Mixcder TR008 Bluetooth Wireless Transmitter and Receiver

I would like to thank Mixcder for providing me with the TR008. Mixcder was kind enough to send me the Tr008 as part of a contest.

The TR008 is a device that is tough to categorize. I’ve had a couple small Bluetooth receivers that I bought for my kids to use their phones as source to older home gear that didn’t support Bluetooth with varying degrees of failure. Some didn’t work at all, others worked some of the time but were subject to drop outs and noise. I have not had the opportunity to tryout a box that provided Bluetooth transmit capability so was interested to see how this would work. (If not at least a bit skeptical).

Packaging:
The box is well laid out, has all the specs printed on the back, and contains a good mix of cables, the TR008 itself and a manual. Cables are housed in a 2nd compartment to keep the device from getting scratched up in transit. Overall, well done. I must remark about two things that struck me immediately upon looking at the packaging, First off, it was so light I thought I might have been sent an empty box. Secondly, when I opened the box I was shocked to realize the TR008 itself takes up less than ½ the overall size of the box. To say it is tiny is an understatement.




Build:
The housing is plastic and roughly 2 inches square by 1 inch thick. I suspect that the same device could be made in a larger, heavier, brushed aluminum case and sold for a good bit more money but Mixcder chose to make this as compact as possible. When you realize this has a battery in it along with all the connectivity options, it really is amazingly small. The left end of the box has the Transmit/receive switch along with the pairing button. The front of the box has the 3.5mm Jack, an Optical Jack, the USB Port, and the power button. Indicator lights are positioned over the switches on the top of the case. Cables include a USB Charge cable, a 3.5mm male to male cable (3 foot) a 3.5mm Male to Male adapter 2 inches for direct connect, a 3 foot optical cable, and a RCA Male to 3.5mm female adapter stereo adapter. This provides a ton of connectivity options and is a huge plus as it doesn’t require secondary purchases to be ready to use.



Battery:
The battery is a tiny lithium ion cell of roughly 500mAh capacity. The good news is that the system will run while charging and that if plugged in via the USB cable the system will continue to draw current from the USB side and not drain the battery. I found the battery to have limited utility as it lasted between 4 and 5 hours in transmit mode and slightly longer in receive mode.

Pairing:
Pairing is a fairly smooth and familiar procedure until you get to adding a 2nd device which adds a new wrinkle. Luckily, pairing the 2nd device is as simple as pairing the first and this gives the device great utility when used in transmit mode. Use with Dual Devices is great for watching TV to two sets of headphones or gaming as all controls are handled at the source (pause, mute etc) or at the endpoint (volume) so no need for controls on the transmitter. I found the device to have good range and easily support connections up to 35 feet when the device being paired was up to the challenge. It should be noted that while this device supports AptX 4.2 that it does require the other end of the connection to support it as well and will drop back to lesser standards when both devices don't support AptX. I found that best connectivity was indeed to other devices that supported the most recent standard which should come as a surprise to no-one.

Connections:
The optical connection is limited to PCM only so avoid pairing it with DTS or Dolby Digital sources. That said, I was able to connect the TR008 using the Asus Xonar optical Out to the optical in on the TR008 and enjoy listening to my MS301s while roaming around the house. Interestingly this combination even worked while I was on a different floor than the transmitter which I had not expected since cordless phones have trouble with the same task.



I connected the 3.5mm input on the TR008 to the 3.5mm output on the Xonar and found no audible difference between that and the optical connection.

The most fun I have had with the TR008 came when setting it up in receive mode. I attached it to an older Kenwood Ka-9100 amp and a pair of Yamaha outdoor speakers to use by the pool. The kids love the ability to pair a phone and play music off their phone or from Pandora or Spotify directly to the outdoor system and still have the ability to keep the phone poolside for the obligatory text messaging that most teens do. The TR008 easily allowed for switching of paired devices by simply pressing the pairing button and during the week we had it outside we paired it with no less than 5 different makes and models of phones (Iphone6+, Samsung G6, HTC M9, Google Pixel, and LG G6). None of the phones were problematic and pairing went smoothly with all the different makes.

I also tried the TR008 in receive mode to connect my laptop to my main system and found that it worked well for that purpose as streaming from my laptop was smooth and uninterrupted even with considerable distance and traffic in between the devices.

If the device had any coloration or impact to the sound profile, I was unable to detect it.

Conclusions:
This is the first Bluetooth receiver I have used that worked and worked consistently. In over two weeks of heavy use, I have not had a single problem out of the device in either transmit mode or receive mode. It even has worked at distances at which all other receivers I have tried failed miserably. If you are in the market for a Bluetooth receiver or transmitter, the TR008 should be on your short list of models to tryout. My daughter has eyes on mine but she is going to have to buy her own. Luckily Mixcder has priced them so everyone can afford one.

Overview: TR008 Mixcder Bluetooth audio transmitter and receiver.

Main functions are connecting to a non-Bluetooth audio source (analog & digital) in order to transmit the audio to Bluetooth devices such as headphones or speakers.

Will also allow receiving of Bluetooth audio from a source such as a smartphone or tablet, and connecting to and sending the audio to a non-Bluetooth device such as non-Bluetooth headphones, speakers, receivers.

All accessories/cables needed for connection are included: RCA, TOSLINK, 3.5mm cable and adapter. Micro USB cable for charging. The TR008 can be used while charging!



Secondary Function: The ability to pair 2 Bluetooth devices simultaneously in transmitting mode.

Specifications outlined on the packaging:


I really enjoyed using the TR008 and thank Mixcder for sending me a review sample!


Design: Very lightweight, and compact. Black matte finish on top with classy Mixcder branding in grey lettering. Glossy black finish on the sides. Would have preferred an all matte finish to reduce fingerprints, especially since the sides are where all the function buttons/switches and connections are, but this design choice does look nice! Overall boxy straightforward design with rounded edges. Looks modern and classy. The bottom of the unit is rubberized so it won't be slipping and sliding when placed on a surface. Very thoughtful design with that touch!






Performance: I will be discussing how the unit performs, and not give instructions on how to use it. It's simple and straight forward. An instruction manual is included!

Transmitting Mode:

I used the TR008 to transmit audio from an old laptop without Bluetooth that I refreshed by installing Linux on. I also used the included TOSLINK cable to send the digital audio from my television to my Bluetooth devices.

The TR008 performed extremely well. I had no issues with analog or digital audio via TOSLINK. Bluetooth range was exceptional, and outperformed the Bluetooth range on my new Windows 10 laptop as well as my iPhone/iPad.

Just to give you an idea of the range capabilities: If my laptop and iPhone/iPad are in a bedroom of my home I can connect a pair of Bluetooth headphones to them and walk away to the front door. Just before I get to the front door, I start experiencing crackle and drop outs in audio. With the TR008, I can make it outside, close the door behind me and step away a foot or two before I experience any audio drop outs! Really exceptional range!

Receiving Mode:

I also used the TR008 to receive Bluetooth signal from my iPad & iPhone and plugged in my pair of Audio Technica ATH-M50 headphones directly into the TR008. Same great Bluetooth range as transmitting. I also switched back and forth plugging in the M50's into the TR008 and then directly in the headphone jacks of my iDevices and noticed that the audio output on the TR008 was actually a few DB louder than the headphone jacks on my iDevices! I was impressed with that!

Simultaneous Pairing and Sending of Bluetooth Audio to 2 Devices:

For the most part, this performed well! I did run across some issues with getting a 2nd device to pair and work here and there, but overall it's a good feature. When 2 devices are paired, Bluetooth range is slightly less. It's not drastically less by any means. In my case it was just a few feet difference. Overall range in this mode was still very good!

Overall, performance wise, the TR008 is a solid device. Only other issue I found is that the function buttons can be sluggish to respond.

Added warranty bonus: I noticed Mixcder has a welcome pamphlet with the purchase of the TR008 that includes instructions on how to get a year of extra warranty by registering the device on their website or through e-mail.



Conclusion: Overall, the TR008 is a great package! It performs well! Lots of features and capabilities! Has all the necessary accessories you need included! Has the option for free extra warranty! It's a great buy!

I wanna thank Mixcder for allowing me to review the TR008 wireless 2 in 1 wireless transmitter.


After you open the box up, you will notice how small it is. It’s really no bigger then a deck of playing cards if not a tad smaller. Due to it size, You can easy place it any where around your home or desk.

When you look at the rear of the unit, you will see the 3.5mm, Optical, USB charger port and the power button. On the side of it, you will see the TX and RX slider and the pairing button. On the top at the edge is the location of the lights.

With the transmitter devices I had in the past, you could not use it while it was charging. I glad this isn’t the case with the TR008,being able to keep it powered while in use will make it very handy. There was no static or line noise in the audio, when I tried to use it while it was charging. Charging to me is quick as it took around 2 hours for it to full charge.

They supply you with all the cables you will need in the box. Short Male RCA to 3.5 female, male 3.5 to male 3.5 adapter so the RCA 3.5 cable can be used to connect the TR008 to a Stereo Amp, TV and any other output or input device. Optical, Charger cable and finally a 3.5 male to 3.5 male cable, they also not really that long, I would say 3 or 4Ft if not close to that. The fact that they gave you cables so you don’t have to get them buy them your self is a plus.

Pairing devices is an easy set, simply turn on the transmitter, press the pair button to put it in pair mode or hold it. To pair a second device hold it down til the light turns green then press again it again to pair.

When Paired with either two speakers or headphones, both will play audio at the same exact time. Which many will find handy if there playing a game in local co-op with a friend, or sharing there favorite song or movie. Not really a major issue but while you can share the source with two people, you can not mute either one or switch between them. Not really an issue since you can just turn off the second device.

The range on the transmitter to me is very good as I was able to move around my apt, close doors and still be-able to hear audio without an issue. But I did pick up some static but I don’t think it was the transmitter that was the issue, but the Bluetooth Headphones I was using.

I don’t have any thing to try out the optical on the TR008 in regards to output, the first thing you should know is the optical does not support any thing other then PCM. If you try to use Dolby Digital or DTS, you will get no audio. So make sure you set your TV or console to PCM in its options. But other then that I didn’t have any issues at all sending audio from an Asus xonar DS sound card into the TR008 in TX mode.

The 3.5mm jack worked very well with my jotunheim, the volume was an tad bit lower then normal in compare to my other sources.The volume was still good enough as it sound good.The only issue I had was related to my smartphone causing the audio to skip since it did not support APTX like the transmitter.

Mixcder does a very good job with the TR008,unlike the transmitter in the past that I have owned. I can only think of one thing but it very minor. Being able to decode Dolby and DTS codecs would be an addition in the future.