HOW ANTI-AUDIOPHILE CAN THIS BE ?

AudioGugu

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I'm going to dare to post this here and hopeful to get a fair bit of balanced opinions on the matter.

>BLUETOOTH RECEIVERS<

Anyone here using Bluetooth receivers as their primary source for music playback ?
I'm genuinely curious as to how far behind is the latest BT tech when we compare it with streaming over wifi or a wired connection.

Is anyone using the latest receivers like the AURIS BLUME, AUDIOENGINE B1, iFi Zen Blue, etc...?

Looking forward to reading some helpful feedback.

Thanks in advance.
 
If you are looking to get a BT receiver, look for something that supports aptX HD.

It’s also called aptX Lossless, it is essentially an updated, beefed-up aptX with the ability to transfer music in a way that permits better sound quality.

It was released in reaction to the increasing popularity of hi-res audio and it supports audio at 24-bit/48kHz. Compression remains at a ratio of 4:1, with a bitrate of 576kbps.

Whether it is a match for a wired or wireless hi-res signal is highly debatable.

Personally I wouldn’t use BT in my stereo, ever.
 
On the same receiver (Marantz SR6013), the difference between Bluetooth and Airplay was very perceivable and definitive. AirPlay was far ahead. And, Bluetooth applies lossy compression with its original intended use being low power, short range communication among diverse electronic devices, not only for audio.
I don’t think I will go back to Bluetooth ever again for serious listening.
 
On the same receiver (Marantz SR6013), the difference between Bluetooth and Airplay was very perceivable and definitive. AirPlay was far ahead. And, Bluetooth applies lossy compression with its original intended use being low power, short range communication among diverse electronic devices, not only for audio.
I don’t think I will go back to Bluetooth ever again for serious listening.
Airplay is better and does up to 24-bit/192-kHz, but not suitable either for serious listening.
 
Totally anti audiophile. But I listen to a lot of music at late night on a Bose thingamajig on a lossy BT from my phone through lossy Spotify.
Horses for courses.
 
On the same receiver (Marantz SR6013), the difference between Bluetooth and Airplay was very perceivable and definitive. AirPlay was far ahead. And, Bluetooth applies lossy compression with its original intended use being low power, short range communication among diverse electronic devices, not only for audio.
I don’t think I will go back to Bluetooth ever again for serious listening.
depending on implementation, it can sound decent enough.
The BT on my CXA81 is better than airplay on my SR6013.
Also, Ifi is doing some fantastic things at the budget end of the spectrum with their Zen lineup of DACs, BT receivers, phono stages and headphone amps. Well worth checking out. Surprised nobody in this forum has any experience with the ifi zen blue.
The Ifi zen DAC's performance is at par with my Chord Mojo which costs 4x as much.
 
Reading some very good reviews about the ifi zen Blue.
The argument in my head is about the constant changing tech to which expensive streamers now a slave.

My gut tells me that Tidal, Spotify and the like are here to stay, but even though we are paying a premium for the Tidal Subscription, not even half its content is MQA quality, same goes for Spotify HiFi and it's Hi-Res files.

Not trying to start a debate here, just seeking opinions.

May be I want to be convinced that streaming over new BT tech isn't that bad after all.
Given that some of these BT receivers have a 100 Feet signal range, which is fabulous for home use, the major downside I can see is getting interrupted by calls or msgs while streaming from our Mobile devices.

Looking for more FMs to chip in with their opinions. The good, bad, all is welcome.
 
Reading some very good reviews about the ifi zen Blue.
The argument in my head is about the constant changing tech to which expensive streamers now a slave.

My gut tells me that Tidal, Spotify and the like are here to stay, but even though we are paying a premium for the Tidal Subscription, not even half its content is MQA quality, same goes for Spotify HiFi and it's Hi-Res files.

Not trying to start a debate here, just seeking opinions.

May be I want to be convinced that streaming over new BT tech isn't that bad after all.
Given that some of these BT receivers have a 100 Feet signal range, which is fabulous for home use, the major downside I can see is getting interrupted by calls or msgs while streaming from our Mobile devices.

Looking for more FMs to chip in with their opinions. The good, bad, all is welcome.
In that case, get an el cheapo streamer like the Allo Boss 2 player in which the OS is swappable and you'll get much much better streaming quality than Bluetooth.

That way, whether any service goes out of business or not, you'll always have an OS that is hot swapable depending on your needs as and when they evolve.

For example, i got myself a USBridge signature where I've kept 3 OSes hot swapable viz. Volumio (a bit of a faff and unreliable in my experience), RoopieXL(rock solid) and Moode Audio (yet to try out). There are plenty of other OSes as well. Though it may sound daunting, getting it going is as easy as it gets (not volumio in my experience). Most of these OSes include support for the latest services or add support when any particular service comes into Vogue.
 
That sounds great. Thanks for this.
Ur definitely getting me started onto something here.

In that case, get an el cheapo streamer like the Allo Boss 2 player in which the OS is swappable and you'll get much much better streaming quality than Bluetooth.

That way, whether any service goes out of business or not, you'll always have an OS that is hot swapable depending on your needs as and when they evolve.

For example, i got myself a USBridge signature where I've kept 3 OSes hot swapable viz. Volumio (a bit of a faff and unreliable in my experience), RoopieXL(rock solid) and Moode Audio (yet to try out). There are plenty of other OSes as well. Though it may sound daunting, getting it going is as easy as it gets (not volumio in my experience). Most of these OSes include support for the latest services or add support when any particular service comes into Vogue.
That sounds great. Thanks for this.

Ur definitely getting me started onto something here.
 
That sounds great. Thanks for this.

Ur definitely getting me started onto something here.
That is the reason why i stuck around with a computer as my source till I discovered Raspberry Pi based streamers. I see very little value in streamers, however good they are, which cater to only a select niche of services unless they allow me enough flexibility to add my own apps for streaming as per my needs as and when they evolve.
 
Honestly, i listen to a fair amount of Spotify through my system as you can get a fair idea of quality and the app is a lot better than tidal. So is there a difference between Spotify and Bluetooth ??
 
Honestly, i listen to a fair amount of Spotify through my system as you can get a fair idea of quality and the app is a lot better than tidal. So is there a difference between Spotify and Bluetooth ??
Well most of the BT receivers I was reading up on, can upsample Upto 32bit/384kbps. I guess that's a good comparison right there.
 
I'm going to dare to post this here and hopeful to get a fair bit of balanced opinions on the matter.

>BLUETOOTH RECEIVERS<

Anyone here using Bluetooth receivers as their primary source for music playback ?
I'm genuinely curious as to how far behind is the latest BT tech when we compare it with streaming over wifi or a wired connection.

Is anyone using the latest receivers like the AURIS BLUME, AUDIOENGINE B1, iFi Zen Blue, etc...?

Looking forward to reading some helpful feedback.

Thanks in advance.

If you just want to enjoy music then of course this fine and you may , bang for the buck, get a better value and sound from a pair of BT headphones

But if you have good quality media and want to ehar the full spectrum of the content, ie CD/FLACs or higher then a bluetooth will be a limitation as the technology itself is limited for music
 
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Totally anti audiophile. But I listen to a lot of music at late night on a Bose thingamajig on a lossy BT from my phone through lossy Spotify.
Horses for courses.
Completely agree. Horses for courses. When music is part of life, you need it. I also use it in non demanding situations but never in my main system. I have been stuck in my parent's home in Kerala due to the covid lockdown for the last 2 months. I have been listening to music everyday on a JBL blutooth speaker I carried with me. It is lossy sound for sure.

I have checked aptX HD at a friends house and it is step down from lossless transmission via wired / wifi over the network. But listenable. I have not compared it with any other transmission protocol..
 
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Compared to Airplay I would say based purely on numbers a receiver that can accept aptX HD or LDAC would offer better performance. The only pure and easy way to get the max bitrate would be using a Pi and a digi hat or a Pi directly through USB. Pi4 is a little better because it has a separate bus for ethernet and USB.
Another thing I've come to learn is that Bluetooth quality also depends on the transmitter. Although many phones support Hi-Res codecs, they are still limited by the manufacturers who define what bitrate the "best effort" setting can do. The LG phones aimed at audio quality (RIP) and sony phones are the only ones that can transmit at max bitrate of 960kbps..
 
Hi.
I am visiting the forum after ages.

My main system
Source: Samsung Galaxy A30 with Spotify premium set to 'Very high' option.
I use Equialiser app Spot EQ31 to boost 30Hz and 60Hz Band

Signature acoustics Phoenix BT receiver

Amp : Marantz PM 5005

Speakers: AHUJA FRX 200. It has 12" full range driver and horn loaded piezo tweeter. Sounds too good in mids and highs but needs a boost below 70Hz.

Listening to this system with eyes closed in dark room is a total bliss. If am committig a sin by doing this then I confess that I commit this sin daily :D.

I have heard better system than this probably only once. Can't remember exactly which model but it was a NAD CDp, NAD stereo amp and PSB towers at Lakozy electronics. it was too good. Cost of the full system was upwards of 3 lakh some 10 years ago. I didn't have budget that time and now I can spend that much but don't feel the need anymore.
I have listened many combos thereafter that were very good but I really doubt if they were better than my current system or no.I could never do an A-B test with any of those and unless you do that, you need to completely depend on memory.

I am totally sold on Bluetooth. I don't even have Aptx HD. I just use AptX and that's more than enough for me to achieve a trans state. Each time I put a song on, the system puts smile on my face.

Am thinking of buying Auris Blume HD just out of curiosity (basically to try it's DAC). That's how I landed on this thread.
 
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Hi.
I am visiting the forum after ages.

My main system
Source: Samsung Galaxy A30 with Spotify premium set to 'Very high' option.
I use Equialiser app Spot EQ31 to boost 30Hz and 60Hz Band

Signature acoustics Phoenix BT receiver

Amp : Marantz PM 5005

Speakers: AHUJA FRX 200. It has 12" full range driver and horn loaded piezo tweeter. Sounds too good in mids and highs but needs a boost below 70Hz.

Listening to this system with eyes closed in dark room is a total bliss. If am committig a sin by doing this then I confess that I commit this sin daily :D.

I have heard better system than this probably only once. Can't remember exactly which model but it was a NAD CDp, NAD stereo amp and PSB towers at Lakozy electronics. it was too good. Cost of the full system was upwards of 3 lakh some 10 years ago. I didn't have budget that time and now I can spend that much but don't feel the need anymore.
I have listened many combos thereafter that were very good but I really doubt if they were better than my current system or no.I could never do an A-B test with any of those and unless you do that, you need to completely depend on memory.

I am totally sold on Bluetooth. I don't even have Aptx HD. I just use AptX and that's more than enough for me to achieve a trans state. Each time I put a song on, the system puts smile on my face.

Am thinking of buying Auris Blume HD just out of curiosity (basically to try it's DAC). That's how I landed on this thread.
From how you described it, your system sounds quite engaging. Not many people can speak so highly of what they've managed to put together after spending all the money they did. Good on you.
I did get the ifi Zen Blue (bluetooth receiver) and I did A/B against the Allo Boss 2 player. The difference is almost inaudible. But I've decided to keep the Allo Boss 2 player and wanting to sell the ifi Zen Blue receiver. But if anyone is planning to get a Bluetooth receiver, I don't think they will be utterly disappointed.

Cheers
 
From how you described it, your system sounds quite engaging. Not many people can speak so highly of what they've managed to put together after spending all the money they did. Good on you.
I did get the ifi Zen Blue (bluetooth receiver) and I did A/B against the Allo Boss 2 player. The difference is almost inaudible. But I've decided to keep the Allo Boss 2 player and wanting to sell the ifi Zen Blue receiver. But if anyone is planning to get a Bluetooth receiver, I don't think they will be utterly disappointed.

Cheers
Why do you plan to sell it?
When do you plan to sell it?
Is this original Zen Blue or V2?
 
If you just want to enjoy music then of course this fine and you may , bang for the buck, get a better value and sound from a pair of BT headphones

But if you have good quality media and want to ehar the full spectrum of the content, ie CD/FLACs or higher then a bluetooth will be a limitation as the technology itself is limited for music

+1 for bluetooth headphones.

I enjoy music mostly using my Plantronics Backbeat Pro 2. It's a 2 year old headphone. Nothing fancy, AptX gets the job done for me. I switched to headphones after having children and I listen mostly during night. Not for critical listening though.

Bluetooth never had the love of Audiophiles.
 
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