Of course, sometimes the smartphone market looks funny. Did not have time to Google last year about the fact that "and we have a 3.5-mm connector", as this year Pixel 2 came out without it, but with an adapter. Leaving aside the mockery of the marketers sitting in a puddle, it is worth noting that the trend towards wireless is becoming more and more noticeable, and FiiO did not miss the moment by releasing Bluetooth-receiver BTR1.
As usual, FiiO was bored to go the beaten path: take the codec from Qualcomm, wrap it in a case with a battery and sell it. Therefore, they acted unexpectedly and stuffed it into the DAC device AK4376. Of course, the capabilities of this chip for decoding high-resolution formats remain unclaimed, although, perhaps, this DAC is still better than the standard codecs used in BT-chips, but the main "chip" here in power. AK4379 is more powerful than all-in-one solutions, and this is what has played its positive role.
Price list FiiO exhibited a fairly normal, the recommended price of the novelty is $ 50, but it can traditionally vary depending on the country and the distributor.
Specifications
- Bluetooth chip: CSRA64215
- Chip DAC: AK4376
- Codec support: SBC, aptX
- Recommended load impedance: 16Ω ~ 100Ω
- Frequency range: 20 Hz ~ 20 kHz
- Output Impedance: <0.2Ω
- Total Harmonic Distortion + Noise: <0.04%
- Signal to noise ratio: ≥95 dB
- Channel separation: ≥72 dB
- Output voltage: 2 Vp-p
- Output power: ≥30 mW @ 16 Ω, ≥ 15 mW @ 32Ω
- Battery: 205 mAh, running time about 8 hours, charge time ≤2 hours
- Dimensions: 24 mm × 50 mm × 11.6 mm
- Weight: ~ 20g
Design and management
Experiments with packaging continue, this time the device is delivered in a small cardboard box, opening in the manner of a matchbox. Inside, everything is traditional: BTR1 itself lies on top, under it is a small envelope with a short USB cable, a loop for carrying (probably on the neck) and various papers.
The receiver immediately makes a pleasant impression, FiiO decided not to save and made it almost entirely of aluminum (funny, but I met somewhere in foreign forums a complaint like "why was a plastic insert?") With a pleasant longitudinal texture. On the back side provided a tight clip, because one of the main scenarios for using this device is to fasten to the collar or sleeve of the T-shirt. By the way, for this version FiiO carefully released a shortened version of the replacement cable with MMCX-connectors RC-MMCX1s.
The interface is simple for BTR1: on the front panel there is one button and two LEDs, on the side there is a traditional "rocker" for volume control (also expected with long press these buttons switch tracks). The microUSB-socket for charging was placed below, a 3.5-mm headphone connector on top. Equipped with this receiver and a microphone, so you can talk with it.
The large button on the front panel is used for turning on / off (long pressing), starting the playback / calling the voice assistant / pausing (short pressing), turning on the sound enhancer (double pressing, in the center of the button the green LED will light) and switching the pairing mode (long pressing and retention). The second LED, located at the bottom of the device, serves to indicate the operation and status of the battery. By the way, about the battery: the time of work is close to the claimed, listening to music I got about 8 hours 10 minutes, charged BTR1 for 1 hour and 50 minutes.
We took care of FiiO and nice little things, for example, iOS devices can show the charge of BTR1 in the battery widget, and the on / off is accompanied by a pleasant enough melody (better than a standard one-toned pelican and more versatile than voice-over).
In one of the reviews of BTR1 I met a complaint about a poor-quality reception, but with my iPhone 6 Plus and with FiiO X7 Mark II everything works reliably and without breaks at a distance of up to 8 meters with one wall on the way. Also not a hindrance and my body, scripts such as "a source in your pocket, and a receiver hanging on the collar" work quite reliably.
Sound
Naturally, to conduct here some detailed descriptions of the sound - it makes little sense, after all, even with APT-X, Bluetooth remains a lossy codec, but what will not you go for the sake of freedom from wires? Although, if you think about it, in many modern (and not so) genres, the losses will still not be noticeable, but for listening to instrumental classics or audiophile vocals, APT-X is still never intended.
If you evaluate "in general", then this receiver sounds "normal", strong bugs after it is not noticed, the bass is moderately elastic, the resolution is adequate, HF is also worked out more or less well, although, of course, the players of the initial segment will already be in the mass of their Better, but BTR1 was not designed to compete with them. The main competitors here are smartphones themselves, and here the receiver shows itself normally, it even plays better than the adapter adapter Apple from the iPhone 7 kit. Improved working out of low and high frequencies helps the headphones sound a little "richer", the increased (relatively) power also makes itself felt. The funny thing is that BTR1 bypasses the quality and price of the FiiO K1 wired DAC, the more powerful LF and more detailed MFs give the feeling of "integrity", which K1 is not enough.
Also expected with sensitive low-impedance headphones, this receiver makes a little noise, but, to my ears, this noise is not a noticeable problem, it is heard mostly in complete silence between the tracks.
conclusions
BTR1 was a very interesting device: a good design, compact size, good sound and affordable price make it a good choice for those who want to turn their headphones into wireless without too much trouble.
The article is based on materials .
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