Hello audio lovers, Tempotec is back with a new product, its desktop dac, and what is so special about it? Size factor combined with performance and features, so you will get small and compact device, which can fit almost anywhere especially on busy and messy tables and yet deliver quality with enough power to move any iem and most of headphones, its so small and cute and funny, so i'm addicted using it last few weeks, for testing products and my personal stuff, so before we dive little bit deeper classic sections.



Company:
Tempotec is relatively new company, not so long on the market, but for a short time built a reputation due to creative and unique products, dap's but their main focus is about dac's, feel free to visit their site, they always have some nice deals and combos...



Disclaimer:
I got March 3ii from Tempotec for an honest review, I'm not paid or compensated for this review, it's based on my experience, testing and using it for a few weeks...



Pro's:
Neutral Bright Sound
Detailed and Technical capable
Compact Size
3.5 and 4.4
BT
Filters
Very Affordable
And many more...



Con's:
Internal software is sometimes laggy
Volume Steps should be better organized
Other than that i can't find some cons or issues, everything else is just subjective, you will find in review



Unboxing, Design and Other:
Pretty neat and organized, classic foam protectors, inside you will have 1 unit of March 3ii, brick for charging depending on the standard you have ordered, cable for charger, cable for transfer type C, BT Antena, and standard papers.



Design:
Cubiod with some oval edges at end, at front you have 3.5 and 4.4, its really nice they have include 3.5 than some 6.35(who is using those), knob for volume steps and other navigation, display with informations, and 3 buttons, input, gain and mode, at back of device power off/on button, dc 5v port(type C) mini type c port for connection, bt port for antena, left right channel, optical and coax, more than enough for some average usage and for such small device. Material is a combination of some aluminium and plastic at the front with knob and other buttons from the front panel...



Thermals and Performance:
I have used this small device for hours and hours, and never got warm or hot, not even mild warm, and performance and sound quality never dropped for a bit, even with most longest sessions of using 3ii, i have burned like 2-3 pair of iems for testing period, and havent took a sweat, so it's pretty stable and reliable small device.



Controls, Volume and UI:
Even with minimalistic and dual control panel still its smooth to be used and manipulated, sometimes its little bit slow, but it will finish the job, knob have dual function of standard pushing volume up and down with 100 volume steps, which aren't defined by best standard, first 60 are so quite, and later will start to give some additional punch, they have stated its 2w of power, but in fact its 1w per channel, still pretty enough for almost any iem or most of headphones, at least for some decent usage. Navigation is very simple, first input button pressing will change input, second is for turning off and on gain, which isn't so aggressive when is on, and third most important is button for modes, here you can change some features, like filters, dre, eq, changing filter or dre, simple use knob to find right setting and press back mode to return at volume, i will cover even more modes.



Mode and features:
This is maybe one of main sale key points for this device, already have implemented filters, and eq profiles and dre for people who tend more toward excitement sound, so lets cover all.

Eq, by default its on OFF, sliding or rotating knob, you will have, User(I don't have clue how to edit it), Pop, Classic, Dynamic, Jazz, R&B, Metal, Vocal, Bass, Treble, and Off again.

Filters, in right hand, could be one of the better features at this device, understanding how to use filters and when is really cool feature, all Tempotec daps have it, and it should become golden standard for all devices, not only for reviewers as well for ordinary users or audiophiles. I will just paste from Tempotec site:

FILTER : Adjusts the sound signature by selecting the DAC chip's internal digital filter.

FASTHIGH rioritizes musical rhythm, with fast roll-off of fundamental harmonics.

FASTLOW rioritizes musical rhythm, with slow roll-off of fundamental harmonics.

SLOWHIGH rioritizes musical timbre/tonality, with fast roll-off of fundamental harmonics.

SLOWLOW rioritizes musical timbre/tonality, with slow roll-off of fundamental harmonics.

NOS Non-Oversampling) Disables the digital filter, aiming for faithful sound reproduction based on perfect source material (sampling rate >= 24Bit/192kHz).
My review will be based on using NOS!

Dre, classic feature for most of CS chipsets, for better dynamics(DRE=Dynamic range enhancement)

Uac 1/2, this feature will be changed a little bit differently, i don't know why it has been placed like this, but that's it, you go into modes find uac you want and press the knob button, not rotate, and it will change uac mode...



Chipset:
Its standard Cirrus Logic CS43198, they have implemented dual combo, pretty every device have it, one of the most popular dac's at planet currently, but slightly tuned and pushed more forward to be HIFI competitive, so its DSD512 and PCM 32/768, so not bad, combined with 1w per channel its pretty enough for almost anything, have in mind this is budget desktop dac and its not end game, but for the price and quality, ideal for every beginner!



Pairing and Authority:
Due to neutral-bright signature, can be paired with almost any iem or headphones or buds, it will deliver more than decent performance with any sound signature, i have paired with some warmer iems and buds and headphones, just to correct their signature, but does not have authority, so mostly it will just blend and help to improve, rather than take control and push for dac signature, so almost ideal.



Gear:
Standard gear from my collection from earbuds to headphones and iems in the middle, used on PCs with Foobar and Flac/Wav, and other media for low compression or quality for some realistic scenario of usage...

Sivga Luan
Sendy Audio Aiva 2
Fiio FT1 Pro

Ziigaats, Crescent, Odyssey2, Horizon, Luna
Kefine Quatio, Delci
Hidizs MK12 Titanium, OG, MK10, MS2 Pro
Intuaura, Splendor 2, Impact, Reference and Balance
BGVP DMA, NS10 Pro
ODA Helios

Aful Polar Night
Sivga M300
And many others...



General Sound Impression:
Its so funny these days to watch how small dacs are super powerful and capable for delivering great sonical experience, sure for budget its awesome, its very clean dac for sure, with neutral bright signature, controlled with decent accuracy, low area is more transparent and it will wait for your iem or headphone to blend, mid area is clear and detailed, highs on paper are above average, and it's true there are good amount of details while energy is controlled, actually walk on edge to be little bit than should, technical part of this dac is like 70 percent with 30 percent of musical, filters are here to improve situation, as well dre if you need to push for some more excitement, my condition are NOS with DRE Off for more realistic experience!



Low's:
Tilt is on mid and high area more, due to technical side, bass is average, more transparent than oriented toward energy and engagement, slam is fast, with some normal and reasonable decay, there is good depth, but if you don't have some better iem talented for low area you will not experience it, structure have some elements revealing more details, textures are ok with 3-4 instruments and later other can be heard easy, its clean bass maybe little bit sterile, ideal for gaming and critical listening for people focusing more on mid and high area. Sub-bass precision is here and control to prevent some energy or can't be even expressed, physical touch is here but barely rumbly. Mid-bass have decent amount of impact, power is here and there, but not enough momentum with energy to makes it more engaging, control is here as well preventing to bleed or spill or pollute mid area, physical touch is minimal, even it have extension for some better results, if you want to feel properly iem or headphone. Overall this type of low area is ideal for gamers and people more oriented toward mid and high areas, as well providing you with a sufficient amount of low area experience.



Mid's:
Very clear and detailed mid area will ensure every word can be heard and detail caught, timbre is ok, very neutral, tonality realistic with enough weight, sometimes there is a possibility that depending on the track it will not give impressive performances, but mostly it will be coherent with quality. Vocals have a good amount of clarity, details are here along with micro-details which are more than average expressed and pronounced, so from technical side it's more than enough.
Female vocals have power and even little bit authority, very clear and clean voice, with more accent on details and fine micro details, accuracy is great, it sound realistic, presentation is above average and focus giving you impression you are very close to the vocal, in most cases it will perform great, but on some tracks i have noticed, M3 doesnt have mercy, instant pointed on bad recording and pushing out for some imperfection and sometimes even sibilance, so if you don't feed it with quality files, it will reveal their true quality! Every lyric is super clear and every detail is easy to catch. Sopranos and MezoSopranos have right pitch and sharpness due to great precision and brightness, details are above average, Alts however are just average, good depthness, structure is here, textures maybe could be little bit better, but sound more potent on transition toward upper chest region than for lower parts.
Male vocals powerful and details are here as well, with not so much attention, authority is definitely bigger, depthness average with few compromises here and there, on some tracks could sound little bit artificial or thin, and depend of the vocals, Baritones have good depthness for sure, resonative vibro effect is here, but not so extended, just to touch you little bit and that's it, textures are ok but not so rich, rather very controlled to don't spoil low area. Bass vocals have good impact with decent amount of power, but some depthness could be more extended, just to pronounce this vocal to their true potential, Tenors sharp and precise, almost like Sopranos, but sometimes i have feeling too sterile and clean, missing some piercing effect, almost like pushing too much toward details than for realistic experience.
Instruments, even timbre is neutral, and very rarely will sound metallic, some instruments will blow you away with performance ratio, while others will just stay average, body is more than enough just to portray better structure, weight average could be better. So let's describe a few instruments, just for you to have a better mental or musical picture, what this small dac can do... Pianos very sharp and accurate, hammer attack is pronounced and structure is more than ok, at least for this price range, almost like you listening on more expensive device, extension is above average with decay, very dramatical effect and very realistic, body of all pianos or keyboards i have tried its much better than with some other instruments.. Guitars are second by performance, everything is so sharp and detailed, M3 will play it like a champ, pluck of strings is powerful and energetic, accuracy above average, downside is some depth should be more extended, but in reality its there barely to be satisfying. String instruments with a wooden hollow body, decent resonative and vibro effect is here, average depth, structured, textures are ok, rather too fast is happening, just enough to touch you a little bit. Air instruments miss and hit, but shortly more leaning toward bright piccolos and flutes, silver one, even normal instruments with warm signature will have decent pitch, but not like with bright. Drums are ok. There is energy, with impact, but not so much expressed, lacks little bit structure and depthness even on the average size of drum head. Overall synergy is great with vocals and instruments, all what i wrote is based on the overall performance of the device, and for this money its amazing product.



High's:
Main tilt is on mid area and good part on high area is well, energy is controlled but in same area for treble sensitive listeners it could be little bit more, i'm sensitive and i like to enjoy good treble, mostly its safe without some bigger issues, just here and there few energy burst at 6-7khz which are so fast and barely noticeable, dac isn't fatiguing but still lacks some smoothness as well, so it's something in the middle, it's pretty safe for enjoyment and longer sessions. Lower-treble transition is more than ok, like i wrote its not most smoothest, well executed with some small waterfalls of energy around 5-6khz, presence is ok, as well as clarity, good synergy with instruments and vocals, everything sound realistic and generally its safe, with minimal energy bursts sometimes causing some mini sibilance at some tracks, its there i could skip this, but i rather decide to be honest for my readers, because i know most of the people will not even read this. Mid-treble good amount of sparkle, very crispy and detail oriented, harmonical with plenty textures and some additional elements popping out, accuracy is on place along with control, but due to little bit brightish nature, which isn't even aggressive, you will get clarity and almost ethereal sound, it walks on edge to be little bit too much, even its not, it's just like feeling, and if was little bit too much, somee harshness would be present, like this is just more pronounced for mid treble. Upper-treble, it's not most airy dac i have tested for this year, but balance with air and sparkle is on right place, it will provide you with realistic 3d experience, space is defined and have decent sense openness, again its more pushed to give you impression of technical performances than to sound more realistic, organic or musical. Resolution and details, above average, super perfect resolution will provide you with every bit, boxing toward better quality of details and micro-details, which are here and expressed well, ideal for critical listening or revealing some new details in tracks or other media.



Transients and Dynamics:
Like with all dual CS, it's great, but here they paid extra attention, its piercing fast, precise and controlled, decay is more than ok with some neutral fade off, pretty much standard execution maybe even above, enough to perform in the same class and above. Dynamics average with classic bounce, with little bit more accent toward low volume, top peak is speedy and shifting toward low is same, it's not maybe most explosive but there is consistency in performance levels so its more than ok. Macro Dynamic powerful but little bit controlled, at least on some normal volumes on 80 steps is something like half way on most demanding iems, on 85 steps will provide you with really good quality without any distortion, around 90 steps depend of iem or headphone, it will preserve integrity but maybe lose on quality. Micro Dynamics are very accurate and combine with subtle textures, you get some very clean experience, with micro-details, everything can be heard so easily even on most lower volumes of tracks. Overall some balance is like 45 for Macro Dynamic and 55 percent for Micro Dynamic.



Soundstage and Imaging:
Classic 3d soundstage, with few elements of holographic experience, all sides are defined while little accent is on depth, width and height are just normal, it's not spacious just something like golden standard, vocals are little bit forward for better engagement, while instruments are back unless is more focus on instruments, listener is little bit closer, but it's not too close, just enough for good intimacy without any claustrophobic touch or similar, how much is realistic, it have some parts like i said of holographic elements but not fully, so sometimes will confuse or trick you to think its bad dac, but in reality accuracy of dac presented some elements which are not forward, rather on side or behind, so pretty good for small dac. Imaging great, separation have decent sense of space between instruments and other performers, no mixing or bleeding over each other or masking, showing proportionality is more than ok, every instrument have respectable size, and sound realistic due to great precision, pinpointing is easy, but not most sharpest, it will not give you some difficulties, but it will not come natural in same time. Layering above average, better depth will provide you with accuracy of 4-5 rows without any problem, distance awareness is very sharpened as well as directional, even after rows it will still be neat and presented, and after few rows like 8-9 distance will not be so clear, while direction will stay logical, so pretty impressive layering for small dac.



Gaming and Other Media:
Due to transparent low area, it's already clear it will have superb technical performance for a gaming, and it have, M3 really have all great elements for some hardcore gaming, bass will not pollute details, soundstage will provide you with realistic environment, spatial awareness is sharpest due to great layering, so every shot or steps will be caught with such precision, downside is some excitement will be missed due to all this sterile presentation. Other media like movies or tv shows with better quality, just average, there isn't some wow effect, since energy is controlled, some fun will be missed and engagement, but overall it's not bad.



Conclusion:
Tempotec really created a good product, it's very versatile due to nice features and other modes, with enough power and quality to push most of the iems, ideal for reviewers and people who tend more toward details and for this price its one of more affordable products.


Link:
Tempotec Store