INTRODUCTION

   Bluetooth wireless connectivity may be around for roughly 2 decades now (got my first Bluetooth smartphone back in 2001) but there are still many devices out there even today that don't feature it. Yes, this is not a feature every electronics device out there should have (not really needed in most) but even speakers and headsets which could certainly benefit by that addition are in their majority wired only. The same of course applies for devices which are not bluetooth capable and you'd want to use your new bluetooth speakers and/or headset with. The solution to this has always been simple, just pair any such device with a bluetooth adapter/dongle and voila, it too is now bluetooth capable. Still most adapters/dongles leave quite a bit to be desired both in terms of features and audio quality (especially for demanding users) and this is where FiiO comes in with their latest BTA30 HiFi Bluetooth Audio Receiver & Transmitter.

   FiiO was established in 2007 and has experience in researching and developing countless portable music products of different types, and sell FiiO-branded products through sales agents worldwide. The brand name FiiO is composed of Fi (fidelity from HiFi) and IO (number 1&0), representing the real feeling and convenient life that digital brings to life. Meanwhile, the Chinese “飞傲” is the transliteration of FiiO, indicating the positive and innovative spirit as thriving as spring. FiiO is focused on product quality, adheres strictly to ISO9001 standards in quality management and works hard to attain the lowest repair-related product returns rate.

   As revealed by its name the BTA30 is an Hi-Res Bluetooth receiver/transmitter based on the CSR8675 SoC chip by Qualcomm which is Bluetooth v5.0 compatible, supports a wide range of audio codecs (aptX, aptX Low Latency, aptX HD, MP3, AAC and SBC - LDAC is also supported) and features Qualcomm’s Kalimba DSP which supports up to 2-channel 192kHz/24bit decoding (192KHz/24bit for RCA and coaxial, 96KHz/24bit for optical and 48KHz/16bit for USB) and packs several interesting technologies (meloD stereo widening technology, truewireless technology, broadcast audio technology, aptX audio technology and cVc audio technology). The CSR8675 chip is accompanied by the Comtrue CT5302SN DSP chip which can upsample audio signals to 192kHz/24-bit. Since the BTA30 however also happens to double as a DAC it's also equipped with the AKM AK4490 premium 32-bit 2-channel chip (allows for sampling rates for up to 384KHz and DSDnative decoding) and the high-performance OPA1662 audio operational amplifiers (0.00006%/-124dB distortion with 3.3nV/rtHz noise and 22MHz bandwidth). Connectivity is equally impressive however and so the BTA30 sports two SPDIF optical ports (input/output), RCA analog output, coaxial input/output and a USB-C input. Finally, FiiO has placed a high-gain antenna at the rear of the BTA30 which gives it a wireless range of up to 30 meters (under ideal circumstances).