Has anyone tried PT-100 with BTM-1 Bluetooth apt-x adapter?

[rob69]

Hi, Do any PT-100 owners out there have experience with BTM-1 Bluetooth apt-x adapter? Does it work well? There's no manual on product site for the BTM-1, so not sure how it works.

Few other questions:

Is sound quality equal to CD as documented? I would be playing FLAC files.

How can you tell if your PC's Bluetooth adapter supports apt-x? Does BTM-1 somehow show you if connection is full apt-x on both ends? I read that PC will default to a lower inferior compression codec if PCs Bluetooth adapter doesn't support apt-x.
I have one year old HP Envy all-in-one (Windows 10) with Broadcom 20702 Bluetooth 4.0 Adapter, but can't find any specification info anywhere.
Distance from PC is 25feet, and my only alternative would be to run a 25foot USB2.0 cable which I assume is way too long for any audio signal quality.
Someone told me that I can add powered HUBs before the PT-100 DAC connection and at halfway point to boost USB signal, but I gather that type of setup or an active USB cable is really only suitable for lower quality signals like printers and security cameras.

[rog1]

I just bought the BTM-1 for my TA-100, which has the same interface as the PT-100. Works very well and simply - I pair my iPhone via bluetooth and then music just plays through the TA-100 when it is set to the Bluetooth input. No display of bluetooth device name or song name or anything on the TA-100. I tried it with the Spotify app and it works fine. From what I understand, bluetooth is indeed lower quality than USB PCM. My iPhone 6s+ doesn't support apt-x, but you can look at the below link to see which devices support it.

I've decided to stick with my USB connection to the PC for FLAC files and a Chromecast Audio via optical out for Spotify. Do you only listen to FLAC files? If you do streaming, would highly recommend the Chromecast Audio + optical cable as a cheap/flexible high bitrate solution. I also have a Harmony Hub, so I can turn on/off the TA-100 with voice via my Amazon Echo. If you buy a Google Home, you can also pick songs on Spotify with your voice.

www.aptx.com/products

[rob69]

Hi,
Thanks for the input. Your setups sound just like what I want to do, but in my case going all thru the PC instead of the phone. My wife also has an Android tablet, which I forgot about.
I never did this stuff before. I know traditional Windows well, but I know very little about smart phones and tablets and the apps that go with them. I'm lucky I can make a simple phone call.

I wasn't sure what was best to do, but I was ordering the PT-100 the other day and just added the BTM-1 for the heck of it to give it a try too, since they were 15% off.
I'm just adding these to connect my wife's Windows 10 PC in the kitchen to a small Emotiva Mini-X A100 ~50W amp by my TV in the living room.
I thought I could convert some of her favorite CDs into FLACs and put them on the PC and play them on the little stereo.
After that, I also wanted to figure out what Spotify is and play tunes from that via the PC too. Needless to say I have no idea how to do any of this.
The PT-100 should be here tomorrow, so I have about 2 days to figure out step 1, then will try to figure out the rest next week.

Like I said above, I was initially intending (and I'd prefer) to run a USB cable between them for better quality, but it's 25 feet, and I'm told that "MIGHT" work with 2 USB cables + 2 additional powered hubs. Sounded like I'd spend the extra money and it still might not work well, so thought I'd better at least try the apt-x option first.
Would you say that your apt-x is more like mp3 quality, and your USB connection is more on par with CD quality, and the Chromecast Audio/Toslink quality is a lot better than CD quality?

I need to go out to the Spotify website to see what it is and how it works. My son in Washington DC told me to try it because he liked it.
I assume there's a Spotify Android app for running it on an Android phone or tablet. But if you want to play Spotify on a Windows PC, do you just play it from their website, or do you have to download a Windows App from the Microsoft store? Can you use the free Spotify or do you need the one you pay for every month?

I never heard of a Chromcast Audio. Just took a quick peek on Google, but didn't see a manual I could look at.
Am I seeing right that it has a USB cable for power only from power supply, then a 3.5mm line out that can connect to the TA-100 via an RCA L+R connection, or you can plug in a Toslink cable with mini-Toslink connector on the Chromcast Audio end and a regular Toslink connector on the TA-100 end?
Then you download the Google Home App from the Google App store to the PC/tablet/phone.
Then you use the Google Home App to connect with the Chromecast Audio somehow via the WIFI connection from you home network's WIFI router?
Is the Chromecast Audio just another device on your WIFI router, like a PC or printer?
Then, do you run Spotify on your PC and somehow set it to use the Chromecast Audio as the output device? Or do you run it from within the Google Home App?
Do you need to buy the Google Home Device to do all this, or can you download the Google Home App and run the app with only the Chromecast Audio device?
I guess what I'm asking is - Is the Chromecast Audio only useable as an add-on to the Google Home device?
I see they are on the Google website for $25 ($10 off) and $129, so $154 for both. Is that the best place to buy them?

I didn't realize that you could plug a mini-Toslink plug into a regular 3.5mm port, or is it some kind of special port? Is the sound quality/reliability of the Toslink cable better than with the RCA L+R cable because the Toslink inputs into the TA-100's DAC and the RCA gets it's signal from a lesser DAC inside the Chromecast Audio or the PC?

I'm very sorry for the million questions and the long reply. Just trying to understand this stuff for the first time, and I now realize that few things I thought I knew, I really don't.

Thanks a lot! Your solution and ideas seem like just what I need and then some. The Chromecast Audio would be great if I don't have to get the Google Home device to make it work. But, if I need another $129, it will have to go on the back burner for a while. Sometimes I wish that I just had a little more money, then I have to kick myself and be grateful for what I do have.

Take care,
Rob

[rog1]

Haha you did indeed ask quite a few questions here...  Let me try to do my best to answer:

Recommendation: buy Chromecast Audio ($25), mini-toslink to toslink cable ($6), and download Spotify on the Windows 10 PC (free with ads, or $10/month for higher quality and no ads).

Spotify is a great streaming service.  Likely has 95%+ of the songs/albums that you want to listen to, and is only $10/month for ad-free and 320 kbps bitrate streaming, which will be very hard to distinguish from FLAC or CD quality for 90%+ of people.  I certainly can't hear the difference.  Signing up for Spotify will eliminate the need to rip CDs and will give you access to almost any music you want to listen to, etc.  You can access this on your smartphone/tablet (iPhone or android) or PC (Windows or Mac) via website or downloadable app.

Chromecast Audio is made by Google and allows you to play streaming media via this dongle that you can connect to the PT-100 via either 3.5mm-to-RCA or a mini-toslink to toslink cable (3.5mm doubles as mini-toslink on this device).  The mini-toslink will allow for digital output at CD quality and will use the PT-100's (presumably) higher quality DAC.  You can control which songs are played on the Chromecast Audio by using the Spotify app on either your smartphone/tablet or PC.  I would use the PC.  You basically connect both the Chromecast Audio and PC to the same home wifi network, and then select the Chromecast Audio as the output device in the Spotify app.  This will let you play music without running cables.  Technically, what occurs is the chromecast audio connects directly to Spotify via wifi and streams the content directly, bypassing a low bandwidth bluetooth/other connection.  You don't need the Google Home product - that's a separate product and not required.  It allows for voice control of certain devices and other smart home features.

In terms of quality, I think the Chromecast is better than bluetooth (even with apt-x, which not all devices support) if you sign up for Spotify premium, which allows for the 320 kbps streaming.  Should be the same quality via chromecast audio that you get via USB.  

[rob69]

Hi,
I don't know if you should laugh or cry when you see all my questions, and my ability to write 40 things in one run-on sentence is amazing I know.
I usually apologize before I write the 1st sentence, then it just gets away from me and in the end I wonder if I should hit submit or delete.
I admire your ability to sum it all up in a few sentences.
Anyway, joking aside, thanks a lot for your patience!

I really like your Spotify solution, so I'm going to go for it too. The Google Home device sounds neat, but I'm happy I don't need it for now.
And $31 is a lot cheaper than buying long USB cables and hubs for maybe small minimal gain. And my wife will be happy I don't cause more clutter.
It will work. I will probably look into the flac file via cable option for my main PC and stereo in my cave, to play my older hard to find stuff. I don't know how to rip a flac anyway - it can wait.

One question - If I get one paid Spotify account, do you know if it can be used at the same time on more than one device; say if my wife listens to it upstairs and I want to listen at the same time to something different downstairs? or would you each need a separate Spotify account and login separately for that? Just wondering if I'd have to pay for 2 accounts or not? I'll try to download the free one this weekend and see how it works and read the documentation for it. It's time I get caught up with the times.

I looked at the apt-x list you gave me, and there aren't any HP PCs on it and they don't list Bluetooth adapters. But I did see that they listed the new 2017 version of my wife's 2016 Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 tablet. Looking at the specs for the new 2017 version of the tablet I don't see it specifically mention apt-x support, but I do see that it does list support for the A2DP Bluetooth profile which I think is where apt-x comes in. And the new one is Bluetooth version 4.1, and I think our 2016 version is also Bluetooth 4.1, so maybe we're good with her tablet. I think her all-in-one PC might be an older version of Bluetooth, because it's about 2 years old; but maybe we get lucky. I guess I have to find out when and how apt-x popped up - there were some other tabs on the website that had the apt-x list, so I'll take a look what I can find out.
Anyway, thanks for giving me the link.

I will let you know how I make out.
Thanks a bunch for your help, and Merry Christmas!
Rob

[leonski]

www.digitalaudioreview.net/2016/01/how-to-enable-aptx-bluetooth-audio-on-your-macbook-imac/

I didn't see any APPLE products in the database, so I looked it up.

Here is an article with some further information about Apple and APTx.

[vcautokid]

Hmmm, I had been curious about Aptx myself. Sure done the Bluetooth thing. Works. Excited? No, but handy in a pinch you know. USB and other wired sources are my play preferences. Would love to get some impressions of Aptx too.

[leonski]

Several Flavors of APT-x exist. The Best might be as good as a FLAC or ALAC file. If both ends are not APT-x, it'll default ot a lesser standard which won't sound as good. 'Weakest Link', as it were.

I'd like to know if the EMO BT Dongle will work with my CA DacMagic+. CA gets 100$ for the dongle which is functionally identical to the EMO product. I'm DONE with CA.

[Dan Laufman]

The Emotiva BTM-1 will only work with Emotiva gear.

We're working on a free standing BT receiver product with analog and digital out.

[leonski]

Jan 15, 2017 11:22:40 GMT -5 Dan Laufman said:

The Emotiva BTM-1 will only work with Emotiva gear.

We're working on a free standing BT receiver product with analog and digital out.

Any idea when?     3 months?   6 months?   By years end?

I guess I'd sacrifice another input for this.    Will it output Optical / Coax or maybe BNC?   

Handle APT-x and A2D2 ?

I'm not one to shy away paying what something is worth, but CA gets 100$ for a dongle that anybody else gets 50$ for, tops.   

[RandyJK]

On my PT-100 the BTM-1 works fine with IPad Bluetooth
but it does not work with Amazon Echo Dot. It is
recognized but will not pair

[tchaik]

Jan 20, 2018 12:40:43 GMT -5 RandyJK said:

On my PT-100 the BTM-1 works fine with IPad Bluetooth
but it does not work with Amazon Echo Dot. It is
recognized but will not pair

mine works just fine on my TA-100.

[josh6113]

I just bought a Chromecast audio for my pt-100 to stream Pandora and Spotify.The sound quality is pretty amazing and I hook it up via a 3.5 mm to rca analog RCA and it's awesome.I was going to buy the dongle from emotiva but Bluetooth audio is lesser from my experience and I do not like the range.So far the Chromecast audio is the way to go.The pt-100 is amazing though in my use for movies and music.