While many manufacturers have been shipping headphones and true wireless earbuds with radios that already support Bluetooth LE Audio and Auracast, for at least two years, the reality is that the sources used by consumers to stream audio still have not been updated. In some cases, such as Android phones, support already exists, but the market is highly fragmented and most users have no idea about those features.
Laptops and PCs, which many consumers use to view content and play games, remain the biggest laggards. Even though Microsoft officially introduced Bluetooth LE Audio support for Windows 11 (22H2, released in May 2023), most hardware still lacks support for LE Audio, and many desktop PCs don't even have compatible Bluetooth hardware and drivers. For manufacturers of headphones and earbuds, the obvious solution is to have a dedicated Bluetooth LE Audio USB transmitter to plug directly into those source devices.
Weighing in at just 2.2 grams and measuring only 24mm long, the Sennheiser BTD 700 dongle is smaller than most flash drives, yet packs the enabling features for effective streaming, gaming, and voice communication wireless transmission. With a single USB-C connection, it’s an effortless way to upgrade the native wireless audio performance of laptops, mobile phones, and tablets. And an included Type-C to -A adapter leaves no device behind, easily improving the untethered audio capabilities of desktop workstations and laptops.
"The BTD 700 makes high-performance wireless audio easy," says Christian Ern, Sennheiser Senior Product Manager. "This all-in-one unlocks sound quality that rivals wired connections — even adding cutting-edge Bluetooth functionality to PCs and mobile devices missing these newer audio features."
Reinforcing its benefits, the BTD 700 transmitter also enables the use of Qualcomm's aptX Lossless and aptX Adaptive codecs for even better wireless audio, supporting high-resolution audio up to 24-bit/96kHz. This enables music enthusiasts to explore their aptX-enabled earbuds, headphones, and speakers by using the dongle to supercharge their existing digital audio sources. Headphones such as the Sennheiser Momentum series and select models from the Accentum series already support those aptX codecs.
As a class-compliant audio device, the BTD 700 can bypass the native audio output on practically any Android, iOS/iPad OS, Windows, and macOS device, as easily as inserting a flash drive. Thanks to Bluetooth 5.4, the BTD 700 transmitter allows users to share audio with other users and set up a portable Auracast broadcast stream. For conference calls, the Sennheiser BTD 700 dongle is also a reliable way to ensure low-latency support for headphones such as the Sennheiser Momentum 4. And the dedicated Game Mode delivers audio latency as low as 30 milliseconds on supported headphones, keeping sound in sync with fast-paced visual action.
The BTD 700 is shipping now with an MSRP of $59.95 USD.
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