Monday 19 February 2018

These Bluetooth receivers make it possible to transform any audio system into a wireless music reception platform for smartphones. This you already know! Here, we will focus on the different APT-X and A2DP dongles currently on the market.

APT-X Bluetooth receivers take the form of a small key or a small box to connect to the living room audio system. They answer to a problem more and more present in our homes: to broadcast quickly and wireless music stored on our expensive mobile devices. And with the resurgence of these (smartphone, tablets, netbooks), and the rise of dematerialized music, the trend is not likely to reverse. So if you want to keep your usual setup, while accessing wireless streaming from most devices, then Bluetooth receivers are a great option. If you want to read more about the Best Bluetooth Audio Transmitter you can visit many blogs.



A2DP Bluetooth receivers. If the audio quality is lower than that of the Bluetooth APT-X codec, A2DP Bluetooth receivers have the merit of being less expensive, and compatible with a wider range of mobile devices.In fact, they are almost universal, since virtually all smartphones, tablets or netbooks of recent years manage the A2DP. To be quite honest, a Bluetooth AD2P dongle is enough to listen to MP3s, and will suit the vast majority of users (for high-quality files it's another story). Others will be forced to use it: for example, the basic iPads and iPhones are not APT-X compatible (you have to add a dongle on the iDevice, which is not really practical: just pass on a wireless DAC).

Also Read: 

  1. Bluetooth: what is it and how does it work?  


  2. All about Bluetooth: connected objects and geomarketing 




In Bluetooth, the "Apple Maniacs" will have to settle for the A2DP! Very affordable solutions exist, such as Connect Research CRBT011 which is offered at less than 35 €. Compact and efficient, it comes with a Mini-jack output to be easily connected to a chain, a preamp, an amp or a pair of powered speakers. It can also charge any smartphone with its integrated USB port! Perfect for who wants to go wireless without breaking the bank. 

However, the AD2P standard shows its limits with high-quality files like FLAC, ALAC, or WAV, and to a lesser extent with MP3 HQs. The bass then loses consistency, becoming coarser, the medium turns to cavernous, and the treble becomes a little rougher. Tested and approved. The explanation of this loss of quality is very simple: the transfer rate of the receiver becomes insufficient to restore all the mass of information contained in the audio file (several factors come into account including the resolution and the sampling rate)! But, because there is always a "but", the mobile devices to ship this codec are not very numerous ... To our knowledge, we can note some Samsung smartphones (Galaxy S3, Tab7, Note 10.1 ...), players / tablets Creative (Zen X-Fi13, ZiiO 7 ...), or recent Mac computers under OSX Lion or Mountain Lion (Macbook Pro, Macbook Air, Mac Mini ...). Only those lucky enough to own any of these products will be able to take advantage of the APT-X standard! As a reminder, this codec offers a compression ratio of 4: 1, a resolution of 16 bits, and a bandwidth of 10 Hz-22 kHz: enough to enjoy its wireless music in a very porch quality of the CD

So, if you have a compatible Bluetooth device (or an iPhone, and add an APT-X transmitter does not bother you) then the APT-X codec is for you! Three different solutions are available to you. The first, well known to our readers, is Advance Acoustic, and goes by the name of WTX-500 . Very practical, it takes the form of a mini-box (13 x 55 x 60 mm) to connect directly to the RCA input of your amp. It offers a bandwidth ranging from 10Hz to 22kHz, and a sampling rate of 16Bits / 44.1kHz. The Bluetooth receiver APT-X Focal Universal Wireless Receiversharing identical technical characteristics, and very similar dimensions (14 x 56 x 60 mm). A simple question of taste, especially as they are offered at the same price of 99 €! This is still very affordable, and even if your smartphone is not compatible, there is a good chance that your next acquisition will be. Think about it ... Finally, to conclude, Advance completes its offer with a high-end APT-X receiver, endowed with a rich connectivity. Indeed, this Advance WTX-1000  is not in the half-measure: it includes an Optical output, a Coaxial output, and an RCA output, to be connected to all your devices. Its neat presentation and luxurious finish will open the doors of high-end installations wishing to enjoy a peak of streaming! A real favorite !  
The Bluetooth is a wireless personal area network technology that allows electronic devices such as mobile phones to exchange short data. Applied to mobile telephony , it had significant practical repercussions.
 Also Read:

All about Bluetooth: connected objects and geomarketing


Bluetooth technical specifications
Unlike infrared technology, which uses light beams to transmit data, Bluetooth uses radio waves and allows a much higher bit rate from 1 Mbps to 20 Mbps. It has made it possible to transmit large files such as photos, music or MP3 files between two mobile phones .


Impact on mobile telephony
The conversion of mobile phones to Bluetooth technology , in addition to significantly improving the connection between two mobiles , has allowed the development of accessories such as wireless headsets.
Bluetooth technology has also made it possible to connect mobile phones that do not have GPS chips to a GPS antenna so that it transmits satellite signals to them.
There are also stereo Bluetooth headsets that can be connected to mobile phones . It is therefore possible to listen to MP3 files without having to perform manipulations on your mobile phone and especially wireless!
From Bluetooth 1.0 of 1998 to Bluetooth 5.0 of 2017, you will know everything about this wireless technology that has adapted to the last 20 years.
Bluetooth is a wireless technology that everyone knows. It has existed for many years and had its first glory days in the era of Bluetooth headsets. Technology has returned to the forefront with the myriad of connected objects that have emerged in recent years. If at the beginning, we were limited to connected bracelets, watches quickly appeared with new bandwidth needs, but also in terms of autonomy. The standard has adapted to new uses as and when. A brief overview of the different Bluetooth standards and their interest for the consumer .

Also Read:

Bluetooth: what is it and how does it work?





Bluetooth and Wi-Fi use the same band of frequencies, that of 2.4 GHz. The comparison stops there since the Bluetooth and the Wi-Fi do not answer at all the same uses. Wi-Fi is much more efficient, but more energy hungry and more complex so more expensive. On the contrary, Bluetooth has a lower bandwidth and is used instead to transmit light data.
Bluetooth was born 20 years ago in Swedish Ericsson labs. For the record, the term Bluetooth refers to the Danish king Harald BlÃ¥tand who had managed to unify the Viking kingdoms (Sweden, Denmark and Norway). The link with new technologies? The engineers who created the Bluetooth are Swedish and have managed to unify the communications of phones and other devices (headsets, computer, personal assistant, etc.) to each other through a common protocol . The name was thus all found. The Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG), which groups together numerous manufacturers, then formalized the specifications of the standard.

From Bluetooth 1.0 to 3.0: rising speeds

On May 20, 1998, the Bluetooth Special Interest Group announced the specifications of the Bluetooth 1.0 standard. Less than two months later, France became world champion in football and in December 1999, version 1.0B of the standard was born. The Ericsson T39, the first Bluetooth phone, officially supported the 1.0B standard, but in fact the future version 1.1 was in the game. Compared to version 1.0B, Bluetooth 1.1 has fixed many bugs .

Version 1.2 of the standard brings many new features, starting with the flow . While it is still theoretically limited to 721 kbps, in practice the bitrate is higher than version 1.1. The reason: higher resistance to interference (microwaves, Wi-Fi, etc.) thanks to frequencies that adapt to the environment.
In 2004, the Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR (for Enhanced Data Rate) is born . The EDR is optional (hence the use of the plus sign) and it is therefore possible to find Bluetooth 2.0 devices that do not support the EDR. Yet, the EDR is one of the biggest novelties of the new version. The EDR can increase speeds to 2.1 Mbps to pass the information in a short time, saving the battery. The Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR for its part brings some improvements as an easier and more secure pairing: the SSP for Secure Simple Pairing.
In 2009, Bluetooth SIG released a fairly revolutionary version. The version 3.0 + HS (High Speed for) now uses a standard Bluetooth for pairing, but an 802.11 connection (such as Wi-Fi) for data transfer . The bandwidth then rises to 24 Mbps. Like the EDR, the devices can support Bluetooth 3.0 without the HS, which prevents them from enjoying the higher speed.
Finally, note that each version of the standard from Bluetooh 1.0 to Bluetooth 3.0 is backward compatible . If your smartphone has a Bluetooth 3.0 chip, it will work with a Bluetooth 1.0 device. On the other hand, a device like a bracelet using the Bluetooth 3.0 will not necessarily work with a Bluetooth 2.0 phone. This will depend on the features used. For Bluetooth 4.0, it's more complicated and we'll see it just below.

The scope

Bluetooth chips do not all have the same range: they are divided into three classes according to their range and power.
Class 1 can reach about 100 meters (100 mW max) compared to 10 meters for class 2 (2.5 mW max) and 1 meter for class 3 (1 mW max).
For Bluetooth LE, manufacturers can not exceed 10 mW, which prevents long distances between devices, but limits power consumption.

Bluetooth 4.0 and 5: the rise of low-power connected objects

Bluetooth 4.0

The Bluetooth 4.0 standard is a small revolution, since it splits the standard into two branches. It integrates on the one hand the Classic Bluetooth standards (versions 1.0 to 3.0), High Speed ​​(version 3.0) and on the other hand the new standard Bluetooth low energy (LE) .
The real novelty comes from the Bluetooth LE which greatly reduces the consumption of the Bluetooth chip with a really different protocol . Manufacturers may decide to implement Bluetooth Low Energy alone (single mode) or Classic Bluetooth (dual mode) to maintain compatibility with older versions of Bluetooth. It is the Bluetooth LE that has allowed the growth of connected objects because the consumption it generates is extremely reduced. Similarly, latency for connection and data transfer is reduced. The disadvantage is a bitrate that is lower than the first version of Bluetooth, but connected objects type watches or bracelets do not require a very high bandwidth.

Bluetooth 5

Bluetooth 4.2 succeeds not Bluetooth 4.3, or even Bluetooth 5.0, but Bluetooth 5 , ratified early 2017. If the numbering suggests that it is a revolution, it is actually only an iterative update. Bluetooth SIG, in turn, adopts this trend, initiated by Google with Chrome, which consists of using only whole numbers.
The Bluetooth 5 is still a major update that, to begin, doubles the range and quadruple the flow of low-power transmissions Bluetooth Low Energy , which opens the way, among other things, the lossless distribution of music.
Moreover, since the advent of Bluetooth Low Energy, Bluetooth is used in retail for advertising purposes . The businesses install tags that detect phones, track their movements and stops. Customers with the merchant application can receive promotions or targeted advertising. And with this in mind, the Bluetooth 5 allows beacons to broadcast a set of information "eight times richer" .

The role of profiles

To connect to each other, Bluetooth devices use profiles. The profiles contain information on the data to be transmitted and the mode of operation of the device . For example, the famous Bluetooth headsets all use the HSP profile (Headset Profile) which imposes audio quality (64 kbps), but also the operation of buttons to pick up or adjust the volume. The profiles allow to release products that will necessarily be compatible with all Bluetooth chips, without the need to download special software on his phone .
With Bluetooth Low Energy, the operating mode of the profiles has changed a little. It is now much easier to create a profile and implement it . However, it must always go through the Bluetooh SIG for validation, but it seems that it is much shorter. And that's a good thing, because manufacturers can not always predict certain uses, so it saves time for consumers and builders alike. This novelty contributes to the effort of unifying the different connected objects. Bluetooth looks to the future and it is a good idea to be able to move quickly in the field of connected objects.

The interest of Bluetooth and connected objects

As we have just seen, Bluetooth has evolved to stick to new uses. According to all experts, the market for connected objects should explode by 2020. Connected fridges, connected watches, connected toothbrush, everything is possible . The devices that communicate with our smartphones already exist and the human imagination should succeed in creating new uses. According to Cisco, by 2020, it is expected to sell 50 billion connected objects. Do we really need it? Not really, no. Just as we did not need a smartphone a few years ago. But you quickly get used to book train tickets directly on your phone or use it as a GPS to go on vacation, so why not for connected objects?

Connected objects are not essential, but will become very useful everyday . You are in the supermarket and you can not remember if you have eggs in the fridge? It will be enough to interrogate it from a distance. It suddenly rains and your windows are wide open? Do you love receiving statistics about your life? You want to have a nice curve in 3D representing your oral hygiene? Connected objects may become your best friends. For others, connected objects should not become a necessity in the medium term and some even see them as enemies .
Of course, connected objects do not just have advantages. Because they use an operating system and a wireless connection, they can be hacked . There is therefore a risk for the security of personal data and intrusion into privacy. The Bluetooth protocol may be secure, hackers can easily hack to access the data of a connected object. There is also the risk of failure higher since the devices will ship more electronics with parts less easily repairable. Finally, concerning the harmfulness of Bluetooth for health , one can wonder, even if the power of emission is largely weaker than that of Wi-Fi.
For connected objects, Bluetooth is essential . It allows to transmit information between several devices without excessive data consumption and especially with almost perfect interoperability. Bluetooth has not finished talking about him.