UKC

Bought one for £6 but the sound quality ain’t so good (too quiet).  Anyone bought a more expensive one that does the business? (Assume that streaming through Spotify isn’t going to sound as good as a CD ?)

Had this for about 3 years – really decent. Will host multiple bluetooth connections at once (so you don't have to reconnect all the time), and RCA inputs go straight into the back of your hi-fi (for better sound quality). 

https://www.logitech.com/en-gb/products/speakers/bluetooth-audio-adapter.98... 

I can't comment on expensive ones but I have a cheap one that does just fine.

Which input are you using into the amp, I'm surprised that an adapter can be too quiet as you usually need to keep the input low and let the amp do the work.

Agree - I've been using the same one for a couple of years now.  Really impressed with simplicity and sound.  Mostly playing Spotify through Denon Micro system.

On the “very high” (~320kb/s) Spotify setting it might not make any difference for most people. 

There’s been some research suggesting that unless you are an expert sound engineer with a good few years studio experience you won’t be able to tell the difference between high quality MP3 and CD formats. Not dug into it to take a view on the quality of that research. 

If you’ve got Spotify already anyway then you could get someone to help you run a “blind taste test” with songs you have on CD and see if you can tell them apart before shelling out on additional hardware. 

Bluetooth audio profiles are lossy. The latest LDAC profile is pretty good, though, almost CD quality.

You can buy complete Bluetooth/class D amplifier modules from the likes of Banggood for a tenner or so. Add an old laptop PSU, and you can drive a pair of speakers from a little module about the size of a packet of fags.

[edit] ah, you want to add Bluetooth to an existing amp. Again, look for one with AptX HD or LDAC support, but Spotify will be your limiting factor, being a lossy codec (MP3) service.

And most Bluetooth units will have volume control; maybe try turning it up to 11...?

One problem with trying to compare streaming vs CD is that you have no idea of the provenance of the mix/mastering. They could be completely different versions, especially as streaming sources appear to be optimised for earbuds, with soft limit compression. I trialled the four major services over lockdown, and most of the tracks I looked at were different to my CD versions, and mostly soft limit compressed.

Mix/mastering is probably more important for sound than 320 vs 1411...

I've got one of these, works well and is not quiet. 

I'm no audiophile, but found it to sound fine.

https://amzn.eu/d/6FBIyjB

Thanks all. Defo need to upgrade from my cheap as chips thing. My HiFi is reasonable, with speaker stands etc. so should really splash out. When I get the chance, I really blast it out. 

Wiim mini. £90 from Amazon. Ideally connect it to your amp with a toslink cable - your amp will need to have a Spdif input.

You then connect this to your wifi and use spotify connect. Your phone will then just be a remote controll and the stream will come via wifi direct to the Amp. Completely removes the bluetooth and means your phone battery isnt in use when playing music.

You can connect it with a 3.5mm to twin RCA cable but the sound quality this way is no where near as good.

If you dont have a spdif input on the Amp the Wiim Pro is about £160  and will either use the coax connection or if your Amp is analogue only the Pro has RCA outputs.

These are both really well thought of 

For a step up from Bluetooth, certainly. The Wiim is a very capable, very well supported device from a company who make streaming modules for many 'big names'.

Very long thread on Audiokarma:

https://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/wiim-wifi-streamer.900142/

I think you might be trying to ask too much of a small device. It is trying to get the signal, decompress it, covert it to analogue, and probably do a bit of amplification too.

The big quality loss will be in the DAC on the Bluetooth device I think. At £6 there won't be much thought going into the DAC.

Years ago I had a Bluetooth receiver that had an optical output that went to my Beresford DAC and then amp. It was really hard to tell the difference then to a CD. I can't remember the name of it, but I'm sure better newer devices with the same principle exist now.

If you don't already have a separate DAC, or your CD deck hasn't got a digital input that allows you to use its DAC then something like this gets got reviews

https://www.richersounds.com/ifi-audio-zen-blue-v2.html

I've just been looking into this for my system. 

The Audio engine B1 seems to be highly recommended, though it does come with a hefty pricetag. 

I've just ordered a bludento BLT-HD, half the price, still £90 though, not arrived yet so can't review.

For best results it looks like you need a device with Bluetooth 5, aptx hd and LDAC codecs.

I have one of these. I've just looked it up again and I'm sure it wasn't quite as expensive when I bought it a few years ago. It's very good, with an input into a Musical Fidelity amp. For my purposes, it's well-nigh indistinguishable from CDs.

As I'm sure you're aware this is going to be an apples versus oranges kind of comparison

Standard CD sample rate is 44.1kHz (16 bit depth)

Standard Spotify streams at 320kbs and uses a lossy compression

However, if you are wealthy there's the Spotify premium option which should give you at least as good as CD and is going to be available "some time". So there's a date to write into your calendar

You know what... I no longer have studio-monitor quality ears and to me the difference between something like spotify and a CD is very slight.

Maybe the best suggestion of all is to stop listening to music with high dynamic range and very quiet bits like some classical whatever (chin-stroking music, for clever people) and instead listen to music where a small amount of extra loss only benefits the distorted timbre. For example FEAST your earholes on this late 70s classic

youtube.com/watch?v=-q1hyTLamUs&

Thanks all. I have a reasonable Cambridge Audio amp, but the panel has stopped lighting up.  Whilst I’m OK at spending £100 or whatever on a bettergizmo, I’m half tempted just to buy a new amp which has Bluetooth already built in.  
New question: any recommendations for an amp in the £250 upwards price range.  

£14.66...

https://uk-m.banggood.com/TPA3116-50W+2+100W-bluetooth-5_0-High-Power-Audio...

Not really a replacement for an integrated amp, but...

I was just about to say that, but I’m an outlier with plenty of studio experience. Of course mixes should be aimed at a range of outputs - we would routinely test on a range of around 4 set-ups, from tinny radios to high end hifi. Over the years I’ve mellowed, finally capitulating to my wife’s sustained challenge about unsightly and costly wiring. If I hear a track I know intimately demonstrating a difference, these days I smile inside rather than wince.