Review on FiiO BTA30: Advanced Wireless Bluetooth 5.0 Long Range 🔊 Transmitter Receiver for PC/TV/Speaker/Headphone with HiFi Dac/DSP and Streamlined APP Control by Jerry Amos

Preliminary rating will be updated with use. I use them with Drop THX Pandas and the difference in audio quality between aptX and LDAC is amazing. I don't know what jump you're getting from aptX HD, but if you're using SBC or aptX it's a noticeable improvement. Pairing with this device was a bit painful. My previous Creative W2 always connected to every headset I used with no problems. A few things to try with the BTA30: Connect it to the app and disable any codecs you won't be using, except for the SBC, which is required to communicate with the app. Be sure to update the firmware, which only takes a few minutes after downloading it from the Fiio website. This fixed some issues with the appearance of the sound and pairing was better. When I first got it, I had to reset the pairing memory of the device and headphones every time I wanted to use it. Now I just put the headphones into pairing mode (long press the power button on pandas) and then turn on the BTA30 and after 10 seconds they pair. It looks like it happened due to a firmware update. Edit: This worked a couple of times. Now I have to turn it off every time I want to pair, so I decidedly turn it off when I'm done using pandas. As far as cost goes, it raises a bit. It packs 3 different use cases into 1 device and LDAC transmission is not possible if you use an internal DAC, which is a really missed opportunity. Why turn it on at all if it can't use its main function? Fiio is working on another LDAC transmission device by the end of 2021, so there's something of a first-time user tax here. Make sure your source has a digital output if you want to use LDAC. I didn't realize my PC didn't have a TOSlink or a coaxial digital output, but I was able to pull the sound card out of the old computer. I don't really need a DAC as I already have an external DAC/amp, better for wired headphones. I haven't used a bluetooth receiver yet, but I expect to be able to connect it to my separate headphone amp input in the future when I want guests to play music from my phone, or when I'm not at my computer for the largest part of my hearing. .