TempoTec Sonata BHD Pro Portable DAC & Amp Review

[Minimalismusik]

Cant wait for my ordered one to arrive...but I wonder if it is powerful enough to drive my HE400se

How about your experience now? I tried the HE400SE with both connections at the BHD pro but imho it is not as good compared to a desktop amp.

 

[Minimalismusik]

I just came across a review of this dongle where the reviewer says it supports bluetooth but i don't remember it being ever said here nor it's advertised in any way on the official site, can any owner confirm this? Asking just out of curiosity since in that case it would make much more sense the use of the Airoha BT chipset i mentioned in the previous post.

The BHD pro is not with bluetooth! Maybe one of its parts is supporting it, but not implemented by Tempotec.

 

[mc.god]

The BHD pro is not with bluetooth! Maybe one of its parts is supporting it, but not implemented by Tempotec.

Thank you, just as I was aware.

 

[Mookalafalas]

I bought one of these, and was initially disappointed. Connected to my phone (a cheap android phone, I admit) via the supplied wire, it frequently shut off with just the tiniest bit of wiggling--sometimes with none. It was very frustrating. I've had it for a year or so, and basically never used it. However. I just connected it to my computer, and started comparing it to my IFI Uno, which I had assumed would be much better, and after a bit of A/B testing, the Tempotec crushed the UNO, which is muddy and distorted by comparison. I had considered the IFI to be quite good, but it's comparative weakness is immediately apparent.

 

[*Cihan*]

Should I expect the he non pro version have same distortion, dynamic range as the pro version? It's cheaper and I think I won't need MQA support. Does having MQA have any benefit? I'll be listening to YouTube, YouTube music and some music from phone which can be flac or mp3. Pro version costs 24 USD more for me at the final stage including tax. I just couldn't be sure to pay 72 USD for the pro version or 24 USD for the non pro version.

 

[mc.god]

Should I expect the he non pro version have same distortion, dynamic range as the pro version? It's cheaper and I think I won't need MQA support. Does having MQA have any benefit? I'll be listening to YouTube, YouTube music and some music from phone which can be flac or mp3. Pro version costs 24 USD more for me at the final stage including tax. I just couldn't be sure to pay 72 USD for the pro version or 24 USD for the non pro version.

We don't have measurements for the BHD non-Pro so everything is a guess, but given the very good results showed here by the Pro version, I assume that after older not very well performing dual CS43131 units (Sonata E44 and E35), Tempotec gained the right know-how to make it well, so distortion and dynamic range should be on par with Pro version. Pro version should probably have better jitter due to more advanced clock plus switchable filters and more precise volume control (60 steps), but you can change gain setting only via a Windows application. Non-Pro has less frills, manually switchable gain but less volume buttons steps (they advertise 16 steps but I verified around 25-30 so not much problematic), I'm plenty satisfied with it since MQA support is not a concern for me, as it shouldn't be for anyone.

 

[*Cihan*]

We don't have measurements for the BHD non-Pro so everything is a guess, but given the very good results showed here by the Pro version, I assume that after older not very well performing dual CS43131 units (Sonata E44 and E35), Tempotec gained the right know-how to make it well, so distortion and dynamic range should be on par with Pro version. Pro version should probably have better jitter due to more advanced clock plus switchable filters and more precise volume control (60 steps), but you can change gain setting only via a Windows application. Non-Pro has less frills, manually switchable gain but less volume buttons steps (they advertise 16 steps but I verified around 25-30 so not much problematic), I'm plenty satisfied with it since MQA support is not a concern for me, as it shouldn't be for anyone.

Thanks for the reply. I placed an order for the pro version since I didn't want to risk it. On the other hand Moondrop dawn pro THD vs power from official Moondrop site seems too good to be true. I posted it on the unofficial measurement tread and also posting here. Graph seems bad quality but still readable. I guess it's for sum of 2 channels but still too high power for 4V output.

 

[mc.god]

Thanks for the reply. I placed an order for the pro version since I didn't want to risk it. On the other hand Moondrop dawn pro THD vs power from official Moondrop site seems too good to be true. I posted it on the unofficial measurement tread and also posting here. Graph seems bad quality but still readable. I guess it's for sum of 2 channels but still too high power for 4V output. View attachment 381477

Well, if i read it right, it says 1 W @ 32 ohm... So under 32 ohm load the dongle should output 5.6 V, much more than the max 4 V stated at line level... a bit fanciful... Since the Dawn Pro doesn't use an additional op-amp but only the amp stage of the two CS43131, just like the BHD Pro, power output should be very similar.

Honestly that graph seems inverted, more like the Volts sweep rather than mW... Here the mW and V sweeps of unbalanced output of Tanchjim Space that also have similar power:

 

[*Cihan*]

Well, if i read it right, it says 1 W @ 32 ohm... So under 32 ohm load the dongle should output 5.6 V, much more than the max 4 V stated at line level... a bit fanciful... Since the Dawn Pro doesn't use an additional op-amp but only the amp stage of the two CS43131, just like the BHD Pro, power output should be very similar.

Honestly that graph seems inverted, more like the Volts sweep rather than mW... Here the mW and V sweeps of unbalanced output of Tanchjim Space that also have similar power:

You're right. They probably mislabeled the x-axis. I probably paid an unnecessary 24 USD for the Tempotec sonata bhd pro. Moondrop dawn pro or non pro Tempotec should be enough for me. In fact I wanted to trust Moondrop since I never noticed them doing any gimmick before but I wasn't able to trust after they published this graph and Amirm still didn't measure both the non pro tempotec and moondrop dawn pro. However @seanyang 's measurement of moondrop dawn pro shows quite good results. I'd like to thank him for the measurements.

 

[mc.god]

You're right. They probably mislabeled the x-axis. I probably paid an unnecessary 24 USD for the Tempotec sonata bhd pro. Moondrop dawn pro or non pro Tempotec should be enough for me. In fact I wanted to trust Moondrop since I never noticed them doing any gimmick before but I wasn't able to trust after they published this graph and Amirm still didn't measure both the non pro tempotec and moondrop dawn pro. However @seanyang 's measurement of moondrop dawn pro shows quite good results. I'd like to thank him for the measurements.

If you don't need the extra features of BHD Pro, probably yes, they should all perform very close. I chose non-Pro version because i like the manual gain switch and no need of management app (i use it on a linux laptop), but primarily for the bargain price (€34 during aliexpress sale + additional coupon).

 

[*Cihan*]

If you don't need the extra features of BHD Pro, probably yes, they should all perform very close. I chose non-Pro version because i like the manual gain switch and no need of management app (i use it on a linux laptop), but primarily for the bargain price (€34 during aliexpress sale + additional coupon).

Would you prefer moondrop dawn pro or non pro tempotec sonata bhd for the same price?

 

[mc.god]

Would you prefer moondrop dawn pro or non pro tempotec sonata bhd for the same price?

I chose the Sonata for it's manual gain switch, with Dawn Pro the gain has to be set via it's android app that I don't like. To ne honest in real use scenario the Dawn could have been better with its many more volume steps and given that with my headphones I usually never have the need to go more than low gain, but my brain is still happier knowing that I can change it on the fly with physical button So very personal choice.

 

[ultralow]

Decent sounding device.

Tested with Tempotec's latest driver and various IEM's using WASAPI exclusive on Windows 10, don't seem to be having the popping latency bug that some have noted with the default 1.01 firmware it came with.

However I seem to be having an issue updating the firmware using their DFU tool. When updating to "S-BHDPRO-LMT1.01.bin" or any other firmware version I get "Update Fail" after 6-10%. I'm trying to flash 1Vrms as default.

Anyone know how to remedy this?

EDIT: Tried on a different PC, and the update worked fine.

 

[eret9616]

Here is a reference for everyone:

I bought both BHD Pro and TANCHJIM Space. I think the BHD Pro is better. Although it cannot control system-level volume on macOS, the sound quality is much better than the TANCHJIM Space in my opinion. In the end, I returned the TANCHJIM.

 

[Estib HG]

Yesterday, I received the TempoTec BHD Pro, plugged it into my older Android phone (Galaxy Note 10+) and, using Neutron Music Player, I am hearing subtle elements of my music that I haven't heard for a very long time (if ever). --This is incredible-- I never expected the improvements to be so obvious and so good.
Until now, I was using both the Meizu Mblu Lifeme HiFi DAC and the Musiland MU2 both of which were good ways to get wired headphones out of my phone with good sound.
However, the sound from the TempoTec is in a different class - I am hearing details that I didn't know were in my music. (For the record, I'm using Etymotic ER 4S IEMs).
Thank you for the recommendation!

 

[chatnever]

FYI, BHD Pro is now available at "SuperDeals" tab on Aliexpress for 45 usd. I've just order one.

 

[eret9616]

I am using IEMs. Should I use balanced mode or unbalanced mode for better sound quality?

 

[mc.god]

I am using IEMs. Should I use balanced mode or unbalanced mode for better sound quality?

It doesn't matter, balanced output only gives you more voltage for harder to drive headphones, so for iems unbalanced is mostly more than enough.

 

[bagajohny]

Bang goes my theory this was the same as the Tanchjim Space- likely just shares a shell rather than the full thing.

EDIT- nope, defo not the same shell either

Hi, which usb cable are you using here with the BHD Pro? Can you share the link?

 

[chatnever]

In windows10 properties my device only shows up to 32bit 192kHz. That's the max. Spotify works fine for me

Mine shows 32bit 192kHz only, what wrong or I have to install some kind for driver/apps