I received my Bluewave Get yesterday. (I was part of the crowdfunding platform on Indigogo, in an early tier.)
I have been eagerly awaiting this product before any such device existed and did not hesitate in the least as soon as I heard of the Bluewave offering.
I’ve had a few hours of listening so far, and believe I can fairly represent what my impressions are thus far. To summarize at the beginning, Get SOUNDS GREAT!
Can safely say that it has the cleanest Bluetooth sound quality of any BT device that I have heard so far. [Which is substantial quantity, as I have probably a dozen or more receivers for earphones/headphones, speakers, BT for my car audio and my home hifi system (which is in an acoustically-treated listening room that includes 4-way tower monitors that I custom-designed and built, 31 band EQ, valve preamps, high-end T-amps, etc.-- I have training as a recording engineer and also have multi-track recording equipment). I also build my own BT speaker systems from scratch, using BT PCBs and amp boards.]
The sound is CLEAN, with very articulate, detailed, transmission. The entire frequency spectrum is well-represented, with no particular peaks throughout. Meaning the bass isn’t bloated or muddy, the treble doesn’t contain harshness in certain regions. It that respect, I was afraid it might have a “tone” or pre-decided sound signature (EQ) for ‘warmth’ or an overly-pronounced “smile EQ” profile. It does have punchy bass, and sparkling highs, but the midrange is also clean and pure and not pushed to the background. Yeaaah!!
Stereo separation is very good, with GREAT IMAGING. The sound floor is very low with a good ‘blackness’ during quiet moments in sound. There are too many variables with smartphone audio to even mention or fairly review. All phone processes can interrupt, cause clicks, phone noises, etc., so those are not fair to evaluate and must try to be overlooked. (I regularly turn off many processes, notifications, etc. when I am solely listening to music. Even things like Location services I have found cause dropouts in BT, etc).
My GET paired immediately to my phone with no problems whatsoever. No code was needed, the device name (Bluewave Get) was shown and connected strongly and with no issues. It has connected automatically--immediately and with consistency--in further pairings.
I have as yet to test the built-in microphone and use for phone calls, but will add observations later if needed.
For reference, I am using an Android phone, LG V20. This device has very good audio components (quad-DAC, clean amp able to push high-impedance headphones), as well as the apt-x HD codec for BT transmission. That I one reason I was excited to pair the Get with another apt-hd device. I can safely say that the sound is very clean, and certainly nearly as good as wired sound. I haven’t heard anything that comes closer to direct-wired sound. And certainly this has become even more important for the newer devices that do not even contain a 3.5mm headphone jack (and quite sure that “feature” will become the norm on most smartphones very soon).
My phone briefly showed a message confirming that I was connected to a apt-x HD device. One concern however is that the GET showed a blue LED, rather than purple (as the initial Bluewave information stated it would be purple for apt-x HD connections). I am not sure if that has changed during production, or if there is a problem. The sound quality was certainly good, and I listened to a variety of files including FLAC and mp3 (lower and highest rates). My primary smartphone/device player is PowerAmp (alpha build 704). I use custom EQ profiles for each IEM/headphone, speaker, car audio, etc. as each tuning can require some adjustments.
I have tried several headphones, including V-Moda M100, M80/xs, AudioTechnica ATH-M50, Shure SRH 940, Mee Pinnacle P1/P2, etc.—all with good results on the GET. I have tweaked EQ profiles for the BT versions of the devices.
A few things that are of a bit of concern to me I will discuss now. Firstly, the analog potentiometer “steps” or values seem heavily weighted to the max side of the pot. Meaning, I have to turn the volume knob several degrees of turning (from “-“ setting) to get ANY sound, then the degrees of turn need to be very precise to vary the level I want to very loud (max “+” setting). This is a bit troublesome in use. It does not affect the quality of the sound, nor do I need to constantly change the volume. I understand that your source volume can play a role here (as it is essentially pre-amping) but the pot values still do not seem properly weighted throughout the turns even with lower/higher volumes on sources.
Secondly, the RANGE of BT seems very low. At times, I can barely get a few yards from my phone before losing TX or having dropouts. Mind you, when its close it is solid and great, just the actual range is not very far. By contrast, other devices seem to double, or even quadruple range before dropping out (although they do not sound as good). For example, the BT built into my SMSL AD18 amp seems to have many times more range. I can barely get out of the same room with GET, but can go into 3 rooms and downstairs with the amp’s BT without losing connection. I understand this can be expected with such a small device, and the size of the antenna, and RF shielding, etc. As well as the varied devices being paired--just an observation with the devices I am currently using. I understand RF probably more than the average person, as I build BT boards into my own speakers and shielding for electronics in close-proximity, transmission through the housings, etc are very tricky…
For summary, the GET Is what I wanted it to be. It is finally the device that can compare to WIRED SOUND QUALITY without wires, through a BT connection! So I can keep my phone in my pocket, backpack, and not have to mess with it.
All of the controls on the GET work flawlessly. The main power button (bigger round one) is multi-function, also controlling Play/Pause and to Answer calls. The two triangular buttons are FF/REV tracks. (you can also hold down the track buttons to ff/rev within the same track, at least with PowerAmp). All buttons have a good feel to them, are easy to find by feel and use without looking at them, have a positive click without accidently having multiple clicks. The layout is very ergonomic, for me its perfect.
I personally like the analog wheel volume control rather than volume buttons (pot-weighting aside). The clip is strong and attached well to clothing. The device seems SOLID and well-constructed.
At the moment, I could not open the USER MANUAL document (in English and French) on the Bluewave website:
http://www.bluewaveaudio.ca/bwg01/
but I am sure that will be corrected soon and before mass production/distribution.
I would like to find out if the LED color functions are as they originally stated. It certainly utilizes an RGB LED, as other colors are used for functions (Blinking Blue for pairing BT, Blue for connected BT, Red for charging, Green when fully charged).
Some reviewers have mentioned wanting a USB-C port rather than the usb-micro port. I too, like the newer C standard but it is bigger, probably making the device need to be larger, and not as mainstream in use as yet. Charging was fast but i have not completely drained the battery yet, running a good 5-6 hours though in use.
The GET also looks very good, I think. Its understated--No flashy colors or style, but works with all dress and is “out of the way.” It has some solidity to it but is rather light in actual weight. I like the headphone jack placement on the bottom out of the way too.
I hope these observations are of some help to those still waiting for their GET. Overall, I am greatly pleased and think that Bluewave has produced a superior BT amp! It truly does sound very good, rivaling wired sound quality and dedicated headphone amplifiers. The BT transmission is clean and detailed, sound floor is low, the amp is loud and punchy. In sound quality, for the size, it is truly remarkable!
tim
