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).

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

The BTA30 is shipped inside a small black box that has the product picture at the front right under the company and Hi-Res logos and above several of its main features.

Turning the box around we find the usual barcode which you can check to see if you have a genuine product, some product details and contact information for FiiO.

Removing the exterior cover reveals the BTA30 which as you can all see is placed inside a piece of black foam.

Along with the BTA30 FiiO also packs 4 round rubber feet, RCA cable, USB-C to USB-A cable, warranty card and a quick start guide.

THE BTA30

Weighing 115g the 120mm wide, 55mm long and 23.5mm tall body of the BTA30 is made out of aluminum and plastic.

The company logo is printed at the top of the enclosure right next to the Hi-Res logos.

Moving at the front we find the on/off button, play/pause/pair button, mode switch (receive/transmit/dac) and the volume knob.

All connectors are located at the rear and from left to right we see the RCA (left/right) gold plated analog outputs, SPDIF output, coaxial gold plated input/output, SPDIF input and the USB-C port (also used to power the device).

Even though both my Xiaomi Redmi Note Pro (8/9) smartphones support LDAC i mostly used the M15 Hi-Res player by FiiO to get the best possible results.

CONTROL APP

You can access the BTA30 from your smartphone via both the FiiO Music and Control Android/iOS apps (decided on using the Control App since i haven't in the past).

Once you pair the BTA30 with your smartphone via the Bluetooth menu it will be listed in the main tab of the Control App as seen above.

From the status screen you can check the current firmware version, change the status indicator pattern (default is red and green but red and blue looks better to me), enable/disable the auto-off function and turn on/off the activity LEDs (the current Bluetooth codec is indicated right over the firmware version).

Pressing on the RX/DAC shortcut at the bottom you will come up to the receive/DAC options.

Strangely enough when choosing which codecs, you'd like the BTA30 to support it says BTR3.

Same deal if you press on the TX (transmit) shortcut (by default standard and not audio quality first is chosen under the LDAC streaming quality).

CONCLUSION

   As with any other Bluetooth audio receiver and transmitter using the BTA30 is very easy, just pair it with your device and begin streaming audio to the connected speakers. Unfortunately, things may not be quite as easy when it comes to transmitting since the BTA30 will connect automatically with any Bluetooth enabled device it detects around it. For example, i had to unplug a pair of bluetooth speakers from the power (even when turned off the BTA30 would still turn them on) since it was always connecting to them and thus i was unable to connect my headset. Perhaps I’m nitpicking here since i doubt many will have such a pair of Bluetooth speakers but at least in my case connecting a headset was not simple (basically i had to have just the headset in the vicinity). That aside the BTA30 does incredibly well when it comes to audio quality, especially when you stream Hi-Res material like studio quality FLAC through it. Now i would had preferred 2 RCA output sets instead of 1 (that way i could connect the BTA30 with 4 speakers instead of two and with the maximum possible audio clarity) but considering that most Bluetooth receivers/transmitters only have a 3.5mm output i can't really complain now can i. As for range well 30 meters is a very optimistic number and so you will be very lucky if you measure 10 meters with 2-3 concrete walls in between. Still the BTA30 is clearly meant to be used inside the same room so i doubt range will be of an issue, not to most people anyways.

   The BTA30 already counts a few months in the market and currently retails for USD89.99 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and for around 90Euros inside the EU a price which is extremely balanced not only for what you’re getting in return but also compared to the competition. At the end of the day aside the tiny issue with pairing the BTA30 while transmitting (which may not apply to everyone out there) I really enjoyed using it these past weeks and since it does deliver every single thing FiiO markets it for it gets the Golden Award.

PROS

- Bluetooth v5.0 (30 Meter Range)
- 192KHz/24bit Decoding
- Bluetooth Receiver, Transmitter & USB DAC
- Available Outputs (RCA Input, Coaxial Input/Output, SPDIF Input/Output & USB C)
- Supported Audio Codecs (AAC/SBC/aptX/aptX Low Latency/aptX HD/LDAC)
- RGB Status LED
- FiiO Music & Control Apps (Settings)
- Price (For Some)

CONS

- Transmission Bluetooth Pairing (Isolated?)
- Current Availability