[Alberto01]

The AT-PHA55BT remains my favorite due to the soundstage and imaging, even though technically the BTR3 is better.

What is better about the BTR3 compared to the AT-PHA55BT?

 

[jeffri]

Technicality like the noise floor, resolution and even extension on the low end, the BTR3 wins. But it can't create a soundstage and imaging like the AT-PHA55BT could, which is more holographic.

 

[rkw]

it seems like the audio quality is markedly better when I pair the BTR3 to my android phone, a Oneplus 6. Here it's using the LDAC codec vs what I assume is just Aptx (not even HD!) from my Macbook Pro.

Your Macbook Pro should connect with AAC, which sounds pretty good (better than regular aptX). While music is playing, view which codec it's using by pressing the option key and clicking on the Bluetooth icon and select the device. Maybe it's connecting on SBC and you may need to enable AAC and aptX on your Mac.
https://www.macrumors.com/how-to/enable-aptx-aac-bluetooth-audio-codecs-macos/

Is the USB Dac mode not the same as LDAC?

No. LDAC (and aptX) are codecs for Bluetooth only. On USB, the BTR3 supports up to 16 bit 48kHz resolution. If your source is CD quality, it will stream lossless.

 

[5twnr]

Your Macbook Pro should connect with AAC, which sounds pretty good (better than regular aptX). While music is playing, view which codec it's using by pressing the option key and clicking on the Bluetooth icon and select the device. Maybe it's connecting on SBC and you may need to enable AAC and aptX on your Mac.
https://www.macrumors.com/how-to/enable-aptx-aac-bluetooth-audio-codecs-macos/

No. LDAC (and aptX) are codecs for Bluetooth only. On USB, the BTR3 supports up to 16 bit 48kHz resolution. If your source is CD quality, it will stream lossless.

It seems like the Macbook Pro is connecting via Aptx (not HD). I can try forcing AAC.

For USB, it definitely seems worse quality than straight off the headphone jack or LDAC with my Android.

 

[rkw]

For USB, it definitely seems worse quality than straight off the headphone jack

That's really odd. The Mac should stream the audio straight through USB to the BTR3 (downsample to 48k if you're playing hi-res files). I don't think there's any setting for the BTR3 that would affect it. What music player on the Mac are you using?

 

[5twnr]

That's really odd. The Mac should stream the audio straight through USB to the BTR3 (downsample to 48k if you're playing hi-res files). I don't think there's any setting for the BTR3 that would affect it. What music player on the Mac are you using?

Using iTunes with no equalizer

I also have a usb-c only Mac, so I need to use a USB-c -> USB -> USB-c to get to the BTR3. Could it be the conversion?

 

[rkw]

I also have a usb-c only Mac, so I need to use a USB-c -> USB -> USB-c to get to the BTR3. Could it be the conversion?

You should be able to use USB-C to USB-C cable. From post #752:
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/fii...hd-ldac-hwa-lhdc.886101/page-51#post-14639700

 

[mykeldg]

Using iTunes with no equalizer

I also have a usb-c only Mac, so I need to use a USB-c -> USB -> USB-c to get to the BTR3. Could it be the conversion?

Try changing the Samplerate from 48khz to 44.1khz. That's what I did and it sound better; especially since 90% of audio and streaming are encoded in 44.1khz anyway. Forcing 48KHz sounded less detailed to me.

I doubt any added USB interface / adapter would affect a digital signal. That said, LDAC I believe runs at 24-bit. So yes, it is possible that LDAC have better dynamic range than via USB which is capped at 16-bit.

 

[Mujaji]

How does the Btr3 handle connecting to an android Phone and a Windows PC at the same time?

I have a Btr1 and if it connects to two devices at the same time and I walk away from the PC it will beep every 5 seconds forever until I power cycle the unit. Does the btr3 handle this anymore gracefully? I used to use a Sony SBH20 and it was much more flexible and I could stay connected to both devices and walk away and come back to either device with no problems. With the Btr1 I feel like my head has an invisible tether attached to my computer.

 

[mykeldg]

How does the Btr3 handle connecting to an android Phone and a Windows PC at the same time?

I have a Btr1 and if it connects to two devices at the same time and I walk away from the PC it will beep every 5 seconds forever until I power cycle the unit. Does the btr3 handle this anymore gracefully? I used to use a Sony SBH20 and it was much more flexible and I could stay connected to both devices and walk away and come back to either device with no problems. With the Btr1 I feel like my head has an invisible tether attached to my computer.

You can set in the App to switch off auto select source. So that way it doesn't switch back and forth automatically between the 2 devices every time you get a notification sound from the PC.

 

[Mujaji]

You can set in the App to switch off auto select source. So that way it doesn't switch back and forth automatically between the 2 devices every time you get a notification sound from the PC.

Thanks for the info, does It constantly beep at you when you are out of range of one of the devices? That is my biggest problem, Windows 10 is VERY aggressive at reconnecting to bluetooth devices, so I walk past my computer it connects then I go to the other side of the house or leave the house and it beeps constantly over whatever I'm listening forever to until I power the unit off and on again. All other bluetooth devices I have used up until now will give you one disconnection sound and then stop, and I've gotten used to being able to move between my phone and PC effortlessly.

My only solution is for forget the device on the windows PC and repair it from scratch whenever I need to use it which is a lot of steps and annoying. I like everything else about the BTR1 but I can't buy a BTR3 without knowing if its going to have this same annoyance. But it is so specific it's never going to be in a review or a spec sheet.

 

[gwertheim]

How does it compare to the BTR1K, I have that and it works very well not just for music but for YouTube and movies without any sync issues

 

[mykeldg]

Thanks for the info, does It constantly beep at you when you are out of range of one of the devices? That is my biggest problem, Windows 10 is VERY aggressive at reconnecting to bluetooth devices, so I walk past my computer it connects then I go to the other side of the house or leave the house and it beeps constantly over whatever I'm listening forever to until I power the unit off and on again. All other bluetooth devices I have used up until now will give you one disconnection sound and then stop, and I've gotten used to being able to move between my phone and PC effortlessly.

My only solution is for forget the device on the windows PC and repair it from scratch whenever I need to use it which is a lot of steps and annoying. I like everything else about the BTR1 but I can't buy a BTR3 without knowing if its going to have this same annoyance. But it is so specific it's never going to be in a review or a spec sheet.

I do not get the beeping sound. But I am not sure why exactly you get beeping sound in your setup -- it may also be a specific case to your config. But as far as the BTR3 in my setup, when connected to 2 devices, I do not get any beeping. But It gets annoying when it switches between sources when I get notification sounds from either devices and the music gets cut out for a few seconds (to play the notf sound) until it goes back to the device that is playing the music.

 

[mykeldg]

How does it compare to the BTR1K, I have that and it works very well not just for music but for YouTube and movies without any sync issues

I've heard BTR1k has the best bluetooth range / reception. BTR3 has a slightly improved sound quality, and more codecs like LDAC, LHDC and aptx LL. See this youtube vid for sound quality comparison :

(listen via headphones)

 

[y2jdmbfan]

Does anyone know if this will drive the Kaiser Encore well?