After recently trying 2 other brands of Bluetooth adapters, I finally found a winner.
One of the others had connection issues but sounded pretty good...the other was lacking in audio quality but connected fine. Just had to find one that did both well.
The Anker Soundsync A3352 seems to be the answer and is ‘best bang for the buck’, IMO...
Connects without issue and sounds really good...best audio of the bunch. I had wondered if I needed to find a receiver with aptX protocol (my phone supports it) to get superior audio. And this receiver does not state that it has it, but, it sure doesn’t seem to need it!.....Don’t know if Bluetooth 5 is the reason or just a superior audio section, but this is a great sounding product and I definitely recommend it.
**Update after a couple weeks....well, while the audio quality is indeed impressive for music, I had the chance to use it on a couple phone calls and I'm being told my voice sounds a bit muffled and unclear. So minus 1 star for that. I will use this unit for my home audio system, and a different brand adapter, that I have, for the car and calls.
It's decent, but I feel like this is a workaround solution, and as such, isn't completely ideal nor perfect in it's function. For one, it is not as convenient as any device that has Bluetooth built into it. I bought this to create a Bluetooth connection in my older non-Bluetooth capable car, so I'll rate this based on that use. If my car had inherent bluetooth capability, I would be able to turn the car on and more than likely it would auto connect to my phone and I'd be good to go. In this case, I have to turn the receiver on manually each time, which takes a few seconds of holding the button down, and when the device turns on, it makes an annoying high pitched beep to indicate it's on. So slightly inconvenient and annoying on that front, but again, this is a workaround so it isn't going to be a perfect solution. I have not had any idle buzzing noise that other reviewers have claimed except when the device was plugged into a charger. Then it did it constantly. But when it's running on battery, it's perfectly fine. So overall, it's not bad, it works, it does what I need it to do, it just isn't the most ideal thing in the world still, as again, it's a workaround. Sound quality is normal as with any regular AUX jack, battery life is decent as well with pretty much living up to the advertised rating ,and yep pretty much it's all fully functional.
I have an older car with no Bluetooth. Which lead me to this device. This thing paired up to my iPhone XS Max with no issues. The sound quality over Bluetooth 5.0 is legit! I read reviews where people said if audio is not playing that it has a humming noise. This is true but only if you are charging it simultaneously. The moment you disconnect it from the charger that humming is no longer present. Also the humming does NOT interfere with music. I REPEAT THE HUMMING ONLY APPEARS WHEN YOU ARE NOT LISTENING TO MUSIC AND YOU HAVE THE MICRO CHARGING CABLE CONNECTED TO IT. Also it does automatically connect back to the last device once it’s powered on. You tap the power button on it and connect and boom you are jamming your music. All in all this is a great buy. Don’t get fooled by the negative reviews or the non technical understanding by some people. This does exactly what it is supposed to do.
We bought this to replace an earlier SoundSync device in my wife's car. That one worked but there was a terrible buzzing sound every time we used it. It was not a problem with the device though. The power socket in her car is just too close to the aux jack so the electrical "noise" gets picked up.
But that's not a problem here! Since this is battery powered, the sound is crystal clear when we are listening to music.
Calls are a little less clear. You can hear the other person ok but the mic doesn't seem to pick up very well. That may actually be because of where it is mounted in my wife's Mazda though
I have used this device for a few days and so far it works great with my iPhone 7. It connects automatically and works great with the the phone and my car stereo. I cannot discuss battery life because my vehicle has an after market stereo and the unit is charged through a USB and I never unplug it. I don’t see a need for a volume control but it works good and first use connection went without a hitch. The signal is powerful- so powerful I have to disconnect via my phone when I go in my house or the phones speaker won’t work. You could also just shut the unit off when exiting the vehicle I guess. I can highly recommend this product based on my usage.
Feature Product
- Bluetooth 5.0: the latest Bluetooth technology delivers an Ultra-Stable Connection.
- Wireless music streaming: stream music to non-Bluetooth headphones and speakers.
- Superior battery life: enjoy up to 12 hours of playtime.
- Hands-free calls: Plug into your car and answer calls while you drive.
- Dual-pairing: connect two Bluetooth devices at once to listen to music, make phone calls, and more.
- included_components : Bluetooth Receiver
Description
Anker Sound sync A3352Bluetooth Receiver for Cars, Headphones, Speakers, and More Stay Connected Bluetooth 5.0 provides an ultra-stable connection up to 30 ft. away from your device. Don’t Stop Sound sync A3352 to bring your older speakers and headphones into the present. Connect to your mobile device to stream your favorite music, podcasts and more, and adjust the volume with the built-in controls. Extended Battery Life Enjoy up to 12 hours of continuous usage and charge in just 2 hours. Compatible with Cars Plug into your car’s AUX port to stream music and answer calls conveniently. Just press the receiver button to answer incoming calls. Dual Devices For greater versatility, Sound sync A3352 can simultaneously connect to two Bluetooth devices. Listen to music, answer calls, and more—at the same time.* What You A3352 Bluetooth receiver, charging cable, 3.5 mm AUX cable, 3.5mm audio adapter, 18-month , and our friendly customer service. *When two devices are connected to Sound sync A3352, the first device must be paused in order for the second device to start playing. Note: Profile: HFP v1.6, A2DP v1.2, AVRCP V1.4Battery Capacity: 180mAh, 3.6V
So this thing is freaking awesome. Clear sound, no interference, very small, and the volume is great. AND it doesn't have a freaking mile of wires like my old one did. Since it has an internal battery, it only has a short micro USB cord to charge it when neended. I only wish it turned itself off when I turned off my Jeep. Very minor complaint
This synced very easily the first time and syncs automatically now as soon as I turn it on. I've synced it to both my android phone and wireless earbuds. I use it mostly to listen to audiobooks and podcasts in the car. I've used it a few times for handsfree calls and was told that I sounded far away (it is plugged into the audio jack on the passenger side of my suv) but I had to ask them what they thought of the call quality so it wasn't bad enough that they were prompted to complain about it. I would definitely buy this again due to the ease of use.
It works for my purposes (wirelessly connecting wired headphones to a bluetooth transmitter).
Some niggles:
1) When the device powers on, it plays the "powering on" melody at 100% volume. For me it is painfully loud. Depending on your hardware configuration, you might not notice. It does remember the volume it was previously set at, and plays everything else at that volume.
2) When it is plugged in to charge it powers on and pairs itself. Whether you want it to or not. It doesn't matter if you manually powered it down or if the battery died, as soon as you plug it in, it powers on. I'd rather it stayed off if I have already manually powered it down.
3) It has a blue LED and a red LED, but it does not flash red-blue when pairing like every other similar device. Instead it just flashes blue. When a phone call comes in it also flashes blue, but faster. Just use the red LED already.
Bought this for my car since it doesn't have Bluetooth built-in, and my phone has no 3.5mm audio jack. Picked up this handy product and plugged it into my aux audio port on my car and USB car charger. Paired it with my phone and been enjoying it ever since.
The audio is clear and sounds great. I know the product has its own battery but mine stays plugged into my car at all times, so I couldn't say how the battery life is.
Far cheaper option than replacing my car radio. Thanks Anker!
This little thing is amazing! The audio quality is awesome, it's just as if I had my phone plugged in with 3.5mm but its wireless! I would suggest this to anyone, my 3.5mm jack needs to be replaced on my phone due to so much plugging and unplugging. This product saves me the money to replace it for now. As for the in car hands free audio for calls I won't be using this for that, I cant speak for the quality of calls like other reviews. If you are just trying to go wireless with audio this is the product to buy. High quality!