Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

NOTE: I have never received any financial incentive related to a review on Amazon. No free products, discounts, etc. I bought both the Audioengine B1 Premium Bluetooth Music Receiver ("B1," $189) and the AmazonBasics Bluetooth 4.0 Audio Receiver ("AB-B4," $25) to compare. The quality of the B1 is excellent, materials feel solid and expensive, and packaging is thoughtful. The AB-B4 feels like a cheap electronic box and was packaged with an equally cheap RCA to 3.5mm audio cable that did not work well for me. Also, even when I used a better quality cable, I had to unplug and reattach the cable a couple of times to get it seated properly--but after doing this, all was fine. Obviously, at more that seven times the cost, the Audioengine product should be of different quality. But what about the sound? Both were easy to pair with 2 different iPhones (5s and 4) and an iPad*. For the first test, I connected each unit to Audioengine A5+ speakers using Kimber Kable - PBJ Interconnects ($96, overkill, but I wanted to isolate the difference in the 2 units). I initially used the 3.5mm to RCA cables supplied with each product and, even before playing music, there was significantly more noise with the AB-B4. When I used the cable supplied with the B1, the noise went away. I listened to rock, classical, and tracks from the Ultimate Demonstration Disc: Chesky Records' Guide to Critical Listening (well worth the $15 cost). There was no difference in sound between Spotify and Apple lossless ripped from the CD. There was also very minimal difference, if any, between the two Bluetooth devices--using the better quality 3.5mm cable for both. The next system I tried was using an Emotiva Mini-x a-100 amplifier connected to Pioneer SP-BS22-LR Andrew Jones Designed Bookshelf Loudspeakers (at the time, the best value possible at $79 a PAIR, still a great value at $109) using the PBJ cables. Again, no difference between the two devices (with the better 3.5mm cable). Lastly, I connected each device to my best quality equipment, AKG K702 65th Anniversary Edition headphones ($377), Valhalla Headphone Amplifier by Schiit Audio (on sale for $289; new version is the Valhalla 2 for $349). The AKG K702's are so accurate that they sometimes detract from poorly recorded music by making every error audible. There was a clear difference with this set-up between the two Bluetooth devices with the B1 providing a richer, more full-bodied and accurate sound with better imaging. The AB-B4, by comparison, took less advantage of the excellent headphones and sounded compressed and slightly tinny. Given the differences in price, however, I decided to give both products 4 stars. For an inexpensive Bluetooth solution to get music from your portable device to your stereo (or powered speakers), the AmazonBasics Bluetooth 4.0 Audio Receiver is a great value--though I recommend buying a better quality 3.5mm to RCA cable and discarding the one supplied (or maybe the one I received was defective). If you are looking for a more high end Bluetooth solution for a very good (audiophile) quality system, the Audioengine B1 Premium Bluetooth Music Receiver sounds as good as listening to a CD of the same music and is a pretty good value, too. * I don't think any of the devices I used support the aptX codec, though my iPhone 5s sounded better than the other two devices for some reason. The B1 supports aptX so, in theory, the sound should be better from compatible devices as I don't think the AB-B4 supports this format (it's not mentioned on the product page).