The Top 3 Bluetooth Music Receivers for Streaming Music From Your Phone/iPod to Stereo Speakers

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Just about any modern phone has a built in mp3 player and can hold thousands of songs. Unfortunately, it has traditionally been tricky to output the music to speakers without the use of specialist wires. Thankfully, modern Bluetooth music receivers make streaming music simple and they have become very inexpensive recently. Here’s the top 3 *inexpensive* Bluetooth audio receivers for your phone or iPod:

1) Miccus BluBridge Bluetooth Audio Receiver
Our Rating:

5 out of 5 Stars

A sleek little unit with measures just under 1.5 inches long and 1 .1 inches high, the BluBridge packs a lot of features into its little case and features stereo output. Pairing with the device is a simple case of finding the device on your phone and entering the passcode “0000” the first time it is used. Most importantly however, the sound quality is excellent with no noticeable difference between the BluBridge’s Bluetooth connection and the same audio passes through a wired connection.

Apart from its size probably the most impressive thing about this unit is the 8 hour battery that makes the Miccus truly portable – great for listening to your music over the car radio, going over to a friend’s house, or even the occasional outdoor barbeque.

2) Belkin Bluetooth Audio Receiver – F8Z492-P
Our Rating:

4 out of 5 Stars

The F8Z492-P from Belkin takes a more rounded approach to the design side of things, resembling more a small “puck” than the square Miccus. Easy to use and with perfect audio clarity the Belkin is a great audio product, and cheaper than the Miccus to boot, but it has a number of minor disadvantages as well.

Firstly, there is no internal battery in the unit, so this is a wired product only. This is a non-issue if all you want to do is to listen through the same set of speakers all the time but it does mean that you would have to invest in a power inverter if you want to use it in a car with an audio jack or Bluetooth streaming capabilities. Another small negative point is the range of the Belkin seems to be a little less than Miccus’s effort, but if you live in a small apartment this is great value for money.

3) BT iSpeaker Bluetooth Audio Receiver
Our Rating:

3 out of 5 Stars

The iSpeaker is the cheapest of the receivers in this mini-roundup by quite some margin. The audio quality is great but the range is also the poorest in comparison to the others with a range of less than 10 feet if you want to maintain clear sound. If you just plan on sitting your phone beside the receiver then it works flawlessly, and turns any audio system Bluetooth capably.

One nice feature about the BT iSpeaker is that the plug is built into the unit so you don’t have to worry about extra wires. For the low, low price, this is a solid product.


Belkin F8Z492-P Bluetooth Music Receiver
List Price: $49.99
Sale Price: $28.20
Availability: Usually ships in 1 to 2 months



The Technology Behind Bluetooth Audio Receivers

Technology

Bluetooth is a convenient way for drivers to speak without holding up a cell phone to their ears. It’s also used in business situations, such as in call centers where individuals require constant contact with an earpiece. But how does a Bluetooth audio receiver work, and where did its unusual name originate? The receiver is the earpiece- the little black bud that is hooked onto an ear of the user. It receives wireless information from an adapter, usually a cell phone that has Bluetooth technology. Sometimes, an adapter is a card that is inserted into a laptop or personal computer.

Due to its specialized purpose, the Bluetooth audio receiver usually only allows for operation within 10 to 100 meters. Its single digital wireless protocol made it a convenient technological advance in mobile computing; offering up 79 Bluetooth channels spaced 1 MHz apart. Whenever devices that have Bluetooth come into range of one another, their LMP or Link Management Protocol notifies the user – and the devices can communicate seamlessly. The seamless aspect of this technology is what makes it remarkable; whenever there is interference from other devices, Bluetooth will seek new unused frequencies and utilize them for an uninterrupted signal.

How fast are Bluetooth transfer rates?
Data transfer rates of 720kbps within a short wireless range make it possible to do some essential computing-and even lead a personal conversation. The low-watt usage of the receiver enables more function than a full-sized cell phone which may use battery far quicker. As a Bluetooth device, a cell phone can support asynchronous data channels- that means as many as 3 voice channels can be supported, along with additional data channels; a remarkable feat of synchronization and usability for the sake of the consumer and the business world.

How did Bluetooth’s inventors come up with the name?
The name Bluetooth is derived from the second King of Denmark, who helped in bringing two countries together. In a sense, the technology of Bluetooth enables the seamless communication of dissimilar devices.

Bluetooth is a revolutionary technology that helps dissimilar mobile computing devices to connect and communicate seamlessly at short range. Without Bluetooth, it would be more difficult to connect a laptop to a cell phone and many employees on a worksite to a team leader – this is why it is good to understand the simple yet vital role that Bluetooth plays in everyday business matters.