Like or not, dealing with Bluetooth sources has become a reality even in the best studios in the world. When a famous artists who books a studio arrives with a smartphone and explains that is where he holds his demos and ideas, there's no point in arguing. The Bluetooth stream from the smartphone needs to be playing in the control monitors asap.
This has become a more and more common practice in the modern studio and a few manufacturers have designed solutions to deal with Bluetooth, mostly through dedicated basic boxes. Heritage Audio had a first experience with its original BT-500, a quick and trouble-free solution, but now decided it was time to offer an updated option. And that starts with a Class 1 radio for the Bluetooth connection, offering coverage of over 100 meters in any area of the studio.
For the BT-500 V2.0, the Madrid-based company also looked at all the valuable Bluetooth options that could make sense, such as adding the latest aptX codecs from Qualcomm. And the aptX Low Latency and HD codecs make every sense in a production environment — the first for better sync with video, and the second for more critical listening. Learning also from experience, the company redesigned the RESET button, facilitating failsafe protection against accidental resetting, as well as providing a fully-balanced +22dBu stereo output on gold-plated XLR connectors (when connected to a suitable any appropriate 500-series enclosure).
In the module there's also pristine Burr Brown conversion to allow the best possible quality audio as the quickest and easiest way of effortlessly connecting with mobile devices in a studio setup over Bluetooth. That audio appears on fully differential Burr Brown balanced outputs delivering +24dBu and able to drive a load of 600 Ohms. Enough signal quality to do direct level comparisons from different sources, while mastering or mixing.
Important also to note is the design on the convenient 500 series format that not only provides an accessible price but also allows creating a complete workflow in a single 500 series box with multiple modules, including for portable applications. The format allows unobstructed antenna positioning for a stable Bluetooth streaming connection. The module can be added to any 500-Series powered enclosure, such as Heritage Audio’s recently released OST 6 v2.0. And since most 500-Series powered enclosures only have male and female XLR connections, a male-to-male XLR adapter for the female XLR connection to provide two fully-balanced 22dBu outputs for stereo usage is included in the BT-500 v2.0 purchase price.
Heritage Audio says that the BT-500 V2.0 will detect the best option available for seamless integration from a mobile phone or table source, and an easier integration for iOS or Android apps needed in the studio. Keeping things simple, the BT-500 v2.0 readily recognizes the best codecs available from the source device, to ensure that any audio received over Bluetooth is at the highest quality possible.
The new BT-500 v2.0 m+500 series module is shipping and selling for €249.00 EUR (including VAT) in the EU and a MAP (Minimum Advertised Price) of $229.00 USD, US distribution being handled via RAD Distribution.
www.heritageaudio.net
