Hi Amigo, love the showcase format. I own a BTR15 and purchased a BTR11 as a second BT device just because it's so cheap and much better than carrying a dongle as an additional means to connect to my phone. I also caved in and got a HiBy R4, since I'm less and less convinced that using my phone as a music player is convenient enough to justify the hassle of dongles (and even BT devices). The R4 is heavy and something I carry around in long-distance travels, and use at home - 100% of the time, in the latter case. It's been a wonderful reminder of how much healthier my engament with music was in the iPod days, with more careful curation and less distractions from messaging and browsing (I can do that in the R4, but it's easier to avoid; I'm keeping apps to the bare minimum). I'm tempted to get an R1 as a gift to my mother, but for sure we'll see much cheaper and more convenient DAPs the next few iterations. Same for the BT devices, of which FiiO have proved to be really good at producing.
6:59 you can make the BTR11 adjust volume differently. On Android (12 on my phone), if you open the Bluetooth setting and tap the BTR11 entry, there's an option to toggle on or off LDAC (on by default) as well as "Absolute volume". It's toggled on by default, and if you turn this off, you can set different volumes on the phone and on the BTR11. I found that the BTR11 has 0 to 15 steps, and will chirp when you reach either end of the volume. If the muteness / loudness isn't a big tell enough. 😅
As a person just finding my way in the(definitely budget) IEM world, l appreciate you explaining the purpose of this device. I was puzzled at first but you explained it clearly. I have a set of ( definitely budget) IEMs hooked up to a model that dangles around the back of my neck and despite its old school style, the improvement of sound quality versus any of my TWS earbuds is quite noticeable! So this looks like a really nice and definitely budget option for all my IEMs. 😊 Thanks for the excellent review. I enjoy your reviews a lot in general 🙂
I have the old equivalent of this, the fiio ubtr and im going to upgrade to this on the 11/11 sale, I dont use eq or anything like that so just a decent Bluetooth dac that is powerful is all I need, thanks for the review.
@HUNrobar sorry man, with the sale price and everything due to coupons it was actually cheaper for me to get the BTR13 than the 11 so I won't be able to compare them.
Thanks from India. I have a question . My Sennheiser hd201 is having balanced connection ( 4 pole ) which means each speaker is connected with 2 wires . But at the end point it has 3.5mm jack not 4.4 mm . Does this really provide a balanced audio? I think they combined both the negative terminal of both the speakers in 3.5mm jack but why?
There is a 4-pole 3.5mm balanced connector, but I've only seen it used in Foxtex and some Hifiman products. The other 4-pole 3.5mm jacks are combo jacks for microphones. Your HD201 indeed has 2 wires to each speaker, but one of the wires is a ground, which is the "Exit" for the signal, as it's returning to ground. Due to this, it's ok for both speakers to share a common ground. In a balanced connection, the 2nd wire isn't a ground at all, it's an inverse signal that is the opposite of the positive signal. Since right and left signals are different, they must be kept separate in a 4-pole connection, since shorting them would affect the sound and could damage the amp or speakers. Headphones.com has a good article here: headphones.com/pages/balanced-headphones-guide
@AudioAmigoReviews yes & if i do balanced connection in Sennheiser hd201 then i also need balanced amplifier . But till now i am using this headphones with 4pole 3.5mm jack with microphone . Its been more than 8 year since i am using this headphone.
@AudioAmigoReviews and inwas thinking of purchasing fiio btr11 for this headphone . Thats y i was searching all these things . But this DAC is not available in india .
I've used a BTR3k in my car for several years and have been happy with it. I've never liked how the BTR3k has its own volume level, because for my needs - basically adding bluetooth functionality to my car which only has an aux input and no bluetooth, I have ended up with 3x places to adjust volume - my phone, the btr3k and the car. Wondering if you have any thoughts about whether the btr11 would be a better fit for an in-car bluetooth receiver? Excited that it has no volume controls of its own, but feels a bit wasteful buying a new product when my btr3k is perfectly functional!
The car mode on the 3K is useful because it saves the battery over time. The 11 doesn’t have a car mode, so you’d be wearing down the battery by having it be fully charged all the time. You’d also have to turn it on and off every time you get in the car. I use one of these in my wife’s car. www.amazon.com/UGREEN-Bluetooth-Receiver-Audio-Cable/dp/B081GGB53R I think it’ll give you the functionality you want. Turns on/off with your car, uses your phone’s volume, and is pretty compact.
Just to clarify, by 'audio disappears as soon as audio starts playing' do you mean that there is no sound at all, even during completely silent parts, or is it simply not noticeable when there is music playing? So you put on John Cage 3:44 and noise disappears completely as soon as you start playing?
@@z-f772 The noise disappears completely when music starts. Even in the quiet parts, at least with the songs I tested. It might still be there on other tracks, but it’s heavily reduced
I have the same thoughts, if you need a cheaper wireless with longer battery life then this is the one. Plus u can make any headset go wireless.. I think the mic is decent. Nice video btw.
I just bought one after my last pair of kz zs10's were stolen out of my car along with the bluetooth adapter. I bought this because for $20, I could just buy it without having to think too hard on it. I was looking at $100 alternatives, which I still may do, but this seemed like a cheaper way to get something for work.
Do you have any experience with the Fiio KA11? I'm thinking about a small dongle that will fit in a case with the IEM. It's output is 245mW@16 ohms and 200mW@32 ohms. This covers almost all my IEMs and headphones except my 560s, which is 120 ohms, but it should be more than enough.
My mother-in-law daily drives a KA11. She has a Tangzu Xuan Nv, which are pretty power hungry as far as IEMs go, and it has no issues with powering those at all.
@@wrbrown571 First "Real" Dongle was the Snowy Night. Before that I rocked the apple USB C connector because honestly, most of my portable listening was done on a modded 5.5 Gen iPod
so how is this different than fiio ubtr? bought it (on its way) thinking it was a dac also because i was concerned my headphone sound from my laptop was suffering; guess this won't improve it...right?
@@yl9698 this is essentially the upgraded/updated version of the μBTR. It’s got LDAC, Bluetooth 5.3 vs 4.2, a better all in-one chip. The BTR11 also has a separate amp chip, so it can push more power. Battery life is also a lot better.
🤔 this or the Hiby w3 ii tho. That one can be used with usb unlike with btr11. Also the price is just 2x more expensive but this one just cheap. Whats killing me is the noisefloor on this one. i might for the w3 imo
It's getting there, my need is to turn any headphone into a headset for calls with my phone, as opposed to wireless earbuds sending frequencies into my brain. They're just missing the ability to easily swap and recycle batteries, which would be a recurring revenue source for them.
Same here , I also want my Sennheiser hd201 work for calling wirelessly. But till now I was only searching for normal bluetooth dongle. I found what i need . But it is not yet available in india .
I have no experience with the Hiby. But the W3II looks like it has dongle and car mode. And it also has dedicated DAC chips, so it’s probably better. But it’s more than twice the cost of the BTR11
The only thing I wish it had is a TRRS plug instead of a TRS plug, so we can use a headset mic for calls, instead of the built-in mic. Can't really complain too much for the price, though.
I didn’t test latency. It would work great for the audio, but I don’t know how much delay the audio would have. I’ll look into ways of testing that, and when I do my next Bluetooth showcase, I’ll put the numbers for this unit up.
Thanks for the showcase. Your really selling me on it being a wireless Apple dongle lol. And i do have a phone without headphone jack and broken USB c port (i charge thought wireless charging lol). And it is 20 bucks. Maybe can get cheaper during 11.11. 🤔🤔🤔
It's a great piece of gear, but it needs a refresh/update. And it's not really in the same price class as this. You can get 5 of these for the price of a Q5K
I have the btr15 and while I like it, the selector switch I never use somehow broke within a few months. My music will suddenly stop and it's because the switch got bumped. Other than that, having a PEQ that you can save as many tunings as you want is nice (though you are limited to 3 on the device at a time) The btr11 is a good daily driver beater you can pair up with a $20ish iem and be set. For under $50 there's no worries if you lose them or they get stolen, spill coffee on it etc, not to mention no dangling dongle to struggle with. Also, I was momentarily confused when I didn't hear an absurd story being told in an Australian accent for the microphone test lol Guess I watch too much dank pods
Sorry, I'm using translator, I don't care about the features, is the difference between the audio quality of the btr5 and the btr11 very big or small?, bo I care about the features I just want good quality at the lowest possible cost, but if the btr5 is far superior in sound I'll consider the expense.
The BTR5 has much less noise in quiet moments. That’s the biggest difference I hear. If that’s worth it or not to you, I don’t know. The quality on the BTR11 is great, and if money is a factor, it’s an excellent option.
Thank you very much, I already bought it, right now I can't perceive any background noise, I also don't perceive any noise being in complete silence, I also don't perceive noise when music is not playing, I don't know if it's because it's updated or they already corrected that error but I don't perceive noise, it's sound is spectacular for this price, thank you very much.
@@heloiamerk I was convinced it had car mode because it was listed on the FiiO website. But I couldn’t activate it, and there was nothing on it in the manual. So I emailed FiiO asking about it and they answered “The BTR11 doesn’t have a car mode.” Turns out their site was wrong.
I think BTR17 was just announced at $199. It's got the same internals as the KA17, but with bluetooth and a battery. And that sweet sweet volume dial. I don't think I'll be getting one for review though. At least not unless FiiO sends me one.
Hi Amigo, love the showcase format. I own a BTR15 and purchased a BTR11 as a second BT device just because it's so cheap and much better than carrying a dongle as an additional means to connect to my phone. I also caved in and got a HiBy R4, since I'm less and less convinced that using my phone as a music player is convenient enough to justify the hassle of dongles (and even BT devices). The R4 is heavy and something I carry around in long-distance travels, and use at home - 100% of the time, in the latter case. It's been a wonderful reminder of how much healthier my engament with music was in the iPod days, with more careful curation and less distractions from messaging and browsing (I can do that in the R4, but it's easier to avoid; I'm keeping apps to the bare minimum). I'm tempted to get an R1 as a gift to my mother, but for sure we'll see much cheaper and more convenient DAPs the next few iterations. Same for the BT devices, of which FiiO have proved to be really good at producing.
@@sflurp I’ve got another showcase video on the R4 coming. I’m VERY tempted to get an R1, they look really nice!
The microphone altered your voice dramatically 😄
For a cheapie this looks great.
@@alexeiboukirev8357 🤣
Took me a minute! Great comment!
Thank you for the review. Fiio is killing the game with sll these affordable devices. They flipped a switch and went all into this market segment.
6:59 you can make the BTR11 adjust volume differently. On Android (12 on my phone), if you open the Bluetooth setting and tap the BTR11 entry, there's an option to toggle on or off LDAC (on by default) as well as "Absolute volume". It's toggled on by default, and if you turn this off, you can set different volumes on the phone and on the BTR11. I found that the BTR11 has 0 to 15 steps, and will chirp when you reach either end of the volume. If the muteness / loudness isn't a big tell enough. 😅
I still have the old BTR5, which I use often, and still rank it as the best piece of audio gear I have ever bought.
BTR 5 2021 SUPREMACY
As a person just finding my way in the(definitely budget) IEM world, l appreciate you explaining the purpose of this device. I was puzzled at first but you explained it clearly. I have a set of ( definitely budget) IEMs hooked up to a model that dangles around the back of my neck and despite its old school style, the improvement of sound quality versus any of my TWS earbuds is quite noticeable! So this looks like a really nice and definitely budget option for all my IEMs. 😊
Thanks for the excellent review. I enjoy your reviews a lot in general 🙂
@@philipm.4738 I have a wireless adapter like that! I think it’s a KBEar branded one. It’s pretty good!
Thanks for the kind words! :)
Dual videos today! You spoil us! 😂
For work conf calls this will shine as long as the mic is good enough.
A very nicely done review, I do not think after this one anyone need to go anywhere else. 👏🏻👏🏻
Thank you for the kind words! This is a fantastic piece of kit for the money. Amazing value.
uuu... I was waiting for this review.
Edit, yeah very specific product for specific consumer. Waiting on that TWS IEM round up.
:)
@@PERSONALEEMG the TWS roundup is coming. It got put on hold due to some behind the scenes stuff. But it’s coming.
I own one of these, and this review basically hits every single thing that I think about it.
It's nice to have a cheaper BTR that I'm not afraid to lose it in public transport
I have the old equivalent of this, the fiio ubtr and im going to upgrade to this on the 11/11 sale, I dont use eq or anything like that so just a decent Bluetooth dac that is powerful is all I need, thanks for the review.
I have the ubtr too and thinking about upgrading for better codec and stronger amp. Pls share if you can compare the two :)
@HUNrobar sorry man, with the sale price and everything due to coupons it was actually cheaper for me to get the BTR13 than the 11 so I won't be able to compare them.
Thanks from India. I have a question . My Sennheiser hd201 is having balanced connection ( 4 pole ) which means each speaker is connected with 2 wires . But at the end point it has 3.5mm jack not 4.4 mm . Does this really provide a balanced audio? I think they combined both the negative terminal of both the speakers in 3.5mm jack but why?
There is a 4-pole 3.5mm balanced connector, but I've only seen it used in Foxtex and some Hifiman products. The other 4-pole 3.5mm jacks are combo jacks for microphones. Your HD201 indeed has 2 wires to each speaker, but one of the wires is a ground, which is the "Exit" for the signal, as it's returning to ground. Due to this, it's ok for both speakers to share a common ground. In a balanced connection, the 2nd wire isn't a ground at all, it's an inverse signal that is the opposite of the positive signal. Since right and left signals are different, they must be kept separate in a 4-pole connection, since shorting them would affect the sound and could damage the amp or speakers.
Headphones.com has a good article here:
headphones.com/pages/balanced-headphones-guide
@AudioAmigoReviews yes & if i do balanced connection in Sennheiser hd201 then i also need balanced amplifier . But till now i am using this headphones with 4pole 3.5mm jack with microphone . Its been more than 8 year since i am using this headphone.
@AudioAmigoReviews and inwas thinking of purchasing fiio btr11 for this headphone . Thats y i was searching all these things . But this DAC is not available in india .
I've used a BTR3k in my car for several years and have been happy with it. I've never liked how the BTR3k has its own volume level, because for my needs - basically adding bluetooth functionality to my car which only has an aux input and no bluetooth, I have ended up with 3x places to adjust volume - my phone, the btr3k and the car.
Wondering if you have any thoughts about whether the btr11 would be a better fit for an in-car bluetooth receiver? Excited that it has no volume controls of its own, but feels a bit wasteful buying a new product when my btr3k is perfectly functional!
The car mode on the 3K is useful because it saves the battery over time. The 11 doesn’t have a car mode, so you’d be wearing down the battery by having it be fully charged all the time. You’d also have to turn it on and off every time you get in the car.
I use one of these in my wife’s car.
www.amazon.com/UGREEN-Bluetooth-Receiver-Audio-Cable/dp/B081GGB53R
I think it’ll give you the functionality you want.
Turns on/off with your car, uses your phone’s volume, and is pretty compact.
Damn, we got the bonus package today. I'll take it
Just to clarify, by 'audio disappears as soon as audio starts playing' do you mean that there is no sound at all, even during completely silent parts, or is it simply not noticeable when there is music playing? So you put on John Cage 3:44 and noise disappears completely as soon as you start playing?
Never mind apparently it's still there when audio starts playing 'noticeable with audio books'.
@@z-f772 The noise disappears completely when music starts. Even in the quiet parts, at least with the songs I tested. It might still be there on other tracks, but it’s heavily reduced
@ ooh! Audiobooks would be perfect to test that! Thanks for the idea! Sorry I couldn’t be of more help.
Great video, Thanks! Does the BTR15 have BT TX so you can use attached source devices with wirelessLDaC headphones?
I don't think so. I believe it's a receiver only
I had the btr3k. Theyre quite usefull for budget IEMs and doesn't sound different than sub $50 dongles.
I have the same thoughts, if you need a cheaper wireless with longer battery life then this is the one. Plus u can make any headset go wireless.. I think the mic is decent. Nice video btw.
Thanks! I saw how cheap it was and got it on a whim. Pretty nifty device honestly.
I just bought one after my last pair of kz zs10's were stolen out of my car along with the bluetooth adapter.
I bought this because for $20, I could just buy it without having to think too hard on it. I was looking at $100 alternatives, which I still may do, but this seemed like a cheaper way to get something for work.
Ok i pre order it ,thx guy.
i am satisfied even with the shorter "showcase" format.
Do you have any experience with the Fiio KA11? I'm thinking about a small dongle that will fit in a case with the IEM. It's output is 245mW@16 ohms and 200mW@32 ohms. This covers almost all my IEMs and headphones except my 560s, which is 120 ohms, but it should be more than enough.
My mother-in-law daily drives a KA11. She has a Tangzu Xuan Nv, which are pretty power hungry as far as IEMs go, and it has no issues with powering those at all.
@AudioAmigoReviews How long have you been buying gear? What was your first dongle, the SnowyNight?
@@wrbrown571 First "Real" Dongle was the Snowy Night. Before that I rocked the apple USB C connector because honestly, most of my portable listening was done on a modded 5.5 Gen iPod
I got mine today, what is the led indicator if its fully charged already?
Let me look into it, I didn’t check.
I went and charged mine. The red LED doesn't change color, just turns off when it's fully charged. :)
@@AudioAmigoReviews Thank you sir
You're making up for lost time today. Thank you for a great (not review) showcase! 🙂👍
so how is this different than fiio ubtr? bought it (on its way) thinking it was a dac also because i was concerned my headphone sound from my laptop was suffering; guess this won't improve it...right?
@@yl9698 this is essentially the upgraded/updated version of the μBTR.
It’s got LDAC, Bluetooth 5.3 vs 4.2, a better all in-one chip. The BTR11 also has a separate amp chip, so it can push more power.
Battery life is also a lot better.
Nice review
👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
Hi so can this device connect to 2 mobile phone ?
@@RAI_D yes! It supports 2 devices. You just have to look in the manual to see what button combo lets you switch between them.
They have baked the clip on the body now. I had the btr3k. The clip was on the case.
My BTR11 is discharged in less than an hour, what could be the reason
@@Олег-т3е1п odd. What headphones are you powering? Mine lasted much longer than that. Maybe see about returning it for another one.
@@AudioAmigoReviewsKz pr1
🤔 this or the Hiby w3 ii tho. That one can be used with usb unlike with btr11. Also the price is just 2x more expensive but this one just cheap. Whats killing me is the noisefloor on this one. i might for the w3 imo
It's getting there, my need is to turn any headphone into a headset for calls with my phone, as opposed to wireless earbuds sending frequencies into my brain. They're just missing the ability to easily swap and recycle batteries, which would be a recurring revenue source for them.
Same here , I also want my Sennheiser hd201 work for calling wirelessly. But till now I was only searching for normal bluetooth dongle. I found what i need . But it is not yet available in india .
Which would be better, the FIIO btr11 or hiby w3ii?
I have no experience with the Hiby. But the W3II looks like it has dongle and car mode. And it also has dedicated DAC chips, so it’s probably better. But it’s more than twice the cost of the BTR11
The only thing I wish it had is a TRRS plug instead of a TRS plug, so we can use a headset mic for calls, instead of the built-in mic.
Can't really complain too much for the price, though.
Yeah, that would have been a nice addition, I'll make sure to talk about that in my next dongle video. Thanks!
Will this be able to drive my 7hz timeless easily?
Yes! It drove my Timeless AE perfectly
btw it working to play mobile game or not ?? i need to know before i buy it 😁
I didn’t test latency. It would work great for the audio, but I don’t know how much delay the audio would have.
I’ll look into ways of testing that, and when I do my next Bluetooth showcase, I’ll put the numbers for this unit up.
Can it be used as a usb dongle DAC?
@@yorukeyoisho6529 No. The USB C port is for charging only.
@AudioAmigoReviews thanks 👍. well for that price can't complain. It's also gonna cost 14 USD on AliExpress during 11.11, absolute steal
Thanks for the showcase. Your really selling me on it being a wireless Apple dongle lol. And i do have a phone without headphone jack and broken USB c port (i charge thought wireless charging lol). And it is 20 bucks. Maybe can get cheaper during 11.11. 🤔🤔🤔
I think it’ll be around $14 on Aliexpress directly from FiiO :)
woahhh a cheaper Ugreen transmitter reciever, can you make a review and compare which one is better?
@@Quasarii I don’t think this one transmits. But I’ll try and grab the Ugreen model.
@AudioAmigoReviews oh yeah it's not a transmitter, it's only a wireless receiver that supports nfc
People seems to forget the Qudelix 5k for some reason
It's a great piece of gear, but it needs a refresh/update. And it's not really in the same price class as this. You can get 5 of these for the price of a Q5K
I have the btr15 and while I like it, the selector switch I never use somehow broke within a few months. My music will suddenly stop and it's because the switch got bumped. Other than that, having a PEQ that you can save as many tunings as you want is nice (though you are limited to 3 on the device at a time)
The btr11 is a good daily driver beater you can pair up with a $20ish iem and be set. For under $50 there's no worries if you lose them or they get stolen, spill coffee on it etc, not to mention no dangling dongle to struggle with.
Also, I was momentarily confused when I didn't hear an absurd story being told in an Australian accent for the microphone test lol Guess I watch too much dank pods
@@spamcan9208 I love his microphone tests. They’re hilarious.
Maybe in the future I’ll do a dank poss tribute mic test.
“So like this one time…”
Sorry, I'm using translator, I don't care about the features, is the difference between the audio quality of the btr5 and the btr11 very big or small?, bo I care about the features I just want good quality at the lowest possible cost, but if the btr5 is far superior in sound I'll consider the expense.
The BTR5 has much less noise in quiet moments. That’s the biggest difference I hear. If that’s worth it or not to you, I don’t know. The quality on the BTR11 is great, and if money is a factor, it’s an excellent option.
Thank you very much, I already bought it, right now I can't perceive any background noise, I also don't perceive any noise being in complete silence, I also don't perceive noise when music is not playing, I don't know if it's because it's updated or they already corrected that error but I don't perceive noise, it's sound is spectacular for this price, thank you very much.
@ very happy you’re enjoying it!
2:27 i get that all the time
Too bad it doesn't support car mode! I currently use an old BTR3K for that purpose, but this looks like a really nice basic cheap Bluetooth option!
@@heloiamerk I was convinced it had car mode because it was listed on the FiiO website. But I couldn’t activate it, and there was nothing on it in the manual.
So I emailed FiiO asking about it and they answered “The BTR11 doesn’t have a car mode.” Turns out their site was wrong.
Got mine on eBay for $15.00, if I had paid more than that I would’ve been pissed.
Bra btr17 is almost has a due..n bubblin bout dis? pure noobs Peace!
I think BTR17 was just announced at $199. It's got the same internals as the KA17, but with bluetooth and a battery. And that sweet sweet volume dial. I don't think I'll be getting one for review though. At least not unless FiiO sends me one.
@@AudioAmigoReviews
Ha4 fiio send me too..Peace!