Whereas AptX is commonplace on high-end telephones, most producers refuse to leverage Qualcomm’s total suite of codecs. Living proof is the OnePlus 13; it has AptX and AptX HD alongside LDAC and LHDC, however you miss out on AptX Adaptive and AptX Lossless. This is not a problem more often than not, as an amazing majority of earbuds join by way of commonplace AptX or LDAC anyway.
However for those who purchased earbuds or a headset that has AptX Lossless and wish to get the very best sound, you will ideally wish to purchase a telephone that integrates the codec. There’s only one problem with that — not many telephones have AptX Lossless, and outdoors of ASUS and choose Xiaomi high-end gadgets, there aren’t many decisions.
Fortunately, there’s a better various — Fiio’s BT11. It’s a Bluetooth 5.4 transmitter that you need to use together with your telephone, pill, PS5, Swap, and every other gaming handheld, and its key differentiator is that it consists of all of Qualcomm’s high-res codes: AptX, AptX HD, AptX Lossless, AptX Adaptive, and AptX Low Latency.
The BT11 comes with LDAC as properly, making it some of the versatile transmitters you will get as we speak. I have been utilizing it for the higher a part of two months, and whereas Fiio had points with the product at launch — it would not join simply — these have been ironed out. The transmitter prices $44, and as of writing, it wasn’t listed on Amazon.
The BT11 is tiny, and it would not take up a lot room in any respect. It connects by way of USB-C, and you need to use it with nearly any gadget that makes use of the usual. You get a USB-C to USB-A dongle within the field if you could join it to a Home windows machine or older MacBook.
Earlier than you pair buds to the BT11, you will want to make sure it’s connectable; simply plug within the dongle to your telephone and launch Fiio Management. It ought to detect the BT11 as soon as it is plugged into your telephone, and you can see that it’s in pairing mode.
Connecting earbuds to the BT11 will sound counter-intuitive, significantly for those who’re utilizing the transmitter with a telephone. Principally, you do not use your telephone’s Bluetooth to connect with the buds, as an alternative counting on the BT11. However because the transmitter would not have an interface to attach, you will have to observe the flashing LED; it is able to pair to earbuds when it is alternating between blue and pink LEDs, and also you then put the buds or headset you wish to join into pairing mode and produce it near the BT11.
The buds ought to connect with the BT11 with none points, and the transmitter adjustments colour as quickly because it pairs. It turns into a strong blue LED when utilizing the usual SBC codec, purple with AptX and AptX Low Latency, yellow with AptX HD, and white if it is utilizing LDAC. I am testing AptX Adaptive and AptX Lossless, and on this mode, the BT11 switches colours to inexperienced.
I did not see any points connecting the BT11 with my Honor Magic 7 Professional and Vivo X200 Professional, nor did I run into issues pairing a large number of buds to the gadget. It’s complicated at first to attach earbuds to the transmitter, however the LEDs on the BT11 act as a visible indicator, and connectivity itself wasn’t a trouble — it has Qualcomm’s QCC5181 module.
Sound high quality is fairly first rate, however your mileage will fluctuate based mostly on the music streaming service of alternative. I examined it with Apple Music, and it simply had an excessive amount of interference to be usable. Switching to Spotify and YouTube Music sorted out the issues, so for those who’re utilizing Apple Music in your Android telephone, I would not recommend utilizing these till the bugs are ironed out.
Apart from that, there are no issues with the BT11. If in case you have earbuds or a headset that will profit from AptX Lossless however haven’t got a supply gadget, the BT11 is a good way to rectify that drawback.
