Best Docking System For Iphone +picture
Photo: Michael Hession
Whether it's because your new smartphone has no headphone jack, or you aren't accessible to accord up your old stereo in favor of a abundant Bluetooth speaker, a Bluetooth audio receiver can add wireless alive capabilities to your absolute home stereo or speakers with little accident in complete quality.
Photo: Michael Hession
The ideal Bluetooth receiver should complete as acceptable as a direct, active connection. It should brace with your accessories calmly and reliably, and should accept a large-enough ambit to awning a archetypal active area. We additionally like back a Bluetooth receiver has a agenda audio output, which allows you to use an optional, abstracted DAC (digital-to-analog converter) for bigger complete quality.
We advised 76 top Bluetooth receivers, and ultimately activated 14 models. For our tests, we commutual anniversary one aboriginal to a MacBook and an iPhone to see how accessible it was to brace antecedent accessories to the receiver. We additionally activated how anxiously the receiver affiliated and broken already paired, how able-bodied it reconnected afterward a disconnection, and how accessible it was to about-face to a altered source. For accessories that could brace with assorted accessories simultaneously, we acclimated up to six accessories to analysis this feature.
To appraise audio quality, we aboriginal acclimated anniversary accessory to accept to accomplishments music, again compared them head-to-head application our admired analysis tracks. We additionally adjourned the ambit of anniversary receiver by barometer the ambit at which music started absence with both an bare and blocked band of sight. To apprehend about our testing action in added detail, amuse see our abounding guide.
The StarTech BT2A (right) and the about identical Monoprice Bluetooth Alive Music Receiver (left) action acceptable sound, reliable connectivity, and acceptable ambit at a reasonable price. Photo: Michael Hession
The StarTech BT2A Bluetooth Audio Receiver is our top aces for best bodies acknowledgment to its aggregate of acceptable complete quality, range, usability, connectivity, and price. In our tests, it anxiously commutual to new accessories and reconnected to old devices, and it could bethink up to eight commutual devices. It comes from a acclaimed vendor, has a two-year warranty, and is analytic priced.
In agreement of audio quality, the BT2A—along with our runner-up, below—provided the best complete affection of the models we activated in this amount range. Overall, these two models offered bigger activating ambit and crisper high-frequency and midrange detail compared with analogously priced models, forth with basal high-frequency baloney and a bound low end. The BT2A additionally appearance an optical digital-audio output, acceptance you to advancement audio affection by application an alien DAC.
While active our tests, we noticed that Monoprice's Bluetooth Alive Music Receiver appears to be functionally identical to the StarTech BT2A. Back we opened both models, we begin that they use the aforementioned ambit lath and the aforementioned DAC, and they performed about analogously in our testing. We fabricated the StarTech receiver our top aces because it's covered by a two-year warranty, against alone one year for the Monoprice receiver, but the Monoprice is additionally a safe buy.
The Audioengine B1, our advancement pick, offers essentially bigger audio affection than the StarTech receiver, as able-bodied as outstanding wireless range. Photo: Michael Hession
If you accept nice speakers or a higher-end audio system—such as our picks for best receiver and bookshelf speakers—and you appetite a Bluetooth affiliation that can do them justice, the Audioengine B1 Bluetooth Music Receiver is a abundant advancement choice.
The B1 is based on the aforementioned chip as Audioengine's well-regarded D1 DAC, and the unit's audio affection reflects this: It offers bigger sound, by a acceptable margin, than the beneath big-ticket Bluetooth receivers we tested. Music is active and involving, with crisp, bright highs; abundant midrange; and tight, apple-pie bass. The Audioengine B1 additionally includes optical-digital achievement if you appetite to angle it up to an alike bigger DAC in the future.
The B1 is additionally the alone archetypal we activated that includes an alien antenna. According to Audioengine, the antenna extends the B1's ambit to 100 feet, three times what best added receivers claim. In our tests, the B1 never skipped, alike back at best range.
Among the receivers advised to add Bluetooth to a 30-pin apostle dock, the Samson 30-Pin Bluetooth Receiver BT30 had the best ambit and audio quality, as able-bodied as the best reliable bond and connection. Photo: R. Matthew Ward
Before Bluetooth speakers became ubiquitous, abounding bodies bought apostle docks—compact apostle systems with a advancing cradle for a smartphone or MP3 player. The all-inclusive majority of these acclimated Apple's earlier 30-pin berth connector, which has back been replaced by the Lightning connector. If you accept one of these 30-pin docks, you can use Samson's 30-Pin Bluetooth Receiver BT30 to wirelessly beck music to it.
The BT30's complete affection isn't fantastic, but it is bigger than any of the added dock-connector models we tested. Its ambit is additionally above to that of the added models we tested, and bond and abutting Bluetooth accessories is hassle-free.
This adviser may accept been adapted by Wirecutter. To see the accepted recommendation, amuse go here.
Note from Wirecutter: Back readers accept to buy our apart called beat picks, we may acquire associate commissions that abutment our work.
