TempoTec Variations V3 Blaze Digital Audio Player REVIEW – Power Brick

The $199 TempoTec Variations V3 Blaze Hifi music player was provided by the company for my review – and I thank them for that. You can get it from the TempoTec Official Store.

The TempoTec Variations V3 Blaze is a very powerful and good-sounding Digital Analog Player that drives even very power-hungry headphones well.

Introduction

Some 15 years ago, when Blackberry-type phones still ruled the planet, I travelled to remote Mongolia on assignment. There I had to borrow a company phone of the HTC brand which offered a combination of swipe gestures and buttons. I was terribly confused. This confusion extends to the current day when paying per credit card in a restaurant….these darn machines.

Most current digital analog players still offer such button-swipe combinations, such as the TempoTec V3 Blaze. Speaking of, its big brother, the TempTec V6 DAP [2 reviews here] features no buttons but an ancient version of the Android operating system that made it impossible to move files from my Mac to its SD card. Not anymore with the V3 Blaze.

Physicals & Functionality

The V3 Blaze is different from the Android players: it features the intuitive Hiby 3 OS that broadly reminds me of that of early iPods. But it is way more powerful. And yes, you can even upload files from your Mac computer onto the on-board TF card.

The V3 Blaze is an upgrade over the original V3. I features has a more capable processor, lower Total Harmonic Distortion, and much stronger amplification. It is the Blaze’s power that may become its biggest selling feature. The other V3 model, the V3-D, has more digital outputs (coax and optical) than the Blaze but not a single analog one, and therefore cannot operate on its own.

TempoTec have come a long way in recent history, from producing budget dongles to desktop devices such as DAC/amp combos such as the Mach 3 and even a streamer, the Serenade X. The V3 Blaze is their second DAP model after the button-less V6 (while ignoring the original V3).

The V3 Blaze is a pragmatic design: a compact, heavy, very well-built brick (I measured 210 g with case) in your hand that looks somewhat plump next to a petite earphone, but appears optically like a substantial (power) source next to a full-sized headphone. A shape that fits well in pockets. It comes with perfectly clean pre-installed (screen) protectors in the front and back and a set of spares.

Also in the box are two USB cables and a snugly fitting pleather case, the paperwork, and, not to forget, a 75 Ω impedance adapter. The adapter is reducing output needed to counteract hiss in hybrid earphones with “weird” impedance profiles.

The screen is of decent resolution, but cannot be compared to the latest smartphones (at X-times the price). Swiping works well but it is sometimes stubborn when tapping. Here, the buttons come to the rescue. A cool feature is the screensaver that can fill the whole screen with the cover of the currently playing album (see title photo above).

Let’s have a look at the specs:

The built-in 3500 mAh battery has about the same capacity as that of an iPhone 16 and should drive headphones beyond 10 h continuous play.

The V3 Blaze features a 4.4 mm balanced and a 3.5 mm single-ended headphone circuit that can be switched to lineouts for use as pre-amp. The DAP can also be used as transport with an external DAC via its USB-C port. The DAP connects to the internet for music streaming and OTA firmware updates.

Its HiBy operating system is standard in many DAPs. It may look a bit rudimentary compared to the latest Android and iOS operating systems, but it is very pragmatic. Particularly interesting is HiBy’s MSEB, which stands for “MageSound Eight-Ball”, a sound tuning algorithm allowing users to adjust audio characteristics like warmth, note thickness, and vocal positioning. It offers a more intuitive and direct manipulation of sound parameters compared to traditional parametric EQ (which is also available in the OS).

The V3 Blaze has two-way Bluetooth 5.1 but only one-way Apple Airplay. You can play music from an iPhone or iPad to the V3 Blaze, but strangely not from the Blaze to a receiving desktop DAC such as the FiiO K17.

Hard wired to a phone or computer via USB-C, the V3 Blaze can be used as a dongle-DAC/amp.

Here a summary of what the V3 Blaze can do and what not.

It does

• play music from micro SD card (up to 2 TB capacity)
• stream media: TIDAL, Qobuz
• have a lineout switch for 4.4 mm balanced and 3.5 mm single-ended 
• offer two-way Bluetooth 5.1 with basically all known codecs
• connect to a 2.4GHz WiFi network
• allow OTA firmware updates 
• receive music via Apple Airplay
• work as transport with an external DAC
• work as dongle DAC/amp sourced by a computer
• work as transport
• allow to be controlled by your phone using HiBy link
• support DNLA [Digital Living Netwok Alliance https://www.dlna.org]

It does not

• transmit music via Apple Airplay (to an external DAC)
• supply enough current to very-low-sensitivity earphones such as the final E5000

Amplification & Usability

I typically use iems with portable players — and headphones with my desktop devices. That is because in-ears are easier to drive and their 120 cm cable-length is tailored for on-the go. Headphones need more power and have 1.8 m to 3 m long cables that work better when the listener is physically separated from the music source.

It is somewhat different with the V3 Blaze because of its aforementioned high output power, which is possibly the player’s most interesting feature. The power is achieved by daisy chaining an AKM4493SEQ DAC chip, an OPA1652 low-pass filter, and two SGM8262 operational amplifiers…per channel…to a “pyramid analog circuit” [the OPA LPF reduces high-frequency noise]. The 4.4 mm balanced circuit is obviously more powerful than the 3.5 mm single-ended one.

Three gain levels are offered. The V3 Blaze masters the 150 Ω Sennheiser HD 550 and the 600 Ω Sennheiser HD 600 on low gain of the single-ended circuit with ease. Impressive. But, like so many similar devices, it fails to supply adequate current to the notorious final E5000 earphones, which is reflected by a wooly bass. After all, transducers are moved by current.

Sound

Difficult to describe as the V3 Blaze sounds neutral and natural, not analytical, and therefore very good. And you can change the sound with the parametric EQ and the MSEB to whatever you want.

The DAP works sonically very well with the Sennheiser models HD 550 and HD 600, both of which are known for their natural reproduction. Extension to the upper and lower end of the frequency spectrum is satisfying, and so is spatial reconstruction.

The V3 Blaze may beat some desktop DAC-amp combos in terms of timbre, resolution, and imaging. This does not come as a surprise as the DAP contains quality components. It sounds better than you can expect at this price.

Concluding Remarks

The TempoTec V3 Blaze is an ugly duckling that overachieves in its class: it is no the prettiest or fanciest, but rather a rugged, stocky, pragmatic design that sounds good and LOUD no matter what you throw at it. Ear candy rather than eye candy, which, in the end, translates to very good value. For me, it is a desktop stack on the go…I use it mainly with headphones around the house. And yes, I am finally getting used to the buttons, 15 years later.

Never judge a book by its cover.

Until next time…keep on listening!

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