[loephi]

Hello everyone,

First of all i know what follows is not the perfect audiophile setup but im curious to get your opinions on this topic.

I am using an iPhone 11 pro with Spotify on highest setting (i guess its 320kbit)

I was listening to Airpods Pro. They are nice and super convinient. I will keep them as casual listening device in the office etc.

However i uprgaded to the campfire polaris 2020 and i am so far very impressed. I have an Fiio BTR3 (not BTR3k) wich was used previousely to stream bluetooth from the iPhone to Shure SE215 (yes, i love bass as you may see by my iem collection).

I am generally satisfied by the sound of BTR3 and Polaris over bluetooth. However i found out Iphone only supports aac.

I am now wondering if there is a more capable wireless streaming option for iPhones (no Dongles on iPhone wished, because i tend to put the IEM's in my ear, the BTR3 in my pocket and room around the house wth the phone on the desk). I will primarly used it on the go so stationary network at home is not really an option for me.

I have seen, that the FIIO M6 portable DAP is capable of direct Airplay. Although i find it slightly unpratical compared to bluetooth, that the iPhone needs to be connected wia wifi to the M6. So this would mean that i constantly will have to switsch between my home wifi router and the FIIO M6 in the iPhone settings.

Would Airplay even make a difference when only using spotify compared to AAC Bluetooth via the btr3?

As the FIIO BTR3 was used daily, the Battery starts loosing capacity and i would upgrade to the BTR5, if the Quality would noch vary by much, when compared airplay vs AAC if using spotify.

Best regards Philip

Edit: added some information on use cases

 

[BadgerRivFan]

I use a HiBy R3 Pro Saber (among other portable toys) while on my home WiFi network and stream to it via AirPlay. IMHO, this sounds better than any Bluetooth option regardless of the codec.

The R3 also has Tidal and Qobuz built in, so if you wanted to “upgrade” to a lossless streaming service you could, and leave your iPhone completely out of the equation. The search function and UI is a little wonky on the R3 Pro Saber but the sound quality is very impressive. I would probably still stick with streaming content to it via AirPlay for the best overall experience. Form factor of this device is also good... not too big, and not too small.

Away from WiFi you would still have a great sounding portable DAP that receives an AAC Bluetooth signal from your iPhone.

I can’t comment on the FiiO M6 as I don’t have any personal experience with it.

As with all of this stuff it comes down to personal tastes and what works well for your own situation. There is no “best,” so I’m glad you didn’t ask about that .

 

[loephi]

Thank you very much for your post. i saw a review of the hiby by i guess z-reviews (anyway the one who is swaring a lot haha). If i am correct this airplay on the hiby works only at home. (When both iphone and dap are connected to home wifi) The fiio m6 seems to get also direkt airplay when im outside for a walk. however then i have to connect the fiio to the iphone like it is a wifi-router, so is not as convient as standard bluetooth.

i have been a little to unprecise with my initial description. I would like to mainly use it also outdoors and on walks so airplay over homenetwork is not that suitable for me. i changed that also in the initual post.

So it seems airplay may get me some better quality but i am still unsure, because i personally cant really hear a difference between 256 and 320 kbit/s and therefore i dontknow if airplay is really necessary when only using spotify.

Best regads Phil

 

[tmb821]

I can’t tell a difference between aac and ldac or aptx. I’ve played the same songs using the same equipment on iPhone and Samsung tablet. Btr3 and Kz as10. Sounds the same to me...

 

[Hanesu]

Thank you very much for your post. i saw a review of the hiby by i guess z-reviews (anyway the one who is swaring a lot haha). If i am correct this airplay on the hiby works only at home. (When both iphone and dap are connected to home wifi) The fiio m6 seems to get also direkt airplay when im outside for a walk. however then i have to connect the fiio to the iphone like it is a wifi-router, so is not as convient as standard bluetooth.

i have been a little to unprecise with my initial description. I would like to mainly use it also outdoors and on walks so airplay over homenetwork is not that suitable for me. i changed that also in the initual post.

So it seems airplay may get me some better quality but i am still unsure, because i personally cant really hear a difference between 256 and 320 kbit/s and therefore i dontknow if airplay is really necessary when only using spotify.

Best regads Phil

I am also very interested to find out more about the possibilities of Airplay in the Hiby and Fiio DAP (can they stream via Airplay without Wifi?)! Actually I wrote Hiby about it but they did not reply. Where did you get the info about the Fiio from? And like this you would not use the mobile data of your phone?
Generally it seems to be possible to use Airplay without Wifi - Mojo Poly is the proof!
And besides potentially better sq Airplay has the advantage of being able to easily switch between sources- where regular bt often struggles...

 

[BadgerRivFan]

I am also very interested to find out more about the possibilities of Airplay in the Hiby and Fiio DAP (can they stream via Airplay without Wifi?)!

Hadn’t tried it before, but I just tried to AirPlay content from my iPhone to the R3 Pro by connecting the HiBy to the phone via the personal hotspot. This is how you would do it with the Chord Poly. It worked just fine.

Regarding data usage, I guess if the content is downloaded on your phone then it wouldn’t count toward your monthly data quota. Not sure why you wouldn’t just want to use the micro SD on the DAP though if you were going to do that however...

 

[loephi]

I am also very interested to find out more about the possibilities of Airplay in the Hiby and Fiio DAP (can they stream via Airplay without Wifi?)! Actually I wrote Hiby about it but they did not reply. Where did you get the info about the Fiio from? And like this you would not use the mobile data of your phone?
Generally it seems to be possible to use Airplay without Wifi - Mojo Poly is the proof!
And besides potentially better sq Airplay has the advantage of being able to easily switch between sources- where regular bt often struggles...

The Fiios can definately do it both over a homenetwork or directly. if used directly you need to create a hotspot with the iphone and connect the player to the hotspot. ive found no proof of it but fiio has an video which shows the standard way with a homenetwork and also mentions, that the player can be connected to the iphones hotspot to use it in „direct“ mode:



however this is a bit unconvinient in my view and i think i will stick with aac bluetooth for my iphone. Because when the hotspot of the phone is used for airplay it will have to use mobile data for the phone itself. this will then also not be as easy to change sources because then you have to deactivate hotspot, put iphone back in normal wifi etc.

i dont know it for hiby but i nowhere saw something like direct airplay

i did listen yesterday for about 4 hours a/b/c ing between fiio btr3 bluetooth, used as a dac via usb and directly the jack of my surfacebook.

as long as the polaris was coupled to the fiio btr3 i did not notice any difference really. only on the direct surface book jack i think the highs are very slightly washed out. but im not sure if i can repeat this in a blind test or if it is just a placebo.

So i think i will get a btr5 if my old btr3 dies.

In longterm maybe i will switch to the m6 and use spotify directly from the player however i am not sure yet, because i like having a „central“ coordinator like my phone. this would then complicate things again because i have to sync my songs on the player etc.

best regards

Phil from switzerland

 

[Hanesu]

Hadn’t tried it before, but I just tried to AirPlay content from my iPhone to the R3 Pro by connecting the HiBy to the phone via the personal hotspot. This is how you would do it with the Chord Poly. It worked just fine.

Regarding data usage, I guess if the content is downloaded on your phone then it wouldn’t count toward your monthly data quota. Not sure why you wouldn’t just want to use the micro SD on the DAP though if you were going to do that however...

Hadn’t tried it before, but I just tried to AirPlay content from my iPhone to the R3 Pro by connecting the HiBy to the phone via the personal hotspot. This is how you would do it with the Chord Poly. It worked just fine.

Regarding data usage, I guess if the content is downloaded on your phone then it wouldn’t count toward your monthly data quota. Not sure why you wouldn’t just want to use the micro SD on the DAP though if you were going to do that however...

Thanks!
Are you sure about the Poly? I had always assumed one does not need the Hotspot of the phone to run the Poly via Airplay on the go. I thought the Poly can somehow create its own short range Network similar to Apple‘s Air Drop technology (that also uses the Wifi Module).
But then yes, the hotspot of the phone should definitely work, since it offers the player a network that it can use. But I am pretty sure that it will use mobile data then, because basically if any device uses the hotspot it costs mobile data. The phone sends each song to the player with its own (mobile) network, right?

About why not to use the SD card of the player: The answer is simple: I would like to use a streaming service that cannot be used with the R3 directly (since it is limited to Tidal and Qubuz).

 

[Hanesu]

Hadn’t tried it before, but I just tried to AirPlay content from my iPhone to the R3 Pro by connecting the HiBy to the phone via the personal hotspot. This is how you would do it with the Chord Poly. It worked just fine.

Regarding data usage, I guess if the content is downloaded on your phone then it wouldn’t count toward your monthly data quota. Not sure why you wouldn’t just want to use the micro SD on the DAP though if you were going to do that however...

Ok, now I understand what you meant! I thought by „direct airplay“ you meant what I have discribed in my posting above (the player creates its own short range network as some Apple devices can do), but you meant just using the hotspot of the phone! Yes, that definitely should work with both, the Fiio and Hiby (basically any device that offers Airplay)! But I agree with you, this does not make it more convenient than BT and sound differences should not be too big.

 

[BadgerRivFan]

Are you sure about the Poly? I had always assumed one does not need the Hotspot of the phone to run the Poly via Airplay on the go. I thought the Poly can somehow create its own short range Network similar to Apple‘s Air Drop technology (that also uses the Wifi Module).

Hmmm... I have the Mojo/Poly combo, and the only way (that I know of) to AirPlay to the Poly when not connected to a WiFi network is via a personal hotspot connection to your phone. If there is a "short range network similar to Apple's AirDrop technology" I have never heard of this.

I guess now having typed that, I did read somewhere along the line that there is a way for a HomePod to communicate with an iPhone (or iPad) without the use of a WiFi network, but I think that's a limited use Apple proprietary thing (between Apple devices only) and not something that a third-party device would have access to.

But then yes, the hotspot of the phone should definitely work, since it offers the player a network that it can use. But I am pretty sure that it will use mobile data then, because basically if any device uses the hotspot it costs mobile data. The phone sends each song to the player with its own (mobile) network, right?

I'm not really sure about this, but you are most likely correct. I've never really had an occasion where I needed to use the personal hotspot tech within my phone and I couldn't even tell you how much mobile data I use. I don't have an "unlimited" data plan, but whatever my monthly data cap is I never even get close to it as I am primarily using WiFi except when traveling in the car.

 

[Hanesu]

Hmmm... I have the Mojo/Poly combo, and the only way (that I know of) to AirPlay to the Poly when not connected to a WiFi network is via a personal hotspot connection to your phone. If there is a "short range network similar to Apple's AirDrop technology" I have never heard of this.

I guess now having typed that, I did read somewhere along the line that there is a way for a HomePod to communicate with an iPhone (or iPad) without the use of a WiFi network, but I think that's a limited use Apple proprietary thing (between Apple devices only) and not something that a third-party device would have access to.

Yes, what you write about the Homepod is exactly what I meant! I am not sure about the Poly either, just I remember I have read something (most likely here) that gave me the impression (or at least I assumed) this type of Airplay works with Chord`s device, too! I might be wrong, though. Might be a good question for the Poly forum! I will post it there later!

I'm not really sure about this, but you are most likely correct. I've never really had an occasion where I needed to use the personal hotspot tech within my phone and I couldn't even tell you how much mobile data I use. I don't have an "unlimited" data plan, but whatever my monthly data cap is I never even get close to it as I am primarily using WiFi except when traveling in the car.

Yeah, maybe the only way to find out is to watch the phone`s data usage (can be displayed in the settings of the phone) when using the device via Hotspot/Airplay!
Unfortunately I don`t have either the Hiby or M6 (yet), so I can`t do it...

 

[Hanesu]

Might be a good question for the Poly forum! I will post it there later!

I already got a reply from the Poly forum and I was right! Poly CAN create its own hotspot and can be used on the go without wifi or using the hotspot of one`s phone. So it generally seems to be possible! Good to know, also that if makers of of devices advertise an "Airplay" feature this can be interpreted differently...

 

[Scorpio1957]

You can use the Poly in two ways, use your phone’s as a hotspot therefore allowing you still to surf the Internet while listening to music or use the Poly’s hotspot mode which I do to sometimes play my Tidal music that is downloaded on my I Phone offline or play my music from my SD Card.

Hope that helps and enjoy your music and keep safe.

 

[Dobrescu George]

This was the thread that seemed the most connected to iPhones so I thought that I could share this here. If you need a nice leather case for iPhone, ddHifi makes some that are really nice in quality!

 

[theMUKe]

I use a HiBy R3 Pro Saber (among other portable toys) while on my home WiFi network and stream to it via AirPlay. IMHO, this sounds better than any Bluetooth option regardless of the codec.

The R3 also has Tidal and Qobuz built in, so if you wanted to “upgrade” to a lossless streaming service you could, and leave your iPhone completely out of the equation. The search function and UI is a little wonky on the R3 Pro Saber but the sound quality is very impressive. I would probably still stick with streaming content to it via AirPlay for the best overall experience. Form factor of this device is also good... not too big, and not too small.

Away from WiFi you would still have a great sounding portable DAP that receives an AAC Bluetooth signal from your iPhone.

I can’t comment on the FiiO M6 as I don’t have any personal experience with it.

As with all of this stuff it comes down to personal tastes and what works well for your own situation. There is no “best,” so I’m glad you didn’t ask about that .

Could you manage to use AAC codec for pairing with the R3 Pro?

I am trying to pair from an iPhone XS and I only get SBC - even when selecting AAC in Bluetooth options on R3 Pro.

Both devices should support AAC…