Low-volume limitation in BlueTooth stereo transmitters?

[PodPerfect]

Greetings! Longtime lurker on the forums - and longtime fan/hacker of classic clickwheel iPods. I'm big about diyMods, experimenting with capacitors, flash upgrades, everything.

I've been experimenting with stereo Bluetooth adapters. As in, small form factor devices that accept a 2.5mm input, and that transmit to your Bluetooth headphones, speaker, etc. Every product I've tried (or asked about) has an annoying limitation: if the source volume I'm sending is low, but present, the transmitter will simply mute that part. Most of the time this is no big deal; most music has enough dynamic range that I don't notice.

But, this behavior can *ruin* certain tracks with long, quiet passages.

Example: Grantchester Meadows by Pink Floyd. It stars with quiet birds chirping. The device I currently use chops that section up.


Even worse, "Trio" by King Crimson. First 30-45 seconds, erased.

My questions are

• Are there any robust Bluetooth transmitters out there that completely preserve the source? Can anyone recommend a product?
• Or is this some intrinsic limitation with the technology?

(Also, attached photo of one of my diyMods paired with airPods via a BT transmitter. 98% of the time it sounds fine but that other 2% is super annoying.)

 

[buke9]

My question is does it sound better than wired? I know the answer no it doesn’t . Bluetooth is lossy and with compression so it getting better but not as good as wired. Not throwing water on your experiment just being honest. Some MP3’s sound ok on Bluetooth as do others but I prefer wired connection for my audio.

 

[PodPerfect]

Agreed - it's a given that Bluetooth doesn't sound as good as wired. I'm focusing on convenience on the go. The issue I'm describing (to my ears) is worse than compression loss.