixel
CPU: Qualcomm Snapdragon 425
ROM: 16 GB
RAM: 2 GB
Wifi: 5.0 and 2.4 GHz
Bluetooth:Version 5.0 (LDAC,AAC,APTX-HD)

DAC: 2x AK4493SEQ
Op Amps: 2x OPA1612 and 4x OPA1688
Audio sources: Micro SD Audio, , USB DAC
Supported formats: DSD512,MQA 16X,DXD,PCM 32bit/768khz
SNR: 124dB
DNR: 124dB
THD+N: -111dB

Battery Capacity: 4500 mAh
Charging Time: 1.5h-2 h
Dimensions: 11.6cm x 6.8cm x 1.7cm



Features:
V6 Pyramid DAC Circuit
2*AK4493SEQ+2*OPA1612+4*OPA1688 fully symmetrical pyramid digital-to-analog conversion circuit, let V6 have extraordinarily powerful support of the end output devices.
Output level: 2VRMS/3.5mm, 4VRMS/4.4mm
Output Power: 330mW/32Ω/3.5mm 610mW/32Ω/4.4mm

Fully supports APPs of 3rd parties
As long as connected to WIFI, you can enjoy music by stream media app including but not limited to TIDAL, Spotify, Qobuz ,Deezer and Apple music.
Deeply optimized OS: SRC bypass architecture makes music transferring efficiently at low latency.

Physical Appearance:
I am assuming Tempotec has decided to follow the trend and put a glass panel on the back of the dap. The device is robust and brickish. Although the weight is only 200 gram similarly to a phone but it feels that I am holding something heavy . The weight distribution is not like a phone as the dap size is slightly smaller than mobiles .It does not leave any space in my hand when I hold it but It can be held in one hand and easily operable with single hand . The upper bezel is tiny but the bottom bezel is a bit too large. The volume rolling button worked very effectively . After just rolling the button there is the appearance of the volume atmospheric layer on the display which helps adjust volume directly from the display.The volume is securely placed inside the groove of the body. So accidental volume level displacement will not happen. I still remember once I was travelling, keeping the hidizs ap80 pro in my pocket.Then it's volume wheel got turned to the highest sound accidentally and I got completely deaf for a few seconds and got headache later on that day.

Under the volume button there is a Indication light which was supposed to work as below.

PCM ≤ 48kHz: Blue.
PCM 64kHz - 192kHz: Green.
PCM > 192kHz: Orange.
DSD: White.
Charging/low battery (< 20 %): Red.



I am saying it was supposed to work because these functions do not work on my unit.
It only shows red light while charging but does not change color according to the music frequency . It even does not show any responses. Under the indication light there are three buttons for play and pause, next track, previous track. These buttons works perfectly without any issues. On the left side there is a micro sd card slot which supports upto 1TB.
I have liked the provided free pu leather case very much. It feels very premium.It covers up the V6 splendidly. Every buttons and volume wheel was easily accessible over the cover.

On the bottom side of the V6 there are 4 output points
4.4mm Balanced Line Out(LO)
3.5mm Single Ended Line Out(LO)
4.4mm Balanced Phone Output(PO)
3.5mm Single Ended Phone Output(PO)
LO = Line Out for running into an external amplifier with stereo RCA plugs



I have used both PO and LO using only IEM .
The sound was very low on LO then the PO at the same volume level.

So the DAP can be used as a source using external Amplifiers on Line out port for power hungry IEM and Headphones. I must say it is a very useful thing for many people who have high impedance Audio Gears. The golden ports are made of well quality equipments and soldered farmly.Type C input port for charging can also be used with other amplifiers if required. Thus the sound and vrms can also be increased

Display:
Tempotec V6 has 4.2", 720 Pixel display which is okay as a dap. I have run a app called Cpu-Z which is actually an app that reads and verifies the internal specs then shows the results . That app is showing it has 4.68" display . I guess the app added the bezel size along with the display's actual size . There is a slightly yellowish hue on the screen like a burn display which I didn't like much but i cannot complain for a dap because there are some other 1000$+ dap whose displays are like this and moreover music quality is the main issue here. The picture quality is very sharp and the brightness is very high. I set the brightness at 20% only. But I have a big complaint about the display quality because I have found out light is flickering from 2 points from the bottom bezel. E books can easily be read from the dap .



Battery:
Battery is about 4550mah, I got a good battery back up from the V6. When I turned off the wifi at night and later checked the battery the next morning, battery drainage was only about 3 %. But if I kept the wifi on then the drainage would be about 15-20%. On average Battery performance is 12 – 15 hrs . It would take 1.5-2 hours to fully charge the dap. When I tried to charge the dap with a 10Watt (5V-2A) adapter the dap didn't take any charge . It takes charge with 5/6W adapter only.

OS:
The operating system is 8.1 which is pretty old but for a dap i think it is okay . The apps work perfectly . I have installed Youtube, Tidal, Spotify, and Qobuz . These apps work smoothly without any issue , without any bugs, I can easily transfer files from my phone to my dap through the Share it app. 3rd Party apps can be installed from sites without any hassle. Although Qobuz is not available in my country, I could install it from a 3rd party source and could run well on my V6. 2.4 ghz and 5ghz both wifi bandwidth works flawlessly. I heard some v6 reviewers were facing issues with their v6 but I didn't have to face any. But I wish if the android version was at least 9 .that would have been better.



Sound:
Now here comes the main part of the dap. I would like to describe about the bluetooth connection first. The V6 supports bluetooth 5.0 with latest Codec like LDAC,AAC,APTX-HD which are the latest codecs that supports low latency sound transfer . LDAC enables the transmission of audio content, including High Resolution (Hi-Res) Audio, at the maximum bitrate of 990kbps even over Bluetooth. When I connected the dap with my Anker soundcore boost speaker and played a song I was very amazed . The sound was so clear . When I played songs with other devices connected to my boost the sound be sounded like bloomy , bassy and the vocal was recessed . But this V6 dap as a source performs really amazing . The vocals were forward , the whole song got a new dimension. I was even able to hear the the residue voices while finishing a line and about to start the next line on my speaker which I get to hear with another device as a source.

Now it's time to talk about the ports output. My Iems were Little dot cu red, Rose technics QT9 M2ks/QT 7 pro 2 , Tralucent 1+X plus 10th year Edition, tri audio meteor, Kinera skuld, Anew x1, Shanling ME80.

I have Actually used the high gain mode all the time when using the v6 with iems.its seems high gain always gave better output with great resolution to me. When using in high gain mode I have to set the volume to 50%-60. But It seems that high gain increases volume within a few decibels , not significantly high like my m15 dongle (near price). The v6 has opa1612 operational apmifier. Previously I have used Haa Fee H9 Amplifier which was so good using the same OPA1612 Op-amp. So the V6 has a very good equipment for amping.






Tempotec V6 is a kind of neutral sounding Dap, Sound is natural and clear, The provided sound is not bright or sharp .Rather, it is a kind of warm sound which was very soothing for me. I have downloaded 2 files from the tempotech v6 site page to check out the timber of Chinese Zither. Timber ( which does mean tone quality) was very much accurate .The echoes of the melody was easily audible. I did like the Zeither sound although I did not like this kind of instrument music. But this kind of instrumental music really helps to better understand the source/iem/headphone quality.

The bass is alright on the V6. Previously I liked boomy bass. But as I am growing older I am moving towards mid-centric . This dap can easily provide bass to bass heavy v shaped IEM/Headphones. Bas is enough, not excessive, do not bleed. Drum kick was punchy and was so satisfying for me for this dap

The vacal is okay as well. For me it seems to stay at a fixed distance all the time for most of the song. Clean and do not get mixed with other instruments. It's neither recessed nor forwarded. But the guitar string's edge was rounded . I wished it would be a bit more sharp.

I always remain afraid of treble, I cannot bear high treble and sibilance. But it seems the V6 has handled the treble perfectly .

The V6 was also providing me with a holographic realization while listening to music. There was not any hissing or noise while using it and no harsh.The way it was delivering sound from low to high without any compression was really superb. I could easily separate where the instruments were playing.There were remarkable spaces between the instruments with good texture.

The dap can be used for a long time . No heating issue, does not get any issue. Qobuz , Tidal, and Spotify were working great.There is a dedicated mseb to customize the Equalizer. If anyone has any bright sounding iem they can easily make their eq to make them warm sounding . MSEB is very helpful.



Conclusion:
There is a line that says "Shut up and take my money" when anyone is desperate to see the specs, features, reviews. I would love to use that line for this Tempotec variation V6 Dap. For sound it is definitely worth buying and the sound quality is impressive but I think they must have to work with the display, the notification bar, OS . The OS has some bugs which need to be updated by publishing a Firmware asap. For 279$ the display is okay but when it will become 400$ then the display should be updated. Under 300$ there aren't any good options available for android as far as i know. So anyone can go for it blindly.

I am going to keep this mini-review decidedly short. Not because the Tempotec V6 does not deserve a more long-form version, far from it in fact. Rather since I need to get something out fast lest the kickstarter campaign closes altogether and people miss out on a great deal.

Yes, I am going to spoil the review right away: the Tempotec V6 is one of the best DAPs you can purchase under $500 or so, and the early bird pricing is an absolute no-brainer. Head over to their kickstarter page for more information regarding pricing.

Update (03-10-2022): Full review out now.

Accessories​

• USB type-A to type-C cable
• Pre-applied screen protectors
• PU leather case (this one is nice)

Build​

Tempotec went for a glass-metal sandwich design, which is prevalent in smartphone design nowadays. The bezels around the display are fairly small, and with the case on can barely be noticed. However, the bottom "chin" is a bit too large. Probably a cost-cutting measure on Tempotec's part.



The scroll wheel is responsive when changing volume, but the middle press action could do with more tactile feedback. The playback buttons are also a bit difficult to press with the case applied.

Other than these nitpicks - no complaints regarding the actual build quality. The V6 is a well put-together device and the dedicated line-our ports sure come handy.

Display and UI​

The V6 has a 4.2" 720p display with mediocre contrast ratio but excellent sharpness. General operation was good enough for daily use with rare occasions of slowdowns and unresponsiveness. 2GB RAM is barely enough to run the Android 8.1 AOSP build.



As a result, I will recommend not logging into Google Play Store if possible, and minimizing number of apps installed. Music apps like Tidal and HibyMusic/YouTube Music run without any issues, so I am not going to complain too much about the archaic Snapdragon SD425 SoC.

Sound and Pairing Notes​

Tempotec's tuning goal for the V6 was to focus more on the "naturalness" of sound than something analytical. I'd say they have reached that target.

The V6 has a warm-neutral tuning, with a noticeably rounded leading-edge of notes. This is most noticeable in strums of acoustic guitars, or sharp guitar riffs. As a result, the V6 paired really well with IEMs that tend to be a bit on the bright or analytical side.

Campfire Holocene, for example, sound phenomenal on the V6. They can be some picky IEMs, but the V6 handles them with grace. Final E3000 is moderately power-hungry and warm in tuning, but the V6 manages to eke out great dynamics and separation from these otherwise budget IEMs.

On the headphones side, Final Sonorous III and HiFiMAN HE-400se fared well, though the latter sounded more dynamic on my desktop setup (expected). Meze 99 Classics and Moondrop Void also sounded as good as they do on desk systems.



The pairing with Dunu Zen was a mixed bag. I missed the sharpness of notes that Zen's driver is capable of producing on something like the Lotoo PAW 6000. Also pairing the V6 with power-hungry headphones like HiFiMAN HE-6se or the likes of Sennheiser HD650 (that require a higher voltage swing) resulted in average performance.

Overall, for most IEMs (apart from anomalies like Final E5000) the TempoTec V6 is more than adequate, and likely the only DAP you'll ever need unless you reach for TOTL space.

Comparisons​

For me, the first point of comparison for any DAP is the Sony NW-A55 (MrWalkman modded). The Tempotec V6 is a meaningful upgrade over Sony's venerable-but-ageing Walkman. Android brings third-party apps to the table on the V6, whereas the BT performance and raw output power is on another level on the TempoTec.

The balanced out offers better separation and staging over the NW-A55, and macrodynamic punch has a more visceral presence on the V6. The Sony still offers class-leading battery life of 45 hours (vs 13 hours on the V6), but the WM-port makes recharging a hassle.



On the Android side of things, iBasso DX160 is another popular option under USD$500. The V6 is smoother in terms of operation with less software issues, and has a more analogue-ish tonality. The DX160 has wider stage, while dynamics are better reproduced on the V6. Battery life is also better on the V6.

Overall, I'd pick the TempoTec V6 over the iBasso DX160. As for the A55, I am partial to that device, and will probably keep it around even though the V6 is better all around.

Conclusion​

TempoTec took a giant leap going from the entry-level V1 to the V6, with the pricing giving rise to some doubts about the V6's competitiveness.

Once you hear the V6 though, it becomes very apparent that barring some unforeseen events, it is going to be one of the most popular DAPs under $1000. It sounds great, has decent OS performance and battery life, and even without the campaign bonus, is priced aggressively.

My only concern is TempoTec's commitment towards fixing software bugs and general support. If TempoTec can deliver on those aspects in the long run, the V6 will hold its value long after the release, something that I cannot say for majority of products in the market.

TempoTec Variations V6 ($299ish): A new mid-fi DAP, aspiring for the bigs.​

ngoshawk
2 weeks ago

mmm

V6
Intro: Launching soon on Kickstarter, the TempoTec V6 came my way by contact with a well-esteemed colleague in the portable market. Through some communication, and hashing out specific details, the following is a review of the V6. While the unit was provided to me for review, I have no financial gain in the product, and will state my true words. That said, this has started off as a killer offering at this price. And you though DAP’s were dead…
Blog Link
Specs:
Equipped with AKM’s two latest AK4493SEQ premium chips, the new TempoTec V6 will be launched on Kickstarter soon. The V6 will have an output power of 330mW@32Ω for the 3.5mm port and 610mW@32Ω for the 4.4mm balanced port.
FEATURES

• Dual AK4493SEQ DAC chip
• Snapdragon 425 CPU
• 2GB RAM – 16GB ROM
• Android 8.1
• DSD512 native, MQA 16X full decode, DXD, PCM 32bit/768kHz
• 2 x 4.4mm, 2 x 3.5mm audio outputs
• 4.2″ touch screen
• 4500mAh battery
• SRC bypass architecture (makes music transfer efficiently at low latency).
• Music source: Micro SD (up to 1 TB), USB DAC In, Bluetooth, AirPlay.

SPECS

• 2 x AK4493SEQ + 2 x OPA1612 + 4 x OPA1688 fully symmetrical digital-to-analogue circuit.
• Output level: 2VRMS/3.5mm, 4VRMS/4.4mm
• Output Power: 330mW/32Ω/3.5mm, 610mW/32Ω/4.4mm
• SNR: 124dB
• DNR: 124dB
• THD+N:-111dB
• Crosstalk: 84dB/32Ω/3.5mm – 116dB/ 32Ω/4.4mm

Gear Used:
Sivga M200
Dunu Vulkan
BQEYZ Topaz
Song:
Tidal playlist (Jazz, Phish, Jeff Beck, Tommy Emmanuel)
Qobuz playlist (same)
Unboxing:
The boxing of the V6 reminds me of the older FiiO models. The ones, which came in smaller tighter packages, with not much additional space, for it really isn’t needed. I like it. Basic, necessary information adorns the back-sliding cover. Included accessories consist of screen protectors and a very nice USB-C charging cable. That’s it. And that’s all that is needed.
Build/Functions:
As far as I can tell, this is a near-production unit I have in hand. Based upon my observations, I also see nothing, which would externally (or function-wise) prevent this from going into production very soon. Sized similarly to my Shanling M6 Pro, but lighter; the V6 runs Android 8.1. Yes, this is not the latest OS, but to me it is what they do with this that makes for the simplistic system OS. The latest. Greatest OS is not necessarily the best sometimes.
Coming with a green pleather case, the unit looks the part as well. Buttons are easily accessed with the case on and the play/pause, forward/reverse buttons are easily used by the circular pattern. Use is just as good, since we all know what button controls which feature. Operating is straightforward Android as well. With the ability to use Google Play Store, you can download most of your favorite apps and email should you desire. For this review, I download, and used, Tidal or Qobuz only. I even set home screen widgets for each, which allowed my playlists to show. Includes music is through the HiBy Music app, which is just fine for SD card work. No browser is present, but each of the popular ones can be downloaded.

WiFi networks are easily accessed, as is the Bluetooth functionality. I had no issues going between my home 2g and 5g networks. And once connected to my 5g, each time I used the V6 5g would be automatically connected. Running dual AK4493SEQ DAC chips and the Snapdragon 425 CPU, allowed the V6 to operate fairly quickly, but I did note some small lag when accessing functions on both Tidal and Qobuz. 2GB RAM and 16GB ROM are on the smaller size, and this could have had something to do with the functionality as well. That said, music never stuttered, or failed to respond to my commands, once enacted.
The bottom houses the 3.5se and 4.4bal PO and LO jacks exclusively, and the USB-C charging port. This can also be used with an on-the-go cable, allowing for more access to accessories as needed. Both 4.4 ports are balanced, so you can run a completely balanced set up as well. I consider the use of separate ports almost a hearkening back to simpler times, when many DAP’s did this. I do find the need to turn the volume up to 100 on some of my DAP’s, once they enter LO mode a bit of a pain. Thankfully USB-C has taken that out of our hands in many cases, making it automatic. I find no bother either way. With SD card capability up to 1 TB, and the ability to function using the latest Codec’s, the V6 is up with the times. Power is abundant as well, with up to 330mW/32Ω in 3.5mm and 610mW/32Ω in 4.4mm makes the V6 plenty powerful. Gain between low and high is not as differentiated as other DAP’s, but to be frank; I do not mind. Quite often the jump between low and high is like going from 0’ elevation to 15,000’ in a split second. Not always advisable. You can also change channel balance, which works well with many older jazz recordings, since often the highlight instrument was slanted towards one or the other channel.

Another nice feature of the Android OS is something called MSEB, which is a cacophony of sound options ranging from overall temperature of the signature (cool/bright vs warm/dark), bass extension (light to deep), bass texture (fast to thumpy), note thickness (crisp to thick), voice (recessed/crisp to forward/radio edit), female overtones (detoxed to intoxicating), sibilance (soft to crisp), impulse response (slow/musical to fast/hard), and air (soft to crisp). As much as I wanted to alter and change the settings, I left them all at their neutral position. Changing them would have made for a monstrous review, and each user should tailor those aspects for themselves.
Sound
When a DAP first arrives, I quickly check all necessary functions as well as get on my WIFI to download Tidal & Qobuz. I also insert an SD card for local music. Concurrently I check for firmware updates. The V6 had no update but stuttered upon downloading the apps mentioned. A simple restart cleared this, and I have had no issues since. Sound-wise, the V6 lies slightly north of neutral, giving me a nice richness, but not so much that the DAP would be considered to have a warm signature, like Shanling’s. Detail wrought from the music comes across as rich, but with a succinctness to the tonality, which provided good timbre. If I were to line this up with a much more expensive DAP, one that has the same sense of clarity, you would probably be able to sense and hear he difference; but it would be up to you as to whether that extra cost is worth it. Sometimes keeping the OS simple works to the benefit.

Another factor I like in the V6 is the gain factor. Many times, going from low to high gain adds anywhere from 15-20+dB’s. Not so here, as I estimate the change is roughly 6-8dB’s. A nice chance, that also adds a bit of richness to the signature as well. I found using the Topaz from BQEYZ (review forthcoming) almost required the high gain setting, while the Dunu Vulkan (review forthcoming) was quite happy on low gain. The added warmth from high gain really showed through in the lower frequencies, adding very good depth while decay seemed a bit slower; extending the bass appeal slightly longer. This played into the richness factor, without losing the clarity coming from those AK chips. I found the mids also shown better on the Topaz and surprisingly, the Sivga M200 (review forthcoming). A dedicated earbud, with surprisingly good sound, the mids came across as rich and with very good width. This adds to the soundstage nicely, which the V6 has with good abundance. Width slightly outside your head (IEM dependent), good depth and a height, which makes for an almost square representation. As a result, spatial representation of instruments is accurate in the left/right and fore/aft placing. The V6 is coming across with high marks across the board with listening I have enjoyed so far.

As stated earlier, there are a plethora of options with MSEB, which can alter the sounds to your taste, much like an EQ would, but with regard to tone. Warmth, richness, brightness, etc can all be changed to your desired signature; which makes the V6 even more versatile. I will leave that to your own listening but suffice to say that playing with only the Overall Temperature made a difference as the signature became molasses-like with smoothness. Easily brought back to neutral by double tapping the center part of the line you change makes for easy “regression” of your altering. I will say that to change the setting requires you to hit the +/- button one at a time, instead of having a slider like the lines show. This would be much better and allow you to change settings with ease.
Conclusion
With good battery life (even when left on), MSEB to tailor the sound to your needs and the ability to run an SD card up to 1TB with no issues makes for an enticing DAP entry into the mid-fi market. Add in that even though the sound may not be dead neutral for those purists who prefer such a signature, the sound reminds me of an offspring of the Questyle QP2R and Cayin n6ii, such is the sound. Call it the undeveloped child of those brands, and one can hope it grows into a worthy addition. As such right now, though it fits in very, very well at the price target and should immediately be put on your list should you be looking for a mid-fi priced DAP. It really was a treat with which to spend time.

Tempotec Variation V6 Review




Intro
Tempotec is no stranger to the audiophile community, they released a slew of great products with high price performance ratio. I personally have reviewed several of their products and liked them a lot. The E44, Sonata HD-V, this time the Variation V6, which I am also fond of to be honest. V6 will be released on kickstarter campaign 5th of September and the early bird price will be very very attractive! Be sure to keep an eye on it! I will share the link at the end of this review.
The price will be roughly 400$ after the campaign. From what I understand from the rep, the super early bird price will be 269$ and it comes with a case and a memory card, a very very good deal if you ask me.

Specification
Snapdragon 425 Quad-core CPU, 2GB RAM, 16GB storage
4.2″ 720p touch screen
DAC chip
2 x AK4493SEQ with VELVETSOUND™ technology
Pyramid DAC Circuit
2 x AK4493SEQ + 2x OPA1612 + 4 x OPA1688 fully symmetrical pyramid digital-to-analog conversion circuit.
Output power
330mW@32Ω/3.5mm
610mW@32Ω/4.4mm
Multiple output ports
4.4BAL.PO & 3.5PO for headphones
4.4BAL.LO & 3.5LO for speakers (LO: Line out)
Type-c port for charging & USB DAC & Coaxial output
SNR: 124dB; DNR: 124dB; THD+N:-111dB
Crosstalk: 84dB/32Ω/3.5mm,116dB/32Ω/4.4mm
Open Android OS: Android 8.1 with Google Playstore
Deeply optimised OS, SRC bypass architecture makes music transfer efficiently at low latency. V6 is bit-perfect system-wide in the kernel driver, you can use any music app to play bit-perfect.
Support for 3rd party APPs
Music source: Micro SD, USB DAC In, Bluetooth, AirPlay.
High-resolution music support
MQA 16X
DSD64~DSD512
PCM 16Bit/44.1kHz~32Bit/768kHz
4500mAh battery provides more than 12 hours of continuous playing time
QC3.0 fast charging, around 2 hours to full charge
Two-Way Bluetooth
Supports Bluetooth Audio Decoding Protocol: LDAC(96Khz), AAC, UAT(192Khz), APTX, APTX-HD, SBC
Dimensions: 117mm x 70mm x 17mm, 200g

Headphones/IEMs used

• Hifiman HE400S
• Final Audio Sonorous 4
• Grado SR325X
• Truthear Zero
• Dunu Vulkan
• Letshuoer D13
• Dunu Titan S

General Features

• 3.5 and 4.4 dedicated lineout port, i have tested the lineout port and the volume is not maxed out when you connect the cable to the lineout port. My understanding is that lineout is bypassing the internal amp and using the DAC only. The volume is also adjustable and it is not fixed at 100%, a very nifty feature providing some headroom. I have also checked with Tempotec’s rep and the reason behind that is that the DAP will also feature screen mirroring feature (this feature is not available on my review sample and will be made available via future firmware update according to the rep) and this allows the user to adjust the volume on the DAP itself rather than having it fixed and maxed out.
• The ability to use V6 as a dac/amp when it is connected to PC or smartphone. Plug and play, no driver required (i tested on my Macbook but i’m not sure if a driver is required on Windows)
• The ability to use V6 as a bluetooth receiver and it also supports various high res bluetooth codecs
• User experience on the user interface is very good, it is fluid and i did not encounter any hiccups when navigating through the operating system, although the specs of V6 might put you off a little, but being a DAP, it is completely fine and more than enough unless you are trying to game off the DAP or even heavy multitasking, but it’s a DAP guys!
• Google service pre-installed and you are able to install 3rd party apps into the V6, i have installed the Tidal, Apple Music and it works flawlessly and it is able to by the default SRC and you are able to see that via the top bar where it will show the bit depth
• Although having a fairly low specification 2GB of Ram and 16GB of storage, don’t be fooled by the specs on paper, because they are actually quite decent functioning as a DAP, of course if you were to compare it with today’s android smartphone, they are lacking a lot behind in terms of specifications, but this is a DAP isn’t it? I have been using this for at least 3 weeks on a daily basis and I did not encounter any hiccups along the way. Despite leaving it to stream music over the night, the DAP doesn’t really heat it that much, just slightly warm but definitely not hot (like DX160 kind of hot if you have used that before)
• The screen offers just enough resolution although coming in at 720p, but then again, some compromise has to be done to bring the price down isn’t it?

Sound
Upon first listen, they sounded very musical and a little analog-ish to my ears. I would say they are quite uncolored and very very enjoyable. Good dynamics and lush sounding.
What impressed me is the imaging and the soundstage that this DAP is reproducing, it exceeded my expectations and I'm really impressed by it.

The V6 exhibits a clean and balanced bass response, and doesn't sound boosted to my ears. Bass has got decent resolution and body to it, never thin sounding and to my ears, they are reproduced in a fairly accurate manner. Sub bass has got good extension but that also depends on the ability of your IEM to reproduce it as accurately as possible, mid bass has a good body and impact to it. Listening to some bass heavy songs with Truthear Zero, the bass coming from V6 rendered to Truthear Zero is nothing but amazing, like having a subwoofer on your ear, most of all, it is clean sounding. In some complex song such as Slipknot’s People = crap, it exhibited excellent control over the bass region

Midrange on the V6 is very smooth and transparent to my ears. The lower to upper mids transition is done fairly well and there isn't any harshness at all. Vocals for both male and female has got a good body to it. Timbre sounds natural and organic to my ears.

Treble on the V6 is smooth and non fatiguing, doesn’t sound boosted to my ears. Decent detail retrieval capability, at the same time it doesn’t present itself as being too analytical.It exhibited quite an airy atmosphere on live recording tracks such as Toto’s Africa Live and it is very enjoyable. While lacking a little crunch from the usual ESS dac, AKM’s dac in the V6 is able to present the treble in a smooth and non piercing way while still retaining the details although lacking a little extension, but i like how they sound as they seem to sound more musical to my ears.
One thing i noticed throughout my period of usage is that, the higher you crank the volume up, the music was added with a certain dimension to it and i’m not sure if it is the right word to use, but it seem to sound more musical as you crank the volume up, it’s just so addictive to listen to. (But of course, please listen responsibly and take care of your hearing health!)
Soundstaging and imaging is where I find the V6 is lacking a little. This is not to say that the soundstage rendering is bad, but it offers a rather average height,depth and width, nothing spectacular or crazy like very out of your head kind, just slightly. Imaging is good but not spectacular, compared to DX160, V6’s soundstaging and imaging capability is slightly lacking, but if we were to look at the price of both, i believe it’s fair and V6 is doing very good for the price.
Comparison (iBasso DX160)

• In terms of device size, both DX160 and V6 is more or less similar
• User experience and fluidity is something that DX160 failed badly at, in my experience during my time with the device, it was so choppy and and opening any streaming apps like apple music or tidal takes a little while, not to mention it does heat up a lot in when you are streaming, even just playing offline files, it was the worst user experience that i have ever had from a DAP
• In terms of sound, DX160 sounds a little more energetic with bigger soundstage, a little boosted bass on the DX160 to my ears but other than that, they are quite on par
• Battery life of V6 is also better compared to DX160 and it doesn’t heat up throughout the time i am using it (just a little bit warm but not to the point where it is hot like DX160)
• DX160 is also prone to the Wifi/Bluetooth noise while V6 is not affected by it at all

Final Thoughts
After using the device for approximately 3 weeks, it is safe to say that I like it a lot and there won’t be any issue in recommending it to anyone who is looking for a DAP with streaming capability that won’t break their bank. Again, by just looking at the specification itself, many will think that it will perform very bad due to the ram and storage size allocated to it, i can confirm that after 3 weeks of using it, the performance is very good, of course, don’t expect the DAP to play android games on it just because it’s running an android OS and you will be fine, as for multitasking, this is a DAP, the sole purpose of a DAP is to play music and nothing more i believe, you are not going to be opening 10-20 tabs in google chrome or running several background applications on the V6, anything more is a bonus in my opinion, and V6 does a good job at it being a DAP. Great sounding unit and solid performance, the only concern that i have will be the firmware update/support after the launch, but given the price, i can probably look past that.

*Tempotec V6 is sent over by tempotec in exchange for this review and i received no monetary compensation nor i am in anyway influenced by them to produce this review. All thoughts are of my own.

Head over to the campaign site to be the first to snag the unit when it is available. Take note that this is a kickstarter campaign and it is not a ready stock unit.
https://www.kickstarter.com/project...ariations-v6-dsd512-android-hifi-music-player

Introduction

As stated on their website: "TempoTec Corp. was established by a group of audiophiles. Its multinational team consists of experts from China, Taiwan, Korea and Germany". As a final note, "Technology and humanity is the soul and purpose of TempoTec". Under this premise, the well-known Chinese brand has made a multitude of great products, trying to offer the best technology to give us the best sound. I think there is no better way to explain the new DAP TempoTec Variations V6 than with these comments. I have known the brand for many years and I have many of their models that I still use today as the first day. Its long history in DAC/AMPS has made it a reference in dongles and some time ago it took the plunge with its small DAP Variations V1 and V1-A, a model that, fortunately, I own. This small DAP with impeccable handling and two SD slots could be one of the best transports (V1) or get a great sound through the 3.5mm SE output of its V1-A version. It's been a long time since then and in between all the dongles I missed a new DAP. And it has finally arrived. But the leap between the two is a big one. It's not just an update, it's a new product of a very high standard. An Android 8.1 based DAP capable of native DSD512 decoding, 16x MQA, DXD and 32bit/768kHz PCM. It can be used as a music source playing files from your Micro SD, as a USB DAC, via Bluetooth or AirPlay. With a 4500mAh battery, capable of powering a 4.2" touch screen, it has 4.4mm balanced outputs (line and headphones) and 3.5mm SE outputs (line and headphones). It has two AK4493SE DACs, the Snapdragon 425 processor with 2GB of RAM and 16GB of ROM, as well as 2 OPA1612 and 4 OPA1688 operational amplifiers from Texas Instruments. Of course, it has two-way Bluetooth, supporting LDAC, AAC, UAT, APTX, APTX-HD, SBC and is compatible with third party apps, via WiFi, such as TIDAL, Spofity, Qobuz, Deezer and Apple Music. The result is a great product at an unbeatable price. It is possibly one of the products with the highest quality for the price paid that I have been able to analyse. A new benchmark in the segment. Let's see why.



Specifications

• DAC: 2*AK4493SE
• Amplification: 2*OPA1612 + 4*OPA1688 pyramidal digital-to-analog conversion circuit.
• Processor: Snapdragon 425, 2GB RAM and 16GB internal space.
• SNR: 124dB.
• DNR: 124dB.
• THD+N: -111dB.
• Crosstalk: 84dB/32Ω/3.5mm. 116dB/32Ω/4.4mm.
• Output level: 2VRMS/3.5mm. 4VRMS/4.4mm.
• Output power: 330mW/32 Ω/3.5mm, 610mW/32 Ω/4.4mm.
• Bluetooth Bidirectional, supporting LDAC, AAC, UAT, APTX, APTX-HD, SBC.
• Formats: DSD up to 512 natively, MQA 16x, DXD and PCM 32bit/768kHz.
• 4.2" touch screen.
• Android 8.1.
• SRC ByPASS.
• HiBy Link.
• 4500mAh battery.
• Micro-SD up to 2TB.
• USB DAC.
• Air Play.
• Compatible with third-party apps, via WiFi, such as TIDAL, Spofity, Qobuz, Deezer and Apple Music.

Packaging

The Tempotec Variations V6 comes in a small black box, dimensions 168x119x48mm. It features a real photo of the product on the front, the brand logo in colour on the top left and the DSD logo on the bottom right. On the back are some specifications, in Chinese and English, the brand's contact details and other information of interest such as the website, contact e-mail and Facebook. All this is printed on a cardboard cover that pulls out vertically, revealing a plain black box. After lifting the lid, the V6 is wrapped in transparent cellophane. A cloth strap allows it to be removed from the thick, dark foam-rubber frame that efficiently protects it. In the second layer, underneath the V6, there is a black cardboard box also protected with black foam. Finally, at the deepest level, there is the green, faux-leather case, inside of which is another dark box with a further accessory. In summary, all the contents are as follows:

• TempoTec Variations V6.
• One green synthetic leather case.
• One USB Type C to USB Type A cable.
• One instruction manual.
• One warranty card.
• One quality certificate card.
• One screen protector.

It's worth mentioning that the V6 comes with a screen protector and a back protector. I just miss some kind of carrying pouch to protect the DAP when stowing it in a backpack or similar. Otherwise, the case is essential, in a distinctive colour and I appreciate it highly, along with the screen protectors, which is something TempoTec is accustomed to. Simple but remarkable. The only thing I could miss is a cloth bag to protect the DAP during transport.



Construction and Design

The V6 is a rectangular tablet weighing approximately 202g. Its external dimensions, without case, are 116x68x17mm. The top face has a 4.2" touchscreen. The left edge is square, while the right edge has strongly bevelled edges. It is on this side that the controls are located: at the very top is the volume control, which is a gold potentiometer with a highly textured rim. It doesn't protrude from the pickup, but sits flush, as if sunken in, but on both the top and bottom sides, it's uncovered for access. Underneath is an LED in a narrow, horizontal slot. Its colours represent the status of the DAP. Then there are three physical buttons for forward, play/pause and rewind. On the left edge, slightly upwards, is the slot for the Micro-SD memory card. At the bottom edge are all the audio outputs. From left to right: 4.4mm BAL LO, 3.5mm SE LO, 3.5mm SE PO, 4.4mm BAL PO. It is worth noting that all connectors are metal and gold-plated. This is perhaps to be expected at this level, but I think it is equally remarkable. In the centre of this face is the USB Type C connection. There is nothing on the top edge. The entire edge is metallic and has a smooth micro-sandblasted texture.
The main face has the screen at the top, while there is a narrow, unused space at the bottom, which is used for the model name, on the right-hand side. On the rear face is the brand logo in the first upper third and in the lower third are concentrated the logos of the formats capable of playback, as well as the certifications it has, the brand name, the product description, the voltage and amperage of the device.
The case it comes with fits like a glove, unsurprisingly, and is a dark green colour, which stands out subtly against other brown or black cases.
Internally the V6 comes with a 4500mAh battery that provides up to 12 hours of continuous music playback on 4.4 BAL.PO and 15 hours on 3.5 PO in high gain mode.
It features two AK4493SE DACs, the Snapdragon 425 processor with 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal space, as well as 2 OPA1612 and 4 OPA1688 operational amplifiers from Texas Instruments.
Neither the screen nor the processor are the best, but the starting price of the V6 is worth noting. TempoTec has chosen to highlight this device for its sound, not for its display or processor. Although, to tell the truth, it does not mount anything strange, but the same as its immediate superior competition, so it is not unusual, nor inferior to the rest of the somewhat more expensive DAPs. So, in this respect, nothing to complain about.



Connectivity

The V6 has 4 outputs (4.4mm BAL LO, 3.5mm SE LO, 3.5mm SE PO, 4.4mm BAL PO). Two are line outputs and the other two are headphone audio outputs. This gives an idea of its great versatility in this regard. There's also a USB Type C port, obviously. It's a charging and multi-connection port. You can get RCA outputs via a USB Type-C to RCA connector. It can also be connected to external DACs via an OTG cable. It can also be used as a DAC connected to a PC or connected to a smartphone or other portable audio device via an OTG to Type-C adapter cable. Simply select the "USB DAC in" option in the V6. No driver installation is required for Windows 10. With older Windows, the audio driver can be downloaded from the TempoTec website.
It also has Bluetooth connectivity as a transmitter, supporting LDAC, AAC, UAT, APTX, APTX-HD, SBC codecs. It can also be connected as a Bluetooth receiver by selecting the "Bluetooth Audio Input" option and pairing the V6 with any Bluetooth source.
As a good Android DAP, the V6 supports 2.4GHz and 5GHz WiFi connection. The WiFi connection can be used to transfer songs to and from the V6, remotely control the V6 via HiByLink and access remote music via DLNA, all using the installed HiBy Music APP.



Operativity

The V6 comes preloaded with an Android v8.1 operating system. This means it is very similar in use to any Android smartphone. Third party apps such as TIDAL, Spofity, Qobuz, Deezer and Apple Music can be installed. Personally, I have used my TIDAL subscription to check that it works properly, getting great sound, better than using TIDAL from my PC.
To turn the V6 on, just press the volume button for a moment. To turn it off you have to do the same, but you will get a menu to choose to turn off or restart.
By default, the HiBy Music APP is installed, which I was able to upgrade to a higher version that was available. It seems that the V6 uses a custom version of this APP. The version is as follows:
HiBy Music V6 Professional Edition V2.0.1 build 6052.
With this application, Bit Perfect output is achieved, as well as native DSD512 playback. The manual warns that other APPs may not be able to achieve Bit Perfect.
It also says that the V6 uses "DTA full-time bit perfect android audio framework". DTA stands for Direct Transport Audio. Android's global lossless output system, it bypasses the oversampling SRC in the Android system by modifying its audio stack to output bit perfect audio.
There is no big mystery when it comes to adding your own account to access the App Store, just as with any Android device.
There are some very basic APPs pre-installed, such as gallery, calendar, file manager, clock, Play Store, calculator, system and a browser called Via. Really, it is very basic and the storage memory is 16GB. Not a very high figure but enough to install the online music APPs and some other tools that we think we need.
Of course, the HiBy Music APP can be controlled via the touchscreen, but the V6 has a volume control that clicks at each volume step and three buttons for playback control: forward, play/pause and rewind.
The audio menu can be accessed from the top drop-down, where WiFi and Bluetooth can also be activated. The audio options allow you to select the "Low-pass anti-aliasing" filter from 6 options, gain (low/high), plugins, MSEB, "DSD gain compensation", "Channel balance" and maximum volume (up to 100 steps).
Finally, the multicoloured LED under the volume wheel has the following meaning:

• PCM ≤ 48kHz: Blue.
• PCM 64kHz - 192kHz: Green.
• PCM > 192kHz: Orange.
• DSD: White.
• Charging/low battery (< 20 %): Red.

And as a bonus, despite being an Android device, the V6 boots up quite quickly.



Measures

The TempoTec V6 has 4 outputs, two line outputs (3.5m SE and 4.4mm BAL) and two headphone outputs (3.5m SE and 4.4mm BAL). As usual, the SE outputs go up to 2V RMS and the balanced outputs up to 4V RMS. And this is strictly adhered to. But it happens that up to 90 volume steps, both in low gain and high gain, the volume is very progressive, slow. From the 90th step onwards the volume increases rapidly. This effect makes it seem that the V6 has less power than other devices. But this is not the case, you just have to turn up the volume more to reach a similar output voltage.
On the other hand, let's do a little maths using Ohm's law. If the maximum voltage is 2V RMS at the SE output, the maximum power for 32 Ω would be 120mW. I don't know how it is possible to reach the specified 330mW. That would mean an RMS voltage of 3.25V.
Similarly, for the balanced output, 4V for 32 Ω would give 500mW, but not the specified 610mW. This is at a theoretical level. In reality, the V6 does not exceed the mythical 90mA barrier, so the real measurements are well below these power values. But they are by no means bad measurements.
Finally, let's talk about the output impedance. It is as it should be, close to zero, both for the SE output and for the BAL output, both at low and high gain.

No Load SE

At low gain, the maximum output is 1V RMS. At high gain, 2V RMS, with a linear frequency response.




15 Ω SE High Gain

For this impedance, the measured value is 1.2V providing 96mW and 80mA. A great value.



33 Ω SE High Gain

Splendid, just over 2V RMS for this impedance, maximum: 130mW and 63mA. Also, the output impedance is close to zero. Very good.



100 Ω SE High Gain

Likewise, just over 2V RMS, 43mW and 20mA.



No Load BAL

A copy of the SE output but with higher voltage. At low gain, the maximum output is 2V RMS. At high gain, 4V RMS, with a linear frequency response.



15 Ω BAL High Gain

The V6 squeezes the current output and reaches 1.3V RMS: 110mW and 86mA. Just shy of the 90mA barrier.



33 Ω BAL High Gain

The reference value, 2.58V RMS, 200mW and 78mA. A great and round value. Within the reach of few.



100 Ω BAL High Gain

And as you'd expect, over 4V RMS for 100 Ω, which means a current delivery of 41mA and a power output of 170mW. It's clear that the V6 doesn't take kindly to just anyone.



Frequency Response

As can be seen in the graph, the frequency response from 20Hz to 20kHz is fully linear and equal in both channels. It can also be seen that the frequency extension ranges from 5Hz to 40kHz, with very slight dips, clearly meeting the Hi-Res specification.



Sound

It may sound like an excuse again, but I think that analysing the sound of a source is more complicated than analysing it over headphones. Basically, most of the sources I have tested have a high level. And the differences between them, when the response is normally flat, are not that big. It's more about looking for differences in sound profile, in clarity, in depth, in separation, in sound space, in timbre... All those things that the best THD, SNR and other specifications can reflect, even if the human ear is not able to quantify them, but it can perceive them when compared to other sources. But when you get into a higher category than what I am used to testing, it is normal that you can distinguish the differences more easily. And first impressions are often the best, because people tend to get used to the good stuff and quickly forget great quality on a daily basis. That may be one of the reasons why we always want or look for something better, instead of enjoying what we already have. And what I have here is not "peccata minuta", but a major sin, worth enjoying or at least boasting about.
And my first impression was great, very good, with a smile. There was not a hint of doubt. The V6 has an undeniable quality and my ears appreciated it. And another thing I also appreciated is the return of AKM. I've never hidden and have always commented that I like the sound of the cooler, more analytical Sabre DACs. But a bit of warmth and smoothness is not a bad thing, without losing the shapes. That's what the V6 gives. It's not a deliberately warm sound, but more musical. Although the great and first virtue I appreciated was the spatiality and grandeur of the low end, the space occupied and its separation. In this sense, the V6 is a tasty source, one of those where you want to turn up the volume to get into the sound and dive into it. And that can only be done with highly musical, pure and spacious devices, because they don't get in the way. Not strictly sweet, but very attractive. It is the AKM brand, slightly redefined after the fire, as their slogan "Velvet Sound" always tries to reflect. But back to the bass, it has a special colour, it's really deep, dynamic and silky, with a very nice texture and with that ability to take up a lot of space. The best word to define them would be expansive, as well as juicy. It is not a totally dry and concise bass, but apart from air and volume, it has a wet excitement that adds an enormously attractive, seductive musicality to the sound, bringing an additional point of fascination to the sound. They also possess an expansive capacity that adds a superior laterality. It is easy to observe how the bass travels from the distance to appear in the centre of the scene, giving an idea of the great three-dimensionality they possess, as well as a huge realism generated inside the head.
Spatiality, mixed with a great ability to expose detail across the full breadth and width of the music, remains the predominant note in the V6's midrange. There is undoubtedly a great deal of dynamics in the sound, and this is clearly noticeable in the centre band. The V6 is like going from 4:3 to 16:9 but with an even bigger picture.
Every detail lasts longer, takes up more space, and can be seen throughout, as if the music were slowed down so that more nuances can be seen in it. But no, the speed is normal, nor is it an over-exposure of music, nor is it more overloaded. It simply possesses a superior richness that brings it closer to a purer and more real sound. Because the level of musicality of this DAP avoids any artificiality in the sound. And that is something I prefer. I have been able to test supposedly better and more expensive DAPs that try to generate a more unreal sound to captivate the listener. This is not the case here and for that I have to thank AKM and their great ability to extract information from the music and expose it in the most natural way possible. That is my perception of the middle zone, a vast range, very exposed, opulent, succulent, lush and abundant, at the same time very delicious and pleasant. Exquisite and very enjoyable. Designed to bring out the best in our headphones.
To finish with the midrange, the smoothness of the sound and its warmth are felt in a more pleasant and subtly warm timbre, which brings even more sweetness to even the coldest and most analytical IEMS, as well as superior realism. Lovely.
And it is in the treble that I find the biggest difference to Sabre's heritage. The V6 has no crunchy treble. On the other hand, it is commendable how it is able to maintain musicality and never become piercing, without losing personality or sounding blatantly nuanced. There is no loss of information in the high frequencies, just a diverse, expertly rendered reproduction, which allows itself the luxury of exposing the treble with a calmer timbre and rounder notes, which are never sharp, cluttered, clumped together or blended. The treble is expressed in a broad, more spaced out manner. There is no rushing, no exaggerated speed in its execution, but rather that good workmanship is maintained that allows the true impact of the high frequencies to be revealed, as well as more information in its exposition. Again, the richness excels, both tonally and informatively, to complete an extensive, melodic, musical and very well executed range, without sacrificing the natural brilliance of the high notes. Very delightful.
From the very first moment, the V6 stands out for the size of the scene, for the breadth of the music. The concept of width is redundant, but I must emphasise that this DAP has a great laterality, a representation that goes beyond the listener's plane to envelop the listener even from behind. And yes, this is stereo music only, there are no multi-channel sound effects. Actually, I have always thought that this is not necessary, and this TempoTec proves my point. The sound is enveloping, loud, but without sounding unreal or too ethereal. The representation of the scene advocates a realistic grandeur, offering a natural sound, subtly warm, but quite pure and crisp. It is not a brilliant sound, but it is undeniable how much clarity and separation it possesses, but always respecting the music, without over-exposing it, or over-elaborating it. The V6 tries to exalt the purity of the sound, and in this sense, I feel the choice of a more gentle, organic and melodious AKM DAC is appropriate. And that's what you get here: sharpness, clarity, great dynamics, enormous width. But I must also emphasise something unusual, which is not usually found in lower-range sources, but which eloquently underlies it here. It is the life of the notes, their journey within the scene, their representation within it. In simpler sources, this life of the notes is simpler, more fleeting, the elements appear and disappear without trace or trace. Here, one can see the birth of many sounds, their propagation in time and space, as well as how they gain and lose intensity over time. This is a virtue that adds a superior value to the reproduction of the music, which brings a very great richness, as well as raising the volume and dimensions of the music, as well as its realism and vivacity, allowing us to enter a more immersive and live universe of sound.



Comparisons

Hidizs AP80 PRO-X

This model is not comparable in price range, but it is one of the best DAPS I have and has a more pure SABRE sound. It is tiny, comparatively speaking, but it is very powerful, even, in some respects, more so than the big V6.
In the low end the V6 boasts more headroom, deeper projection and more authoritative, musical bass. The Hidizs is more concise, more concrete, more defined and drier. It also has great authority, but less expansion limits its range and creates a smaller enclosure. There is a difference in range in the low end of the V6, as well as greater width. The sound feels more congested in the Hidizs. It is very exciting to see how sounds come from further away in the V6 and how they settle into the scene when they appear closer. It's something that the bass allows you to bring in, that sense of approaching and flooding the scene. That feeling doesn't exist in such a pronounced way in the Hidizs, where everything happens faster, having a beginning and an end more similar to each other.
In the mid-range, the Hidizs' speed gives it almost better descriptive projection than the V6. The detail is very pronounced, but its sonority is not as rich or adequate as in the V6. I can't say that the V6 offers more detail than the Hidizs, just that its sonority is different. In the Hidizs, the mids are simpler, with a defined execution and separation. On the other hand, the V6 expresses the music in a different way, it is not so concrete, and in its reproduction the mids have a purity that brings it closer to real life, offering a more organic and also more elaborated sound, as if it possessed a higher resolution, as if it were a photo with more megapixels. This is the sensation of true, marked Hi-Res, music that is enhanced by its richness, by its volume, by the space it generates. There is more body and fleshiness to the vocals of the V6 and the notes of the instruments have a longer and superior travel and life. The level of overtones is higher and each sound is more complex, but it is never diffuse or redundant, nor unreal. On the contrary, its colour is more organic and pure.
The high end is clearly different, all of the above becomes more palpably noticeable. The highs of the Hidizs are dry and thin, thinner and more soaring. Whereas in the V6, the high frequencies have a superior extension and are never piercing. When the Hidizs is crisp in this range, the V6 remains musical and harmonious, being able to describe the zone in a more extended and prolonged manner, with a distinct colour and a more natural, pleasant and enjoyable timbre. In the Hidizs the treble is speed and agility, while in the V6 it is flowing and extended.
The V6's scene is the crowning glory of the V6. While the Hidizs is finite and both its separation and the space it occupies is large, but distinguished and finished, in the V6 everything is less quantifiable, because even the volume is variable depending on the music. And, if necessary or if the music has a higher stage, the V6 will provide it in all its splendour. The three-dimensionality of the V6 is more apparent and has a width that expands beyond and surrounds the listener, without the sensation being ethereal or vaporous, because there is no loss of information. The distance between elements and the separation is more natural and there is an elasticity that is not shown in the Hidizs. It is noticeable that the V6 is on a higher rung than the AP80 PRO-X, the latter being a great DAP in its range. But the price difference is more than justified and the price jump is noticeable. You can't ask the Hidizs to be better than the V6 because it costs over $100 more.



Conclusion

TempoTec is a solid company, very serious and committed to what they do. I have had the pleasure of reviewing many of their products over the last few years and all of them still work as good as the first day. Not only are they committed to offering quality devices, but their goal is still to offer the best sound at the best price. The V6 is the epitome of that commitment.
TempoTec has moved from the V1 to the V6 with an ambitious leap in quality. Yes, it really is a $200 difference, but that little DAP has little or nothing to do with this one. Well, actually they share AKM DACs and little else. The V6 is possibly the first mid-range DAP on the market for its price level. It uses Android 8.1, a 4.2" tempered glass touchscreen, a 4500mAh battery and a Snapdragon 425 processor. So far all the components are entry level and very similar to the next higher priced competition. As DAC it uses a dual AK4493SE and a 2*OPA1612 + 4*OPA1688 amplifier circuit. In this respect, the sound treatment has been TempoTec's priority and that is something that is noticeable even on a quick listen. And I believe that this is the differentiating element compared to the competition. I don't doubt that other brands are looking for that quality, but do they all manage to find it? TempoTec has found the key for a launch price of $300 and manages to stand out from the rest, creating a product that could be a reference to beat, even with a lower price than the rest.
In terms of sound, the V6 generates music to be enjoyed unhurriedly, calmly and quietly. And it is under this influence that one realises the true quality of its sound and that music should sound, at the very least, as this V6 presents it. A pleasure for more affordable ears that want to increase the sound quality for just a little bit more.



Earphones Used During Analysis

• Rose QT9 MK2s
• Dunu Falcon Pro
• Yanyin Aladdin
• Penon Globe
• Penon ORB
• ISN H40
• NS Audio NS5 MKII Extra Bass
• Letshuoer S12
• Ikko OH10
• Rose Martini
• BQEYZ Topaz
• TRI Meteor
• TRN Kirin
• Hidizs MD4
• Takstar Pro 80
• SoundMagic HP150

Ratings

• Construction and Design: 90
• Packaging and Accessories: 80
• Connectivity: 92
• Operability: 93
• Sound: 96
• Quality/Price: 97

WEB Link



You can read the full review in Spanish here



Purchase Link

I would like to thank TempoTec, as this unit was provided for testing and review, it in no way has influenced me as you know I have enough stuff, I just am here to give my opinion and share my results.
https://www.tempotec.net/blogs/news/new-android-hifi-player-tempotec-v6

The package for the V6 is simple and adequate, inside one finds the QC, Manual and warranty information, the TempoTec Variations V6 comes with screen protection already installed but the accessories include another one for convenance, a nice-looking nylon A to C cable is provided as well as a leather like case. I would have liked a short C to C cable as well as a 4.4mm and 3.5mm but I understand they're trying to keep cost down.
Build quality is as expected solid and well put together, TempoTec does a great job with QC and design. the Hi and Low gain ports are covenant and look good. the buttons are well placed and easy to use in the dark once you are used to them. The screen has good brightness and color and both touch and scrolling were smooth when browsing or playing media. The Snapdragon 425 Processor with 2GB RAM and 16GB ROM is more than adequate to playing YouTube or listening to Spotify and also using email or chrome. I'm sure it could handle some casual games, but I'm more interested in its music abilities. Battery life is very good in fact it beats my other player by a lot. I've only had to do the initial charge when I got it and one time after using it all day.
Bluetooth is good over 10 feet away it plays with no interruption, having both aptX-HD and LDAC I can use any wireless I have and know I'm getting a good quality playback. With both WIFI 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz the V6 can connect to my network and stream flawlessly, screen mirroring is a cool feature, so I just need my phone to control everything.

The units AK4493SEQ+2*OPA1612+4*OPA1688 powered my Planar headphones on the go with plenty to spare and the ability to use a separate dongle or other amp is also an option for those hard to drive headphones.

Sound:

The TempoTec presents with a quite detailed and open sounding signature. It made everything sound larger and far better than on other equipment. There is good separation and lairing and it for the most part is neutral but far from boring. Bass has excellent dynamics, mids are pure and have a natural tone. The lower mids are just slightly warm with upper mids and lower treble brightness. vocals are forward but centered in front of the instruments and treble has a nice open airy presentation. This of course will depend on recording quality and what you are using. I tested the V6 using FLAC, DSD 256 and mainly the HiFiman HE-X4, Philips X2HR, Moondrop Blessing2 and Grado SR125e, OKCSC WTD3 and Hidizs MD4 as well as a few random IEM. I tried the ifi Go Bar as a dongle but found the V6 sounded much more detailed, so I tested it as is.

Conclusion: The TempoTec V6 offers clarity and details without sacrificing a fun and enjoyable listening experience. I think beginners looking for that first android DAP and budget goers will find the V6 feature rich and well made. It's now my favorite so far.