[NightStalker]

Hello everyone

UPDATE on a new device i am using called "Firefly from tuna" details below (Supports AAC and APTX codec) best of both worlds

Wireless streaming and the quality of music are my two most important requirements. standards set too high? HELL YEAH

Having logic 7 with USB and Aux (6FL) in the center console didn't give me much of a choice at first. It was either the iPod (y-cable) connection or just a USB flash drive.

Airport express/Toslink Dac to AUX

Problems with this set up was

• Drop out connections
• Boot up times
• Sometimes it would reset it self the unit(keep in mind i had all the power connections soldered accordingly and using the step down converter)

AirEnabler W/Fiio E10K USB DAC

Problems?

• Boot up time (can be mitigated with a USB external battery supply. But the headaches of charging after depletion..)
• Delay in Skipping Tracks (yes i don't care if its 3 seconds it still bugs me)
• countless connection problems. dropouts in particular. while skipping songs it would either kick out of airplay mode and just play through my phone speaker or it would just pause and not let me connect to airplay at all

With advancements in Bluetooth technology there are a few products that support APTx codecs for android & has a great DAC built in.

Before i talk about my next set up id like to mention that i picked up a brand new full loaded Audi few months back that has the Bang Olufsen package w/Bluetooth streaming. The factory system sounded so good crisp and clear not to mention very loud i was mind boggled just from a bluetooth connection?

➟ OLD setup: The Audioengine B1 Premium Bluetooth Music Receiver





NEW SETUP below


specs:

• Bluetooth v4.0 with backward compatible
• Pure copper with gold plated connector
• Support A2DP v1.2, SPP Supprt AAC, MP3 and SBD decoder
• Support Party Mode, max 2 device connection at the same time
• Stored up to 8 paired devices
• 33ft or 10m connection distance, without interference Input voltage : 5V

Official site
http://www.tunai-creative.com/firefly.html

Amazon link
https://www.amazon.com/TUNAI-FIREFLY...=tunai+firefly


After using the Firefly i am glad to say this is the best set up i have used so far.

• No Lag
• Instant Connection
• Insane sound quality over Bluetooth AAC & APTX support !!!!
• No boot up times

[nik89]

I, really nice review. I have some question. My setup now is an Airport express, I have not any problem with the boot up time because of this

I don't like to connect every time because AirPlay doesn't autoconnect. And sometime I have some problem that I don't like. I use a ground loop isolator because there is a noise when the track is not playing, with Audioengine B1 there are any ground loop noises?
P.S.: iOs doesn't support APTx
P.P.S.: sorry for my terrible english

[NightStalker]

Originally Posted by nik89

I, really nice review. I have some question. My setup now is an Airport express, I have not any problem with the boot up time because of this
[IMG]

View post on imgur.com

[/IMG]
I don't like to connect every time because AirPlay doesn't autoconnect. And sometime I have some problem that I don't like. I use a ground loop isolator because there is a noise when the track is not playing, with Audioengine B1 there are any ground loop noises?
P.S.: iOs doesn't support APTx
P.P.S.: sorry for my terrible english

You're right iOS doesn't support APTX but the DAC inside the receiver is already high end so music still sounds great via iPhone

I never had an issue with the ground. With this unit connection is instant. Feels like day and night difference from AirPlay setup

[JustDriveIt]

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/rocketfi...&skuId=9976103

I've had this Rocketfish APT-X bluetooth adapter in my car for about a year now. I'm an audiophile and this was the only adapter that surpassed my expectations.
I was originally going to use an upgraded DAC since this adapter has optical out, but the adapter was better than the DAC so I just ended up using the Aux out from the adapter itself.

It's also not nearly $200, it's only $49 from BestBuy and cheaper elsewhere. It also isn't the size of a small laptop ha, so it can easily fit in the center console, or in that space right below which is nice because that's where USB power and Aux is for the stereo.

So Pros: It runs off of USB power which I get from the console, and is small enough to fit in there nicely. No splicing,etc. and the Aux cable input for the stereo is in that console too, so WIN-WIN. Less than $50 and has Optical Out if you want so the output quality is whatever you want it to be, though the DAC was the better than 2 external ones I had.

It's

[NightStalker]

Originally Posted by JustDriveIt

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/rocketfi...&skuId=9976103

I've had this Rocketfish APT-X bluetooth adapter in my car for about a year now. I'm an audiophile and this was the only adapter that surpassed my expectations.
I was originally going to use an upgraded DAC since this adapter has optical out, but the adapter was better than the DAC so I just ended up using the Aux out from the adapter itself.

It's also not nearly $200, it's only $49 from BestBuy and cheaper elsewhere. It also isn't the size of a small laptop ha, so it can easily fit in the center console, or in that space right below which is nice because that's where USB power and Aux is for the stereo.

So Pros: It runs off of USB power which I get from the console, and is small enough to fit in there nicely. No splicing,etc. and the Aux cable input for the stereo is in that console too, so WIN-WIN. Less than $50 and has Optical Out if you want so the output quality is whatever you want it to be, though the DAC was the better than 2 external ones I had.

It's

Yeah the reason why it's in the $100+ range is because it also has a built in DAC

I was originally looking into a low cost Bluetooth 4.0 receiver with built in optical out to use a DAC (not many options out there)

So in the end I would end up spending the same amount of money regardless if it's just the AudioEngine or a receiver + separate DAC

[JustDriveIt]

Originally Posted by RVS

Yeah the reason why it's in the $100+ range is because it also has a built in DAC

I was originally looking into a low cost Bluetooth 4.0 receiver with built in optical out to use a DAC (not many options out there)

So in the end I would end up spending the same amount of money regardless if it's just the AudioEngine or a receiver + separate DAC

This was also has a built in DAC and is super impressive compared to my other external DACs. Rocketfish really produced a great product with this adapter.

[NightStalker]

Originally Posted by JustDriveIt

This was also has a built in DAC and is super impressive compared to my other external DACs. Rocketfish really produced a great product with this adapter.

Very nice. What phone are you using android or iPhone?

Yeah I'm glad you're enjoying that receiver. Previous post I had meant that this is an all in one package for my needs that has a high end DAC built in so in future I wouldn't keep switching DACs like I did when I had the AirPlay option.

Also good thing all these newer products have optical out. Incase you update your AMP OR PROCESSING unit that supports optical input

[JustDriveIt]

Originally Posted by RVS

Very nice. What phone are you using android or iPhone?

Yeah I'm glad you're enjoying that receiver. Previous post I had meant that this is an all in one package for my needs that has a high end DAC built in so in future I wouldn't keep switching DACs like I did when I had the AirPlay option.

Also good thing all these newer products have optical out. Incase you update your AMP OR PROCESSING unit that supports optical input

Yea, I was agreeing with you. I don't know how much those airport systems costs but I know some are around $200 and the one I saw was the size of a small netbook.

I've been trying to tell people APT-X is the way to go, but no one really listens because of the bluetooth stigma. But glad someone else figured it out ha. I believe the unit I have is pretty good, but I don't think the DAC specs are up to the one you posted. I attached a 24bit external DAC via optical and it was lacking in the low range, and seemed like a flat signal which the Logic7 system did not like and seemed unable to process the proper range for it so I ditched it and went back to the built in DAC, ended up liking it more because it emphasized the low frequency and paired well with the Logic7 system.

I'm using android and every once and a while I will get a skip or two, which I believe is my phone. The NFC feature is nice because anyone with iPhone, or android can just tap my center console with their phone and it connects them, I believe it supports up to 5 units simultaneously, but obviously just chooses the one with the latest activity to play audio.

Overall pretty happy, in my last BMW I had the latest Bluetooth at the time pretty much doing the same thing via BT->aux but the quality was just garbage and it did not auto connect. Glad BT technology has improved greatly since then.

[NightStalker]

Yeah Bluetooth is evolving. Especially Bluetooth 4.0+

Hopefully this thread helps many people out there that don't have streaming on older models.

Maybe Apple will support APTx one day. If rumors are true for the next iPhone 7 having no headphone jack that will force more tech companies to release Bluetooth headsets with built in DAC

my next addition maybe a sub upgrade

Using some logic 7 EQ tweaks really makes this system come alive.

[90c4]

I'm also having good luck with a Rocketfish APTx bluetooth receiver but I went with the discontinued RF-BTR212 which can be had for about $25. Had to make a charging cable for it but it's been working great for about a year

[Varjo]

The limiting factor is still the aux port. On logic 7 systems this results in going digital (music source) -> analogue (aux in) -> digital (preamp in logic 7) -> analogue (logic 7 amp). Not ideal. What we really need is a way to get digital input to the logic 7 preamp.

[NightStalker]

Originally Posted by Varjo

The limiting factor is still the aux port. On logic 7 systems this results in going digital (music source) -> analogue (aux in) -> digital (preamp in logic 7) -> analogue (logic 7 amp). Not ideal. What we really need is a way to get digital input to the logic 7 preamp.

That won't be possible unless you get a new amp/DSP unit i believe helix has an optical input.

[Varjo]

Originally Posted by RVS

That won't be possible unless you get a new amp/DSP unit i believe helix has an optical input.

That's not exactly true. The logic 7 preamp takes digital input over most. What is needed is some sort of reverse most bridge (I don't think one currently exists, but it's not impossible conceptually).

Anyway, there are lots of good setups using aux; I'm glad you're happy with yours. I've been pretty satisfied with my chromecast audio -> dac -> aux myself.

[NightStalker]

Originally Posted by Varjo

That's not exactly true. The logic 7 preamp takes digital input over most. What is needed is some sort of reverse most bridge (I don't think one currently exists, but it's not impossible conceptually).

Anyway, there are lots of good setups using aux; I'm glad you're happy with yours. I've been pretty satisfied with my chromecast audio -> dac -> aux myself.

Oh yeah MOST connection. Well if one does exist someday we should not have a problem since all our setups have optical out. So kinda of future proof already.

And yes I'm glad I can enjoy my music hassle free

[Bufalo]

It's roughly $800, so I'd understand if no one has raced out to get it, but there is the Mobridge M2.Pro which has BT streaming along with USB audio support and which connects directly to the MOST bus, removing a few steps of DA and AD conversion.

[i8088]

Are you able to change songs via steering wheel buttons/radio buttons with the Rocketfish Bluetooth receiver or do you need to change them with the phone?

[NightStalker]

Originally Posted by i8088

Are you able to change songs via steering wheel buttons/radio buttons with the Rocketfish Bluetooth receiver or do you need to change them with the phone?

no. none of these feature steering wheel control.

to mitigate that issue you can use a bluetooth smart button that can play/pause & change volume controls.

two very good options are the MisFit link that also becomes a smart button & the satechi media button

[Bufalo]

I picked up the last Rocketfish unit that my local Best Buy had in stock over my lunch today, and I must say that I'm floored by its performance. It gives me plenty of detail with which to judge the shortcomings of the Logic 7 system.. ;-) Bluetooth audio?! Who'da thunk that it'd be that good now?

So uh... Anyone want to buy the Lightning Y-cable that I received this past Monday? I'll never use it again.

[NightStalker]

I forgot to add...this unit states after 50hours it may sound even better.

Break in period.

[taibanl]

Originally Posted by RVS

I forgot to add...this unit states after 50hours it may sound even better.

Break in period.

For a solid state device? now thats funny

[ptpending]

old bmw/alpine most ipod interface with tune2air streamer will be better integrated and provide fiber optic input to audio system

[NightStalker]

Originally Posted by ptpending

old bmw/alpine most ipod interface with tune2air streamer will be better integrated and provide fiber optic input to audio system

Perhaps but both old