Testing Audison B-Con. Is It Worth It!

[@hotrodholland]

I’m curious do you have videos of your personal system? I enjoy your videos

[@bmuenter]

You think it sounds good with an iPhone, wait til you stream audio to it with an android phone that has LDAC! It's twice as good as an iPhone!! Apple does not offer high res out of the phones no matter what, so the difference you're hearing is the optical output from the input selection (head unit or optical) I've sold a few of these and they're great! The new app they have for it is cool too

[@lancesautovlog]

Thanks.

[@joegarcia6276]

Better yet a hires audio player

[@bbfoto7248]

@bmuenter @lancesautovlog True. iOS devices (iPhone/iPad) only support the original SBC Bluetooth Audio Codec or Apple's AAC codec. They do NOT support Apt-X, Apt-X HD, or LDAC. So with an iOS device as your source, you are not even using LDAC and the superior audio quality if offers. But most modern Android smartphones and tablets such as the Samsung Galaxy series or Sony Xperia will support ALL of these BT audio codecs, including LDAC. FYI, LDAC was developed by Sony, so that is why Apple does not support it...they just don't get along, LOL. 😛 HOWEVER, when using LDAC, there are a few EXTRA STEPS you need to take that are VERY IMPORTANT in order to make sure you are connecting your Android Smartphone or Tablet to the B-Con via the Highest Quality LDAC setting! There are THREE different Bluetooth Connection Quality Settings when using LDAC: 330kbps/300kbps - Mediocre Audio Quality, but Excellent Connection Quality & Range. 660kbps/600kbps - Better Audio Quality and Good Connection Quality, but potentially Less Range. 990kbps/900kbps - Highest Audio Quality, but potentially Shorter Range (However, this is NOT a problem inside your vehicle!) Your smartphone usually automatically Defaults to the Lower Audio Quality LDAC settings in order to prioritize the Connection STABILITY for less potential dropouts or "skipping" as opposed to using the Highest Audio Quality. If the Bluetooth connection is set to "Adaptive" as in most cases, it will automatically set and change the bit rate & resulting audio quality based on the Signal Strength of your BT connection. BUT it will rarely, if ever, go to the 990kbps/900kbps Highest Quality LDAC setting. In order to Force the LDAC connection to stay at its "Highest Quality" setting which uses 990kbps/900kbps connection speeds, you MUST Enable the "Developer Options" in your Android smartphone or tablet and then specifically set the the BT connection quality to these higher settings in the Bluetooth Settings Options there. Otherwise, I can almost guarantee that you ARE NOT taking full advantage of the LDAC audio codec and BT connection, even with a device that might support LDAC. ;) And for reference, a standard audio CD is 16-bit/44.1kHz sample rate, and when playing a CD which is 100% "Lossless" audio, it requires a connection bandwidth or speed of 1411 kbps. Note that even the wireless LDAC Bluetooth Audio Codec streams the audio at a maximum connection speed of just 990 kbps, which is still LOWER than a standard CD at 1411 kbps! But to My Ears, the Audio Quality is still excellent when using LDAC set to its Highest Quality & 990/900 kbps for Bluetooth, and NOTICABLY better than ANY of the other BT audio codecs, even Apt-X HD. I have the B-Con installed in two of my vehicles with high end DSP audio systems and TOTL 3-way components, subs, and amplifiers. I use the B-con's digital Toslink pass-through connection to send the digital audio from my portable DAP to my DSPs. Either one provides excellent audio quality. I also use an iFi ZEN Blue v2 Bluetooth Receiver with LDAC in one of my secondary home audio setups. The iFi ZEN Blue v2 BT receiver is connected directly to a pair of KALI Audio IN-8 2nd Wave 3-way active/powered Studio Monitors with concentric midrange & tweeter drivers and 8" woofers. The difference in Sound Quality is CLEARLY noticeable there as well if I compare my iPad that connects to the iFi via SBC or AAC BT codecs versus my 12.4" Samsung Galaxy Tab S7+ that connects via BT with LDAC at 990kbps. It's like the old analogy of "the veil being lifted off of the speakers". It's a Night & Day difference.

[@karlkiernan6863]

@@joegarcia6276 It will be the same as an Android phone.

[@charlesgarza4812]

Will hard wire from iphone to bcon sound good also?

[@lancesautovlog]

I use my iPhone and used it via Bluetooth. It worked also.

[@charlesgarza4812]

@@lancesautovlog been meaning to ask if you would know why hertz high end speakers are cheaper in Europe?

[@bbfoto7248]

@charlesgarza4812 You would need to connect your iPhone to an Apple USB Camera Conection Kit adapter and then connect the Apple CCK to a USB DAC/Bridge device such as the Topping D10s or SMSL PO100 PRO. From either of those you could then connect to the B-con via Toslink optical cable and its Toslink pass-through on to your DSP's optical Toslink input.

[@renzobenavente9560]

And The audio test?

[@lancesautovlog]

It went great. I had to copyright music for the test, so I couldn’t post the audio.