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Low Latency Bluetooth Receiver Recommendations
Good day.
I have a pair of Bluetooth speakers and they rock, but the latency on the speaker's built in receivers is very poor.
I would like to be able to play apps like GeoShred without any cables or dongles hanging off My iPad Air 4. (Bluetooth 5.0)
If anyone has suggestions of a good Low Latency Bluetooth Receiver to purchase, I am all ears. Thanks.
Comments
Bluetooth audio has inherent latency. It wasn’t made for real-time musical performance.
OK. Can that ideal I guess. Hmmmm...I wonder if there is a wifi solution?
Wi-fi is even worse.
.> @BladeRunner said:
If your speaker has an in built amplifier, your best bet its to get one of those wireless guitar transmitter and receiver ( you can get them for roughly 20 u$s ), and plug the transmitter to the headphone output of your iPad and the receiver to the input of your speaker. With this solution you are using regular radio frequency, no Bluetooth, no WiFi.
For the record:
AptX Bluetooth
Bluetooth has several "profiles" and the AptX profile has reasonable low latency.
IOS doesn't support the AptX profile (and it's something Apple may re-consider, I hope).
You can get an AptX transmitter and solve he latency problem with a pair of AptX headphones.
2.4GHz Wireless for cable replacement uses
Guitar wireless TX/RX pairs are great and low latency and can replace typical mono
wires. So, plan accordingly to get a stereo signal to 2 speakers. Most Guitar devices
use 2.4GHz wireless spectrum.
There's a headphone option got Video Gamers that packages a 2.4GHz TX and matching headphones.
Some headphones have a 1/4" connector so the RX device can be inserted on the headphones.
I wonder if someone has decided to embed the 2.4GHz RX device into a powered speaker.
I’ve bought a couple of those cheap plastic receivers from China, with a 3.5mm out, that I plug into into any speaker with an aux in. They have a low enough latency that lets you do most things. I’m guessing the audio quality takes a hit but if you just wanna have wireless connection to mess around with now and then it probably doesn’t matter.
If I understood the results you posted in another thread the AptX Bluetooth latency was an added 45 ms -- that is pretty high. Or did I misunderstand?
Thanks for all of the input folks!
Well it appears that there is no easy solution to this simple problem. It seems that by now they would have made Bluetooth latency almost disappear with the latest incarnation 5.0. No go.
If There was such a thing as a Stereo 2.4GHz TX/RC in a small form factor with USB C input, This might be a solution with only 1 dongle hanging from the iPad.
I would not be surprised if Apple already has looked at supporting the AptX profile or a version of their own tech. But are slow to roll it out because they want to maximize monetization.
And while I am bitchin about stuff....
Why can't they just build slightly larger iPads with more I/O ports.
Consumer games.
Bluetooth audio latency (particularly if you want high fidelity) is kind of just an inherent issue unless you are designing matched components intended for realtime musical performance with high fidelity because it relies realtime audio compression and doing high-quality compression is a CPU-intensive task and if the hardware devices involved don't have native audio buffers using the same format, it means there is going to be conversions on both sides -- which being cpu-intensive requires buffers and that buffering means latency. The target audience that needs audio transmission at low enough latency for musical performance is tiny.
Could you possibly point me in the right direction? It might be worth a try.
OK now I am starting to see the technical side to all of this Audio thru the air stuff. I guess I am so used to working with the marvelous tech we have these days I just take it for granted that there should be a cheap and easy solution to the Stereo audio wireless conundrum. LOL
I still remember when I was a kid and we finally replaced that 12" one channel black and white TV with a floor model color set, and complete with the newly invented cable....and then came the first Video game consoles! Us kids had so much fun for hours playing pong.
Now I am instantly playing synthesized instruments one handed on a mobile device. And I have the audacity to think I should be able to beam these sounds at will to the speakers of my choice. Calm down big fella I tell myself and I will have to make do with my Midi controlled looper and multitude of effects and synthstruments all built into this little device. The shame!
AptX spec show latency (as low as) 32 ms. AptX is good enough to fool the latencies of our brain signal processing. Many guitar players still are not happy with that small delay. I can adapt but I'm not a shredder or a fast funk rhythm player. Loosing the cable is a big win for me.
2.4GHz can provide better audio quality and latency in the single digit Msec's.
@BladeRunner
They usually look like this and are Bluetooth 2.1 or 3. Usually max out at about 3Mbps transfer speed. Basically the more trash receiver you find, the lower the latency.
While they say "as low as 32 ms", that is 32ms ADDITIONAL latency. That is a lot of latency to add to existing latency. Your real world report was 45ms. That doesn't seem low to me.
This device costs 15 Euros and is latency-free and reasonable audio quality (stereo):
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Upgraded-Transmitter-Doosl-Compatible-Samsung-Black/dp/B07BWNC199/ref=mp_s_a_1_4?dchild=1&keywords=doosl+fm+transmitter&qid=1607813136&sprefix=doosl+fm&sr=8-4
Then just get a vanilla stereo FM radio as your speaker. All problems solved.
Trade-offs: I like plugging this very small transceiver into my iPhone 5S headphone jack and
hearing my guitar in the AptX headphones. With the iPhone velcro'ed to the guitar I use a cable into the iPhone.
Now in an iPad situation I use 2.4GHz TX/RX to replace the cable from the guitar.
I just like the trade-off of no cable for some scenarios.
I'll probably get the 2.4GHz Gamers headphones for my Holiday gift to lower latency and
get a better fitting headphone for long sessions.
Feasibility and trade-offs. There isn't a single answer for all cases for all people.
Fair enough. I would just be cautious about calling that low latency. It is great that it works for you -- and if someone goes in knowing they'll get 45 ms latency they can see if they can tolerate that amount of latency (by using a 45 ms delay line) before buying the hardware.
Cool! I will give it a try! I suppose I will have to get a USB C to 3.5mm Headphone Adapter also. I could just use the Stereo Receiver I have in the living room. I hope it works. Thanks.
@BladeRunner Did this FM transmitter solution work for you? Can you please let us know in terms of latency, any static or other noise, is it stereo signal? You can have a FM radio output to your home theatre or speakers.. Did you try that?
I am also trying to play Geoshred like apps in iPad and transmit low latency stereo audio wirelessly to my home stereo system. Your experience will help me a lot.
Thanks