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Audioengine B1 Bluetooth - Really Surprised

For those of you who enjoy casual listening, and minimizing either financial outlay or the number of components it takes to get great sound, this post is for you.

I picked up the Audioengine B1 Bluetooth receiver to plug into our living room system, just sort of out of curiosity to see how simple I could make it for when my wife wants to use the system, or when we just want to listen to Spotify without wires across the living room. What a great little device - it never drops signal, and it sounds fantastic. And this post isn't specifically an endorsement of the B1 (or of Spotify specifically) as much as an endorsement of the idea of the B1 - from what I've read many of the Bluetooth devices from $100-250 all sound nice, with just differences in connections, signal range, etc. so you can pick your favorite brand and do the same thing.

The cool part is the simplicity it allows - with only three components...

- Speakers
- Integrated Amp
- Bluetooth Receiver/Dac (analog out into the integrated)

...not including the iPhone/Android/iPad which most people have anyway, you can listen to millions of songs without wires, without leaving the couch, and with sound quality that will probably surprise many others like it surprised me.

We'll play Scrabble and make it a game of musical-torture - whoever wins the round gets to pick the song and "torture" the other (I'll pick '70s AM-Gold love songs, she'll pick Nine Inch Nails) - but that would be tedious with CDs. With Spotify on the iPad, we can pick songs in seconds, no wires, the signal never drops, and it sounds much better than I expected.

I went into it with an "I'll just return this when I discover how limited it is" mentality, so this was a cool discovery for us, and definitely a keeper. Not that changing CDs (or LPs) is all that difficult, but being able to pick from 20 million songs using my iPad while planted comfortably on the couch, and without any wires, is really fun and I wish I'd tried it sooner.
128x128bcgator
bmdduck
99 posts
 
Begator,

Thanks for remembering. I haven't changed much since then, I've kind of settled on it being a compromise of sound quality with fitting in the room. I keep thinking about a sub but haven't done anything about it.

Someone in the family always seems to need new shoes:)
bcgator's avatar
bcgator OP
355 posts
 
@Bmdduck, yeah I know how that goes. Footwear is more important than your audio gear so you have your priorities in order. Good thing is, there's so much nice equipment out there - new and pre-owned - at great price points that it's easy to build a rewarding system on a limited budget and there's no reason to rush it. Keep your eyes on local classifieds and such - I picked up my REL Strata III sub that way. If you decide to try one of the Bluetooth DACS in your system, let us know how it works out and feel free to PM me if you have questions or anything.
phasecorrect's avatar
phasecorrect
2,013 posts
 
Have to agree...as somebody who was raised on vinyl since the 70s...and observed every media change since...the convenience and enjoyment of wireless streaming is too hard to ignore...hi-enders are going to bash the fidelity because it wasn't designed for them in first place...and I have to admit, I was skeptical at first...but after taking the plunge.. I'm glad I did...if one were to tell me in the
mid 80s that a hand held device could hold millions of songs/albums...and connect via no wires to your system...no way Jose!
mattmiller's avatar
mattmiller
1,479 posts
 
eddaytona
216 posts
 
Got one six months ago. Stream all sorts of stuff from my G3 smartphone including Soundcloud, Bandcamp, Soma, Pandora, Spotify, Youtube, iHeart etc etc. through my VAC PA100/100, Modwright pre and JM Reynaud Offrende speakers. It sounds great. No drop outs.

I have a 1000 lp vinyl collection, 2500 song Ipod collection in hirez and 100s of CDs including SACDs. My CD front end is Sony XA5400ES. Vinyl is Superscoutmaster with Shelter 901 and Quad phono pre. All wired with Cardas. So, I think I have some street cred.

It's been months since I played an LP or CD. Every kind of music and artist is available at the press of an icon. I hate the "game changer" moniker but for my game it's been completely changed. Couldn't be happier and completely satisfied. Wonderful product.
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