Plug and played
Spotify has 268 million premium subscribers. That’s 268 million more reasons to be excited about the addition of lossless audio to their premium tier. The only problem is that your smartphone or tablet is holding you back from fully experiencing that tier.
Case in point, the Google Pixel 10 series lacks support for one of the best Bluetooth codecs for music lovers, aptX Adaptive Lossless. And if your headphones don’t support LDAC, which Pixels do, you’re not getting the most out of your Pixel’s audio streams.
To transmit the best audio to your Bluetooth earbuds, headphones, or IEMs, you might want to consider using external transmitters, also known as dongles. These dongles act as external “sound cards” to enhance your audio experience.
I’ve been switching between two dongles for a couple of weeks now, testing them with various devices. With a few quirks here and there, I’ve found that they deliver on the promise of providing plug-and-play experiences.
Each unit comes with a transmitter and a USB-A to Type-C adapter for versatile connectivity. The dongles are easy to use, and I’ve had no issues plugging them into phones with cases on them.
The BTD 700 and the QCC Dongle Pro both offer a seamless audio experience, making them ideal choices for enhancing your music listening sessions.
Dongle drama
The dongles aren’t without quirks, though. The QCC Dongle Pro has only one LED color for the hi-res codecs, so you won’t know if you’re streaming aptX Lossless or LDAC, for example. You’ll need to look at the app for that.
Since the Sennheiser BTD 700 doesn’t have a mobile app for pairing, you’ll have to put the dongle and listening device into pairing mode and just wait for them to connect.
Another thing to note is that using these dongles may drain your smartphone or tablet’s battery faster, so keep that in mind for long listening sessions.
Despite these minor drawbacks, both the BTD 700 and the QCC Dongle Pro offer exceptional audio quality and range, making them worthwhile investments for music enthusiasts. With the BTD 700 priced at and the Questyle QCC Dongle Pro at , choosing the right one depends on your specific needs and budget.
