Bose Bluetooth Audio Adapter

This arrived today and I've been listening to it for about 10 hours. It's not perfect but I like it. It's connected to a Denon 2807 receiver via an optical cable. I didn't realize it had an optical output when I ordered it and was pleasantly surprised when I realized it did, although the supplied optical cable is very short and I'll need to replace it with something longer. The good: Good audio quality, the previously mentioned optical out, nice design. Paired effortlessly. The okay: I initially place the receiver behind my entertainment center and the music would stutter even though my iPad was less than 10 feet away from the receiver. Walking between my iPad and the receiver would cause an immediate stutter. I moved the receiver so there was a clear line of sight between my iPad and the receiver, and it's worked flawlessly. I knew going in that the 30' Bluetooth range is rarely achieved, so it's not an issue. The bad: Nothing yet but time will tell. Summary: Nice design, great audio quality, limited range. Somewhat more expensive than other options but I suspect much of the cost increase is due to the inclusion of an optical output. And optical may be pointless if you're using Bluetooth to stream music encoded at a low bit rate. I suspect most people wouldn't notice a difference between an optical cable and a traditional RCA or 3.5 mm cable. I'll update this review after I've had the product for a few weeks. As promised, here's an update after using the product for a while. It's rock solid, does exactly what it should, and I'm no longer having issues with the occasional stutter. I can connect my tablet, phone and laptop to it and stream audio from any of them. It's rare to find a near-perfect product but this is one of them. Changing my original four starts to five.

Setup; • Asus i7 2.3Ghz Win 10 Laptop • Avantree Leaf in 3.0 USB port some drop outs as blocked by people and changes in the field. Dropouts during some computer operations or large downloads. • Avantree Leaf in 2.0 USB port on extension and hung on wall out of the way. Have not been able to recreate dropouts. • Bose Bluetooth adapter at 25 feet through wall and coffee bar under edge of couch but visible. • Logitech z-2300 with sub :) I like this setup for easy day to day listening. Took me 5 minutes to Bluetooth from Laptop to speakers. Took me a lot longer to determine if the aptx was worth the extra money. Adding iPhone 6 into the mix, I tested between the Avantree aptx Bluetooth and general use Bluetooth on iPhone. Using a spectrum analyzer on an iPad, ran several tests for phasing, compression, distortion, and sweeps. I use the analyzer to help my 60 year old ears to evaluate above 10khz. The aptx provides a perceived fuller sound and larger dynamic range. Most noticeable with THX spectrum test. Test signals from same local files and websites used to compare Laptop and iPhone. Music from “All about the Bass”, to Stevie Ray V, Debussy, Wagner, and Willie. For me the aptx is worth the extra and Bose has it in a nice package. I was not able to simply pause an input and play on another device. The easiest way I have found to release the Bose from laptop connection is to pull the Avantree out of the USB port. This allows the iPhone to work without any conflicts. Connection is pretty solid to (charged) iPhone walking around 3 story house with phone in outstretched hand. Experienced dropouts with phone in pocket and walking out of the 25 foot room. Unobstructed the Bose has good iPhone connection out to at least 40 foot. Keep in mind that the range is dependent on structure, distance and signal clutter. What works in the open will be very different at a party with 20 people between you and the signal. At price point of $50, this adapter works well. If you experience drop outs, try different configuration. Plug into extension cord and use longer auxiliary cable to move device around.

While the Bose Bluetooth Audio Adapter is twice the price as many other bluetooth receivers, it works as a bluetooth receiver should while other, cheaper receivers I've owned just cause headaches, some quicker than others. As I learned in the end, sometimes you just have to fork over the extra money. Before purchasing the Bose, I had two Homespot bluetooth receivers, a Pioneer bluetooth adapter for my A/V receiver, and tried the Brightech Brightplay bluetooth receiver. The Brightech was returned pretty quickly. Although the Bose may not be perfect, it is as close as there is to perfect for a bluetooth audio adapter. After a few days use I purchased a second Bose adapter to replace the other Homespot. During the review I'll draw comparisons to my other bluetooth receivers. Positives: 1. Very easy to pair. If nothing is connected to the receiver, you just go to the bluetooth settings on your tablet, phone, or computer to pair. Even if another device can be connected to it, you simply touch the button on receiver to start the pairing process. The Brightech is horrible. You have to unplug the audio cable and then reconnect the cable to start the pairing process. While the Homespot is easy to pair also no other device can be connected to the receiver if you want to pair a new one. With the Pioneer bluetooth adapter, I have to go into the receiver's menu to pair which isn't a user friendly process. 2. Three devices can be connected to the Bose at once. This is a feature which caused me to look to replace the two Homespot receivers I was using. Only one device can be connected to the Homespot. When my wife decided she wanted to start to streaming to the Homespot also this became a problem for us. One of us would try to connect but couldn't, so she or I would have to search for other's iPhone and iPad to see which was connected and then go to the bluetooth settings and turn the bluetooth off to disconnect that device. While the Brightech does allow two devices to connect, it doesn't always work. The Brightech also has a big problem of randomly auto connecting to devices. With that problem, it became a bigger nuisance than the Homespot. The Bose works perfectly! If multiple devices are connected, just pause audio on one device and click play on another. The Pioneer also doesn't allow multiple devices to be connected to it at the same time. 3. If you are connected to the Bose, then go out of range of the receiver and back into range within about a 10 minute period, the Bose will automatically reconnect you. This is very nice if you move around a lot in your apartment or house while streaming audio. If I walk out of range when using the Homespot or Pioneer, even for a few seconds, I have to reconnect to the bluetooth adapter to start streaming audio again. This is a nuisance. While the Brightech had auto reconnect, it was a needly little receiver and seemed to always want to be connected to something. It would randomly connect to one of our devices at home. Very frustrating. 4. The Bose, Brightech, and Homespot all feature auto connect when the receiver is powered on. This is great if you use the bluetooth adapter in a car or if it is powered by an amp. If the bluetooth adapter is plugged into a wall outlet it will stay powered all the time. 5. The Bose is powered by a USB cable and comes with a wall adapter. That means if you have an amp that has a powered USB port you can plug directly into it for power. The Brightech plugged directly into a wall outlet which I didn't like. The Homespot is powered by a USB cable also. However, when I plugged either of my Homespot receivers into the Orb Mini-T amp using either cable that came with them, I could hear noise and interference through the speakers. I thought it was the amp until I got a new mini amp, a Polk Omni A1, and experienced the same noise and interference through the speakers. I then became suspicious that it was the Homespot receivers that were causing this. When I got the Bose Bluetooth Audio Adapter and plugged into the Polk receiver, there was no noise or interference whatsoever. 6. When the Bose is connected it stays connected and when it is disconnected it stays disconnected. It may seem like such a small thing but neither the Homespot or Brightech could get that quite right. While streaming audio to the Homespot, well within bluetooth range, the receiver would occasionally disconnect itself while the Brightech as I mentioned earlier would randomly hijack the audio of my iPhone or iPad. 7. Audio quality from the Bose is excellent. If using the auxiliary out of the Bose, the audio quality is indistinguishable from the Brightech and nearly indistinguishable from plugging my phone directly into the amp with an auxiliary cable. Audio from the Bose and Brightech is noticeably louder than that from the Homespot but again the same volume as plugging directly into the amp. 8. The Bose Bluetooth Audio Adapter features apt-x codec for lossless streaming and digital optical out. iPhones and iPads are not compatible with apt-x so I'm not able to comment on that feature. If you have an open digital optical input on your amp or receiver, the Bose is without a doubt the bluetooth adapter to get. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the sound quality is even better using the digital optical out than it is using the auxiliary out. Using the optical out, music is more lively, punchier, and has better soundstage. Negatives: 1. There is one disadvantage to the auto reconnect. On the Bose and Brightech if I'm connected to either receiver but listening on headphones and walk out of range of the receiver and then back into range within 10 minutes, the Bose and Brightech will reconnect to the device (that's great) but then the receiver will select itself as the primary audio output thereby stopping playback to the headphones (not so great). 2. All Bose Bluetooth Audio Adapters have the same bluetooth name in your computer, smartphone, or tablet. This can be a problem if you have more than one Bose adapter and are using an iPhone or iPad to connect to them. Unlike Android, Apple doesn't let you give a bluetooth device a nickname, although you can on a Mac. Therefore you can never be sure which Bose receiver you are connecting to. The Homespot is the only receiver I know that gives a number value, 00-99, to the name of their bluetooth device. That means if you have multiple Homespot receivers, as I did, you can easily distinguish one from the next. One of my receivers was GT BT-Receiver 35 and the other was GT BT-Receiver 67. This obviously isn't entirely Bose's fault but it isn't entirely Apple's either since competitors of both have found solutions to this problem. Summary: I understand the desire to try to get by inexpensively on a bluetooth receiver. There are several receivers in the $30 range and then the Bose at $60. You may think you're spending a lot for the Bose name and a $30 one will do the same for half the price. As I learned the hard way this isn't true. I got fed up with the Homespot and Brightech and Pioneer before finally forking the extra money over for the Bose. After using it for a few days, I ordered a second one. It works as a bluetooth adapter should work. If your amp has an free digital optical input that you are wanting a bluetooth receiver to plug into, the Bose is without a doubt the one to get. The sound quality from the Bose is superb, especially using the optical out. The Bose features auto reconnect and the ability to connect three devices to it at once. It's easy to pair to even if a device is already connected to it. It has the ability to be powered from an amp which has a powered USB port. Plus, it has bluetooth 4.0 along with apt-x for the best bluetooth streaming currently available.

I searched and searched for a bluetooth music streaming solution for my 2010 BMW that would automatically reconnect when I got in the car. I bought other "solutions" that said they could do that, but either didn't work out or there was some sort of compromise I had to make. That all ended when I purchased the Bose Bluetooth Audio Adapter. This tiny, elegant, simple-to-use device outputs a great signal for a clean, premium sound. No static or ground noise. It fits neatly in my center arm rest compartment and connects to my AUX IN, out of sight but working hard. But I can not stress enough how awesome it is to just get in the car, press play in Apple Music, and the music just streams. No buttons to press. Plug the included USB cable and it recharges while I drive. Does it cost more than other solutions on Amazon? Sure. Does the ease-of-use and quality build make it worth it? For me, it absolutely does. I HIGHLY recommend this device for anyone looking for a compact bluetooth music solution for their car.

This little do-dad is amazing. I was able to connect my android phone, my roommate's iphone, my tablet all to this device hooked up to my stereo. The quality and range is solid inside of my house. I think this thing does a great job. Only concern is how thin the mini-stereo cable is that came with this device. Doesn't seem to be of the best quality. Easy to upgrade that though

+Pairs flawlessly with all my devices, which include Android 5.x/6.x and Win8/10 PCs. +Easy, seamless transaction between paired sources (memory for 8 (easy cleanable), can maintain up to 3 simult.) - just start the playback on the desired device while the other paired are not streaming and it becomes active. +Good range around the room with no drops and only very rare, sporadic cut outs (could very much be due to the streaming device and not the Bose) +Supports the best quality codecs for streaming, so the sound quality is the best possible with the current protocol version. Works great both with analog out and optical out. +Good collection of accessories/connection adapters/cables in the box -not impressed by the form and is a bit on the large/thick side, but looks quality put together. Perfectly satisfied - ordering another for my office now

My initial review of the Bose Bluetooth Audio Adapter is simple...this device simply works. I connected this to my Sony CT550W Speaker Bar System and now I can play music from any one of my mobile devices. I was debating on weather I should fork out $180 for the audioengine b1, buying a portable Bluetooth wireless speaker at $200, or upgrading my home audio system at $650. The Bose Bluetooth audio adapter gets the job done in extending your old but still highly cable theatre system without breaking the bank. Pros: The unit comes with everything you need to set it up, power and audio cables. The adapter is tiny, it looks like a typical receiver unit so it is easy to hide it away. The device extends old devices by providing them with Bluetooth capabilities. Finally, Bose's adapter supports optical cable, Bluetooth 4.0 with apt-x, and 8 devices (3 connected). Cons: The audio cables, Auxiliary and optical, are cheap and frail. They can do the job but if you are worried about quality and durability I recommend upgrading your preferred audio cable. The unit is always on, there is no way to turn the device off and the device does not come with a remote.

I tried couple of bluetooth audio receivers. the fact truly is you get what you paid for. Bose is only one that doesn't suffer background noise problem. I have tried 1. VicTsing Portable USB Bluetooth Audio Music Streaming Receiver $8.39 http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GX71HLA 2. HomeSpot Audio Receiver $24.99 http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009OBCAW2 3. Bose Bluetooth Audio Adapter -- $59.95 http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00NTUEDMY 4. I-Venstar Bluetooth Speaker Portable Speaker $22.99 http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0148N8NN0 I finally settled with Bose. All other 3 suffer the same problem: when music engages, you can hear a small pop sound and then very noticeable background static or hiss. when music stop, after a few seconds, you can hear a small pop sound and then background static stops. To test this, just turn down the volume of your audio source to zero, hit play and see if you can hear the static. then hit stop and wait a few second and see if the static stop. The reason for this is because the cheaper receiver doesn't have very good ground loop noise isolation circuit. I bought PAC SNI-1/3.5 3.5-mm Ground Loop Noise Isolator $8.12 (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001EAQTRI ). After connecting the ground loop noise isolator, there is no more background static and the small pop sounds when music engages and stops are barely heard. Obviously I can't insert the isolator into the portable speaker so it still has the static. Only Bose Bluetooth Audio Adapter doesn't suffer this background static and the sound quality is noticeably better than HomeSpot + Ground Loop Noise Isolator. Bose adapter is much heavier (still very light weighted in absolute term) than HomeSpot and draw more current than HomeSpot (50 mA for Bose and <10 mA for HomeSpot). I can assume that the Bose somehow has embedded ground loop Isolation circuit. So decision time: If you don't care too sound quality and visible wiring, go with HomeSpot + Ground Loop Noise Isolator or just the HomeSpot. If you are like me and want everything in a compact box, go with Bose. It almost doubles your cost, but Bose has aptX, 3 device simultaneous connect and better range. Btw, both HomeSpot and Bose won't power off when not connecting to any devices. For me It's a must have feature for audio receiver. Cheapo USB thumb receiver like VicTsing USB receiver will power off after a few minutes. Bluetooth receiver draws so few power when idle and I see absolutely no reason to be turned off.