Bluetooth Music solutions

Mobile music is often saved in MP3 format. These are small files so you can take your entire music collection with you where ever you go. Furthermore there is a thing called internet radio and online music services such as Spotify™, so you have, while connected to the internet, access to millions of music collections, wherever you are. But…is the quality of an MP3 file enough? Or what should I pay attention to?

To answer that question, first we take a look at what influences the sound quality of music.

The 3 most important parts that determine the quality of the actual sound are;

• The AUDIO FILES
• The TRANSFER
• The SPEAKERS (speakers/headphones, etc.)

We like to elucidate them a little further:

AUDIO FILES;
With an audio file it’s all about the digital audio stored on a Smartphone, computer or other data carriers such as MP3-players, CDs, DVDs and Blu-ray discs.
There are many kinds of compressed file formats. The best known is the MP3, but also AAC and Musepack belong to this category. The advantage of compressed files is that you need a lot less memory to store the same music. This is why compressed music is ideal for Smartphones and tablet PCs.
Compression however, usually involves loss of data. The difference in quality can, depending on how much a file is compressed, be heard when playing the file. MP3 music often (especially with bitrates of 128 Kbps and lower) sounds muffled and the original dynamics is diminished. In most cases this isn’t a disaster, but if you listen to this music on a good set the shortcomings - also for an untrained ear - are often noticeable.
Incidentally, we almost always listen to compressed sound. Songs you download from the internet and music you listen to via satellite or cable, everything is compressed.

Listening tests show that MP3-files with a bit rate of 192 Kbps are almost as good as the original. You can perform this test yourself by converting a song to different MP3-bitrates and then listen to them next to each other.
Is good music quality important to you? Make sure your MP3 audio files are compressed as little as possible and that the bit rate is at least 192 Kbps.

The TRANSFER (Bluetooth /A2DP/AptX)
The development of A2DP has made it possible to transmit hi-fi stereo sound via a wireless Bluetooth connection. The quality is much better than the first Bluetooth audio which was only meant for speech transfer. Marmitek Bluetooth hi-fi solutions are suitable for all audio devices equipped with Bluetooth A2DP. A2DP is the standard for all Smartphones, tablet PCs and MP3 players with Bluetooth. AptX is the newest, highest quality Bluetooth technology for streaming music.
Although Bluetooth is digital and therefore the transfer is free of interference, Bluetooth also uses its own compression (SBC). By using MP3s with at least 192 Kbps (or equal audio files), you will get the best sound quality.

The SPEAKERS
Eventually the maximum sound quality is also determined by the quality of the speakers or headphones.
Smartphones and tablets are often optimised on weight, size, lifespan of the battery and/or price. This often is not beneficial to the quality of the built-in speakers. You can get round this by connecting the headset. However these are often optimised for speech instead of music. Furthermore they limit the freedom of movement because they are wired.
When listening to music you preferably choose for speakers that are optimised for music.
Give your music experience a boost by connecting your Smartphone or tablet PC to your own audio set with a Marmitek Bluetooth music receiver or use the Marmitek Bluetooth speakers or headphones, all wireless.

Further optimising your music:
Music is very personal for everybody. Not just the genre (pop/rock), but also the final audio reproduction.
For some the bass can’t be hard enough while others prefer their music ‘light’.
On an amplifier there are often tone controls (usually slide controls for instance for bass and treble). What if these are not present on your speakers? Then it is possible to use the software tone controls (also known as equalizers).
You can use this to fine-tune your music the way you like it.

An equalizer levels the tone frequencies and makes it possible to control the balance between the treble, mid an bass.
See the frequently asked questions of our Bluetooth music solutions to see how to tune the music coming from your Marmitek Bluetooth speaker/headphones to your personal preferences using a tone control.

Bluetooth or RF speakers?
This depends strongly on what music you want to listen. Where is the music you want to play stored? When this is a Bluetooth device, then a Bluetooth speaker, set of headphones or music receiver is the most convenient because then you don’t need a separate transmitter. The limitation of Bluetooth is that its reach is only 10-30 meters. This in contrast to an RF speaker, with a range of max 100 m free field. RF speakers are suitable for all audio sources with an output for headphones (or line- or RCA output).