[mcnaugha]

Dongles just aren't that sophisticated [yet]. Want all those benefits... you need a specific Android phone. I surrendered to this when aptX Lossless has failed to proliferate much further than two specific mobile phones from the same manufacturer.

Nura is a major disappointment that it does not register with their app. That may change if they're working on developing it but for now the app only supports their headsets. I think though that Nura stands the best chance of passing through earbud info from their own earbuds in future.

The other thing though is that Nura will produce a revised version of the adapter [featuring aptX Lossless] and it may be that more work will be put into that. Only time will tell.

 

[papierbmx]

I guess I’ll go with cheap tidal and Aptx adaptive compatible DAP..

 

[losber]

Hmm... Is that '24bit/96kHz' for KB9P misleading commercial option? Am right that it just max input stream for USB sound card and it's down streamed in dongle's chipset and not related to any bluetooth codecs and streams? So actually max transmitted stream for that dongle is 24bit/44.1-48kHz, right? My Hiby WU1 heckband device on QCC5125 chipset has connection to KB9P dongle only with Aptx HD codec and 44.1-48kHz (green light on Hiby WU1). And I don't need to expect anything more, right?

 

[helmutcheese]

We do not know for sure if it is only the USB side as it could do 24/96 BT as uses the QCC3040 (the info sheets specs changed so much it is hard to tell)

Creative use the newer QCC3056 and initially were going to launch it at 24/96 but for some reason decided to cripple it to 24/48 but a least they state this.

 

[papierbmx]

We do not know for sure if it is only the USB side as it could so 24/96 BT as uses the QCC3040 (the info sheets specs changed so much it is hard to tell)

Creative use the newer QCC3056 and initially were going to launch it at 24/96 but for some reason decided to cripple it to 24/48 but a least they state this.

Do you know parameters of Sennheiser?

 

[helmutcheese]

If you mean the BTD 600 then no as that info does not appear to be on their site.

Also I missed a bit above, the KB9P does not have a 16/44.1 option, not sure why it is locked it out of the FW as other dongles have it and less than ideal if you are listening to non-Hi-Res files.

 

[O11111]

aptX Lossless isn't very useful. It might be available on 7th and 8th QCC series, maybe even LE Audio's LC3. Seems that not a lot of phones support it. Looks like only6/7/8 gen 1 and more recent ones have encoder libraries (based on researching some OTA updates of those devices).

TBH having something like FLAC as A2DP Vendor codec might be much better possibility.

We might see something interesting from FiiO this year. Well, hopefully. Not sure about aptX Lossless (which is actually aptX Adaptive r2.2/r3, and it's technically scalable-to-lossless), but AAC and LDAC will be present, maybe also LHDC, LC3plus HR and even FLAC (completely non-standard and probably it's not going to be possible to get 96/24 at all and especially with any acceptable range).

Given the prices of QCC5171/81 modules, it might be possible to get a DIY solution for ~30$.


UPD: Yes, QCC5181 seems the way to go. USB Dongle with this SoC will have LE Audio (with something called aptX Lite in addition to LC3), but not the aptX Lossless (which should be called aptX Adaptive r2.2 or r3). QCC3086 also seems to support USB Dongle firmware, but only SBC, LC3 and aptX/LL/HD/Adaptive. QCC5181, on the other hand, can run almost any other codec.

 

[papierbmx]

So at the moment which adapter would work best with aptx adaptive tws taking in consideration best audio quality? KB9P or Nura?

 

[helmutcheese]

IMO KB9P for now as you get App control so can decide what Codecs you want and if you want Quality or Latency to be priority for aptX Adaptive.

Reading up on the Creative Dongle on Amazon (same QCC3056 as Nura but has App control) the customers have said the KB8P/KB9P is better.

QUOTE:

From the United States​

Cameron
1.0 out of 5 stars Don't Buy This. A Cheap Generic Chinese Aptx Adaptive Transmitter Delivers Better Audio.
Reviewed in the United States on September 23, 2022
Color: Bluetooth 5.2 Audio Transmitter, aptX AdaptiveVerified Purchase
For $50 officially licensed Aptx Adaptive product, this is just crap. I expected better from you, Creative.

Here is why I think this:

I own a Yamaha YH-L700A, which is high end Bluetooth headphones equipped with the relatively new Aptx Adaptive codec. They are, in my opinion, the best headphones you can buy in terms of wireless audio quality. I wanted to use these headphones on my PC. However, Windows does not support Aptx codecs in any form. Only SBC and AAC, which do NOT support 24bit audio. So, I had to buy an adapter to use Aptx Adaptive on my PC.

At the time there was only one adapter that "supported" 24bit Aptx Adaptive audio, which was some obscure Chinese no name adapter on AliExpress. In case you're wondering, no it was not officially licensed by Qualcomm Aptx. Being the only option, I bought it for a total of $12.86 including shipping and tax. And I'm very happy with it. It works and I can listen to clean 24bit wireless audio.

But then this Creative BT-W4 came out. It's officially licensed by Qualcomm, supports Aptx Adaptive, and can go up to 24bit. It's also $50, so it must be better than that cheap Chinese no name adapter I was using, right?

NOPE. It's bad. Oh man it's bad.

The audio is absolute trash. There is a slight distortion that I can only describe as a 'robotic filter', and it's always present. Also the notification sounds Windows makes sound very low qualify. It just sounds so unnatural and unclear.

However, the ol cheap Chinese no name adapter doesn't have such distortion. No Name 1 and Creative 0.

I thought it was a problem with the Aptx Adaptive codec limiting itself it the lowest bitrate, so I wanted to switch to Aptx HD to see if that fixed the issue. Oh wait, YOU CANT SWITCH CODECS! This adapter picks one codec it deems the best and will not let you switch to any other supported codec on your headset. So if one codec isn't working out for you, you're out of luck. Come on Creative! Your controller software has all these cool effects and settings, but you left out the most important? Why?! Creative, PLEASE update the software to add this basic functionality.

However, the ol cheap Chinese no name adapter does let you switch codecs. No Name 2 and Creative 0.

Don't buy this. Go find and buy the cheap no name Chinese adapter. Hint: it's model name is KB8P. It may be hard to find and take months to ship, but it's a hell of a lot cheaper and performs much better.

Creative, I wanted to like this. Other than those two issues, it could have been good and worth the $50. The software used to control it is very nice and I appreciate the functionality it brings. The ease of use is also miles better than the Chinese no name one. But those two BIG issues ruin it all. I'm sorry.

 

[mcnaugha]

So at the moment which adapter would work best with aptx adaptive tws taking in consideration best audio quality? KB9P or Nura?

In terms of audio quality there shouldn’t really be anything in it. There is no audio processing. They take digital in and output digital. So, both should produce the same bit-for-bit data Up to 24/96.

 

[Petru]

Oh I found this topic too late... Thats a shame.. I just ordered Creative BT-W4 for my PC / Laptop. To use with my AptX Adaptive Noble Audo FoKus Pro.

Did I get last several pages of this thread right, that I can use only Nura Bluetooth 5.3 Audio Transmitter U00B with my iPhone with lightning to type C adapter to have AptX Adaptive on iOS? Would Creative dongle do that? I found couple of mentions in the internet that Creative dongle does not work with iPhone over the lightning to usbC adapter. Can you please confirm it does or does not work? Nura and Creative.

Another question is does lightning to usbC adapter make any difference? Would Meenova USB-C Female to iOS work? Or should I use some other vendor? Please suggest.

EDIT: Another thing it seems impossible to fing Nura Adapter anymore.. Any suggestions where to get it?

 

[mcnaugha]

Oh I found this topic too late... Thats a shame.. I just ordered Creative BT-W4 for my PC / Laptop. To use with my AptX Adaptive Noble Audo FoKus Pro.

Did I get last several pages of this thread right, that I can use only Nura Bluetooth 5.3 Audio Transmitter U00B with my iPhone with lightning to type C adapter to have AptX Adaptive on iOS? Would Creative dongle do that? I found couple of mentions in the internet that Creative dongle does not work with iPhone over the lightning to usbC adapter. Can you please confirm it does or does not work? Nura and Creative.

Another question is does lightning to usbC adapter make any difference? Would Meenova USB-C Female to iOS work? Or should I use some other vendor? Please suggest.

EDIT: Another thing it seems impossible to fing Nura Adapter anymore.. Any suggestions where to get it?

It’s all the USB Audio standard… even on iPhone. Most adapters shouldn’t interfere with that. I use all these with iPhone.

Just now it continues to be difficult to have constant stock of the newer SoC’s due to manufacturing difficulties in China. So, if Nura is out of stock then you’d need to wait. The Creative BT-W4 should be fine for most lossless tracks on streaming services. Anything above 48KHz remains relatively rare. So, it‘s up to you whether you genuinely need above 48KHz.

the only challenge I’ve encountered with adapters is their current control which is almost impossible to determine in advance. Some of the Chinese dongles don’t have current limiters on them. Apple’s Made for iPhone program, insists on a lower than average current limiter. So, you are actually better off with an adapter which does not have the MFi certification.

The limit is largely put there to help minimise battery consumption by accessories. The reality is that you don’t get lossless/Hi-Res quality for free. It has to be paid for with more energy.

 

[betaphase1]

Oh I found this topic too late... Thats a shame.. I just ordered Creative BT-W4 for my PC / Laptop. To use with my AptX Adaptive Noble Audo FoKus Pro.

Did I get last several pages of this thread right, that I can use only Nura Bluetooth 5.3 Audio Transmitter U00B with my iPhone with lightning to type C adapter to have AptX Adaptive on iOS? Would Creative dongle do that? I found couple of mentions in the internet that Creative dongle does not work with iPhone over the lightning to usbC adapter. Can you please confirm it does or does not work? Nura and Creative.

Another question is does lightning to usbC adapter make any difference? Would Meenova USB-C Female to iOS work? Or should I use some other vendor? Please suggest.

EDIT: Another thing it seems impossible to fing Nura Adapter anymore.. Any suggestions where to get it?

Buy the original apple lightning to usb 3 camera adapter, the one that with additional lightning charging port, it saves a lot of energy and guaranteed to work. I used to have those thirdparty cheap adapter too , after it is overheated the adapter starts cracking now and then, on the other hand the original apple adapter never feels warm, just make sure to buy that one with the additional charging port otherwise some dongle won’t be accepted by the iPhone or iPad due to high power consumption

 

[Petru]

Buy the original apple lightning to usb 3 camera adapter, the one that with additional lightning charging port

Do you mean that I have to use lightning charging cable to use Apple adapter while using the Bluetooth dongle? Or charging while using the adapter is not necessary?

Another thing is original apple adapter is with USB-A not the USB-C, that mean I would have to use 2 adapters + BT dongle, please confirm if you suggest that?

 

[MarkyMark]

Hi,

Sorry, haven't had time to read through the thread. Just stumbled across it via search.

I'm looking for a USB bluetooth adapter to use with my Win 11 laptop, to connect to a Dali Katch G2 bluetooth speaker via aptX HD without truncating the word size to 16 bit like my Creative BT-W3 adapter does.

Can anyone recommend a product that will do this? Would prefer something I could buy in UK from Amazon etc. and doesn't need language translation/firmware updates etc. to make it work as desired. I'm not into having to fiddle about with configuration etc. Will buy from China though if there's no alternative.

All help much appreciated!

Cheers