Sound Impressions
Bass
The V6 being Android-based and having the MSEB locked in stock music apps makes the player a powerful ally for bassheads. You can really crank it up and bust some heads with bass if you own a true bass monster. I crank her up to +10 dB on Foobar2000 and use it with some of my portable earbuds. The experience is actually a bassheads dream.
As for fidelity on the low end, the experience is not that different in quality from the XDuoo X3ii in smoothness, where the clarity factor is audibly superior. Interestingly, the stock 3.5mm Sony Xperia 1iii phone output is better than the X3, but not as good as the V6.
For the price of just $300 and potentially under during the first days of the Kickstarter event, this is a crazy great deal for the price-to-performance ratio. Even the $399 retail afterward will be a great price and more than justified for the bass quality involved and available.
Mids
The V6 is middle-neutral, which is a new term I am coining that means the vocal experience is not recessive, nor very forward and engagingly in your face and upfront.
It is not lively unless your headphone and the track are regarded for close-up vocals, then you get more of that forward sense. But in general, this is a middle ground and has no tendency to sound recessive or distant. The projected vocal experience is mildly neutral and likely aimed to please the majority.
The purity factor is good overall and reminds me a lot of some of the more expensive DAPs from 8+ years ago that were $2000 at the time. We’ve come so far and that makes me happy.
This is a good DAP option for someone looking for a solid all-arounder without a specialized focus on midrange forwardness. If that is the case, the V6 and you will get my blessing to coexist.
Vocals are clean and clear and reflective of the price tier in the 2022 market. A lot of that has to do with the dual DAC system this player has opted for, so know that the clarity factor is punching a bit above its current price point and that it is a good value for your dollar.
Mid Tone
What is bugging me a bit is the overall tonality factor in regard to density. The heft, the physicality factor, it feels overly weak and thin, and by rights feels the same as the xDuoo X3ii from years ago in this quality.
This area I speak of is entirely physical tactility and heft to the midrange spectrum, which is not a problem on the low end, that feels thick enough. But the midrange, especially the upper midrange area, is lacking a density factor that I have come to enjoy and expect from some of the midrange music sources out there.
I simply want more heft, and I understand that is a subjective quality that others may not care for.
Treble
The top end is wonderfully sparkled and has a great sense of bite factor without being annoyingly painful. It hits good on physical slam and keeps my ears enjoying the experience without saying it is too harsh or impacting.
That is a delicate balance to achieve, really, and not many DAPs do it well on a disabled EQ system. A powerfully responsive DAC will allow music app EQs to expand the potential of the sound signature to a high degree, but bad DAC options will not be so responsive. And that means no matter what you do to the EQ, you may hardly hear a difference.
Thankfully, the V6 has a moderately responsive DAC that will let you change the bite factor of the treble a bit if you prefer it.
A +3dB turns the V6 into something I use for headphones that are too reserved on the top side and dropping off that same +3dB will often remedy the harshness factor and bite that comes with my HD800 and similarly treble-happy headphones.
Overall, the V6 responds well, and the clarity factor for $300-400 is spot on what I would want to be paying for it.
Imaging
The V6 sounds like an open window compared to a closed room of the xDuoo X3ii, and also significantly deeper than my Sony Xperia 1iii.
Don’t let the Sony phone fool you, it is a media device with an excellent DAC inside of it and it served me well as my primary DAP for almost a year that has passed. So, to know that the TempoTec V6 did better everywhere is a joy to me because the Sony phone was $1,150 when I bought it.
Sound staging is entirely box-shaped with equal parts height, width, and depth of field. The lacking notion is the separation of instruments and an effortless feel that some other more expensive devices will offer.
This is aimed at the lower-end middle tier for budget or the bottom side of the mid-tier. So, I do not expect this to be, and nor should you, to offer expansive sound staging elements. The depth factor is still better than your standard iPhone or Android phone will ever allow, but the width and height factor feels identical to my Sony phone.
Overall, imaging is good, but not great. There are better options out there for $400-500 if you are aiming for massive staging property such as the venerable iBasso DX160.
Synergy
Noise
The V6 is also silent as hell. I cannot hear any noise ongoing, even though some sensitive headphones. The grounding on this DAP is fantastic and I hear no hum, no static, nothing. I am curious if the output impedance on this unit is over 1Ω to push down the noise.
And I mean dead quiet…and that is a good thing but I do not have any IEM thus far that seems to suffer from any impedance skew. I have some hissy products and even speakers I hook up to, and I don’t hear any noise through them when the V6 is plugged in as my source.
Pairings
I enjoy the Audeze Euclid with the V6 as well as probably the best meshing of a product and source I have on hand. The V6 is mildly natural sounding and so is the Euclid, they are a match made in heaven.
Yes, I want more power output, but the Euclid plus Android music app EQ’ing on the bass end and slight treble hikes make it feel like it is extremely well-fed with a lot of voltage.
As a Source
The V6 sounds like an old-school tube amp that we audiophiles used for years in the past and had upgraded tubes with back in the day. It is mildly sweet on the treble side and neutral on the mids.
So, it plays nicely with most amplifiers and other sources that you want to play into and route headphones through. The middle ground DAP intended to play well with others is what TempoTec has clearly opted for and it really shows. Regardless of what amplifier I plug into, the V6 experience still feels good to me.
It doesn’t seem to matter if it is solid state or tube amped, the V6 is a middle-ground champ that seems designed to mesh with most amplifiers and tonality sound signatures out there. And that is what we want at this price, something that is a generalist and not a specialist.
CEntrance HiFi-M8 V2
I really enjoy the V6 and the HiFi-M8 V2 combo. The extra power really gives the dynamic kick needed for my demanding headphones and I find the entire experience to be usefully enjoyable on the go.
Sure, it looks like two small bricks stacked and it isn’t something I want to tote to an airport strapped to the CEntrance M8 V2, but at home and on the go in my backpack? Absolutely. It is amazing to have that much clarity and power strapped to me.
xDuoo TA26
Another odd and randomly awesome pairing was with my TA26 from xDuoo, which ended up sounding fantastically natural to me. Highly preferred sometimes over my mostly warm personal gear.
Yes, I have plenty of warm, cold, sterile, neutral, natural, and colorless amps to choose from but as you know, my favorites are the warm and lush ones.
In this case, I found the meshing of the TA26 and the V6 to be a match made in heaven. They truly complement each other and offer a fantastic sense of synergy that I cannot get with any of my other middle-tier priced setups.
Select Comparisons
HiBy R6 Pro
The V6 is audibly thinner in tone and texture from top to bottom versus the HiBy R6 Pro, which houses more tactility in regard to physical feel.
If you have demo’ed the HD800 from Sennheiser, and any classic Audeze headphones such as the 200Ω LCD-4, you should be able to grab a picture in your ear memory of the allegory I am trying to paint on this subject.
Where the HD800 is thin-feeling in physicality factor (V6) the Hiby R6 Pro is more like the very weighted and thicker feel of an expensive planar headphone.
Also, the internal DAC of the R6 Pro allows for much more EQ responsiveness than the V6, but it also is not capable of running other applications and even a game like the V6 can. The V6 also has better battery life and LCD brightness by a significant margin.
Mind you, the V6 has much higher voltage output as well and fixes the volume and power issues I had with my needy headphones using the R6 Pro setup. True also, the R6 Pro LCD screen looks much nicer but is less bright.
xDuoo X3ii
The xDuoo X3ii is more popular than you would think in the past few years. And it is only $80 or so on the used market. Why? Because it is extremely capable, easy to use, and reliable.
It is quick on the UI but has no touch screen. The X3ii almost can’t be used outside, due to the immensely weak brightness of that panel. The V6 can be used in direct sunlight and I can see what is on the screen nicely.
The xDuoo is small and powerful, easy to use, and has amazing battery life. Toss on faster than usual USB-C charging too and you got a real winner. However, the X3ii is audibly inferior in every way to the V6 but before using the V6 I opted to use my X3ii over all the other DAP products I’ve reviewed over the last few years.
Of course, I take them out now and then but the one that is considered my primary is the X3ii. When I pair that with specific other amps I am happy with the outcome. However, I can achieve that same tone and texture with the V6 now and also have better fidelity across the board.
The X3ii is completely colorless and able to EQ itself a bit in the stock app just enough for me to feel the warmth. The V6 can achieve the same thing, so I consider this V6 the next logical step of evolution for me and those like me with my preferences.
Our Verdict
The TempoTec V6 is a very good DAP for this competitive price with decent battery life and modern design quality. It will not break the bank at its current price point but will offer a very enticing upgrade path for those on older non-Android DAPs struggling to find something new under $400.
The options it comes stock with are playing to a customer who wants a lot of variations much like any modern DAP out there. Whether it’s local playback, wireless, or being used as a source DNLA you are covered regardless so the various outputs are all appreciated.
If I had a gripe, it is the lacking thickness of the tonality in stock EQ mode and the lower than I would prefer voltage at 0.6W. I want to see closer to 1W and over on the next model. But that is entirely dependent on what headphones you have. Not everyone needs more than 0.6W anyway.
Overall, a good value or affordable Android touchscreen DAP with decent power for most IEMs and a few headphones and a bit of a rarity in today’s sub-$300-400 dongle-dominated portable audiophile market.
TempoTec V6 Specifications
- 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
- 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.
- 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
