TempoTec Sonata BHD Pro Portable DAC & Amp Review

[LiviuTM]

Order one and drop ship it to Amir. Unless manufacturers offer samples , this site runs on items sent in for testing by members.

I'm willing to do that, but since this is a very new product, is not yet available on Amazon. Currently, the "Buy Now" link from FiiO sends you to Tmall. Chinese is not my forte , so I'm not planning to mess around with Tmall.

 

[Eddie]

This class of device causes an incompatibility with ASIO emulator I use. So I am relegated to static tests and no sweeps.

@amirm Why don't you use TempoTec's ASIO implementation for this device?

 

[Eddie]

Something is wrong with the unbalanced headphone output:

View attachment 312573

This is also the case at 300 Ohm, but not as pronounced.

@amirm I'm wondering whether or not this THD+N "hump" in unbalanced mode is some sort of measurement error on your part?

 

[somy]

How does it compare to chord mojo2?

 

[sushi2020]

How does it compare to chord mojo2?

Here it is.

CHORD Mojo 2 Review (Portable DAC & HP Amp)

This is a review and detailed measurements of the CHORD Mojo 2 portable, battery operated stereo DAC and headphone amplifier. It is on kind loan from a member and costs US $799. The Mojo 2 is solidly built. While I am definitely not a fan of multi-color interface, the buttons feel better in...

www.audiosciencereview.com

Sonata BHD Pro is superior to Mojo 2 in all aspects.

 

[staticV3]

Sonata BHD Pro is superior to Mojo 2 in all aspects.

Except that the Mojo 2 can play louder at all load impedances, and it can do so with regular 3.5mm headphone cables, and without draining the phone's battery.

 

[sushi2020]

Except that the Mojo 2 can play louder at all load impedances, and it can do so with regular 3.5mm headphone cables, and without draining the phone's battery.

Thanks. The "in all aspects" was an overstatement. Draining the battery could be important for some people.

 

[dtaylo1066]

It makes one wonder if in many instances a desk top DAC is necessary? Of course no remote or preamp functions, but for $90...

I think someone makes a split USB cable that separates the power from the signal, so you can run the signal from your phone or tablet and the power from a wall wart or other source. I'll have to try and find it.

 

[staticV3]

I think someone makes a split USB cable that separates the power from the signal, so you can run the signal from your phone or tablet and the power from a wall wart or other source. I'll have to try and find it.

Here's one: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/3256802910906841.html
Also available with a Lightning plug: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/3256804532779810.html

What makes this one special is that there is no VBUS wire between the Host and accessory end, so it is physically impossible for the phone's battery to be drained by the DAC.
Many similar splitters still have that VBUS wire between host and accessory, so they don't reliably prevent battery drain.

 

[Leopardy]

I'm willing to do that, but since this is a very new product, is not yet available on Amazon. Currently, the "Buy Now" link from FiiO sends you to Tmall. Chinese is not my forte , so I'm not planning to mess around with Tmall.

It is available at Hifigo (https://hifigo.com/products/fiio-ka13) and Aliexpress (https://www.aliexpress.us/item/1005006052240388.html?gatewayAdapt=4itemAdapt) if you are still interested.

 

[LiviuTM]

It is available at Hifigo (https://hifigo.com/products/fiio-ka13) and Aliexpress (https://www.aliexpress.us/item/1005006052240388.html?gatewayAdapt=4itemAdapt) if you are still interested.

Thanks. I am willing to do as I said; I also noticed it's available at FiiO's AliExpress store. The reason why I'm still hesitating? It seems AliExpress will also charge the local VAT (standard practice for EU-based customers), which bothers me a little. I intend to order the product to ship directly to Amir.

 

[frankh]

I just received my BHD Pro today and I found the Firmware update v1.01 here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/17biZm-VVy_iNyARvbENz3tPCBPDWy8Fd/view
The above link is for new BHD Pro users searching for the new firmware with the fast rolloff filter, in case you missed it.

 

[RedCometZero]

I just received my BHD Pro today and I found the Firmware update v1.01 here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/17biZm-VVy_iNyARvbENz3tPCBPDWy8Fd/view
The above link is for new BHD Pro users searching for the new firmware, in case you missed it.

Fast rolloff, but do you know if it's an FIR or IIR filter?

 

[frankh]

Fast rolloff, but do you know if it's an FIR or IIR filter?

Here's the info from the pdf

And below is the DFU Tool with BHD Pro config details. I have a strong feeling that the fast rolloff filter is FIR because there's no way to enable the IIR filter even though there's an option for it

 

[RedCometZero]

Here's the info from the pdf
View attachment 314283

And below is the DFU Tool with BHD Pro config details. I have a strong feeling that the fast rolloff filter is FIR because there's no way to enable the IIR filter even though there's an option for it

View attachment 314284

Thanks for the info. On the Cirrus DACs, Low-Latency means IIR, and phase-compensated means FIR (well, actually I can't find for sure whether or not it's a standard FIR, or an apodizing filter, and they unhelpfully call it in their datasheet "pseudo-linear phase"). But at any rate, the settings you have pictured have it set on non-oversampling. Are you able to click those settings to change the filter in the app?

 

[frankh]

Thanks for the info. On the Cirrus DACs, Low-Latency means IIR, and phase-compensated means FIR (well, actually I can't find for sure whether or not it's a standard FIR, or an apodizing filter, and they unhelpfully call it in their datasheet "pseudo-linear phase"). But at any rate, the settings you have pictured have it set on non-oversampling. Are you able to click those settings to change the filter in the app?

If that's the case then my config is on low-latency but don't know why I can't turn on IIR filter? Looks like the current BHD Pro firmware is incomplete. Let's wait for the next update then. Hopefully Tempotec continue to deliver more updates along the way to make the BHD Pro an even more amazing product. I'm already liking it a lot, it's not breaking a sweat driving my HD600, Sundara and Edition XS

 

[Deckard01]

Hello guys.

This dongle is better sounding from IFI Go Link? Can drive K701 properly?

Moreover as I read to the comments, is it really better sounding that the Mojo 2? Because as I see Mojo costs a lot more than Sonata and has pcm 768KHz.
If it is really better than Mojo 2 I believe then that this device will be a little miracle!
As if is better from mojo 2 then it should be better and from Questyle m15 which has many good reviews too

Thank you very much.

 

[Jimbob54]

Hello guys.

This dongle is better sounding from IFI Go Link? Can drive K701 properly?

Moreover as I read to the comments, is it really better sounding that the Mojo 2? Because as I see Mojo costs a lot more than Sonata and has pcm 768KHz.
If it is really better than Mojo 2 I believe then that this device will be a little miracle!
As if is better from mojo 2 then it should be better and from Questyle m15 which has many good reviews too

Thank you very much.

Power requirement is just about everything with these dongles. They would have to be really bad to impart a "sound" to anything that they can drive properly(and/or have a high output impedance). My BHD arrives this week and I will plug my 701 in and test for you. Of course my "loud" might not be your "loud" so you might want to run things through a calculator to be sure.

 

[frankh]

Hello guys.

This dongle is better sounding from IFI Go Link? Can drive K701 properly?

Moreover as I read to the comments, is it really better sounding that the Mojo 2? Because as I see Mojo costs a lot more than Sonata and has pcm 768KHz.
If it is really better than Mojo 2 I believe then that this device will be a little miracle!
As if is better from mojo 2 then it should be better and from Questyle m15 which has many good reviews too

Thank you very much.

I don't know if the BHD Pro sounds better than Mojo 2 because I don't own it yet but it definitely sounds better than my Mojo 1, even though I paid $70 for my BHD Pro. I'm not trying to put the Mojo 1 down but it clearly shows that portable DACs/headphone amps are getting better now and at a much lower cost too. Big thumbs up to the smaller companies that are making great efforts to manufacture better products yet keeping the price affordable.

 

[Deckard01]

Power requirement is just about everything with these dongles. They would have to be really bad to impart a "sound" to anything that they can drive properly(and/or have a high output impedance). My BHD arrives this week and I will plug my 701 in and test for you. Of course my "loud" might not be your "loud" so you might want to run things through a calculator to be sure.

Thank for the response about testing k701! Sure everyone's loud is not the same that is sure.

Sorry I did not get what you mean by "power requirement with the dongles" and the "They would have to be really bad to impart a "sound" to anything that they can drive properly(and/or have a high output impedance)"

Thanks again