Not a big fan of having multiple headphones lying around? Wish you could have just one pair to conquer them all? Sure they exist, but you may be shelling out a lot for the right ones. What if you already have a favorite pair of wired headphones and are looking to go wireless but don’t want to spend the money to buy a second pair to pull it off? What if, you could simply convert that favorite pair of headphones to wireless and call it done? It’s actually a simple task to pull off.
Our friends at VOXOA have an adapter that can be the answer you’re looking for. The BTunes Bluetooth adapter is a small device, about the size of a typical Bluetooth earpiece for taking calls, that attaches to nearly any pair of wired headphones where the cable would normally fit. I say nearly since the headphones would have to support a removable cable (some headphones feature a cable that is permanently attached).
As long as your cable can detach from the headphones, all you have to do is determine what input type the cable is (the end that connects to the headphones). In most scenarios, the input is either going to be 3.5mm (the standard headphone connection) or 2.5mm (a similar connection but slightly smaller in diameter). Find which BTunes model matches and replace the cable with it. Now those headphones are Bluetooth wireless and can connect to your favorite media devices (smartphones, tablets and so forth).
The adapter powers the headphones and features a built-in microphone so that the headphones can be used to take hands-free calls. Its size is small so it looks like nothing more than a small adapter that it is hanging from one of the muffs of your headphones. A neat idea as it not only saves you some cash but also prevents you from having multiple headphones laying all over, each for their own various tasks. Now that one favorite pair can be enjoyed via wire, unplugged to be enjoyed on the road and used to take that important phone call that graces your morning jog.
We tested the adapter against a number of headphones including Sennheiser’s Momentum on-ear headphones as well as a number of the HD series (380, 590, etc). We also slapped them into pairs from Kipsch, V-Moda, Sony and Bose. All of which resulted in a good sounding pair of Bluetooth headphones. Sound quality didn’t always compare to what they sound like when wired, but it does come close to an average pair of Bluetooth headphones you’d normally spend about $100-200 on.
Ad – Find the BTunes adapter on Amazon
The only limitation we ran into was noise cancellation. Certain headphone models lost their noise canceling abilities while others continued to function just fine. For example, the Bose Quite Comforts functioned just like they normally would, but the Klipsch Mode M40 headphones lost their ability resulting in an odd compression-like change in audio when the cancellation was enabled.
The BTunes adapter will give you up to 10 hours of listening or talk time depending on the headphones connected. We found that the average fell around 7-10 hours, which was great.
On the back-side of the adapter, there is a single button that functions for all of your Bluetooth needs. Turning the adapter on and off, next and previous track and call control. It may take a little bit to get used to the button patterns, but it seems to work perfectly fine. Above the button is a small flap you can pop out with your fingernail to reveal a micro-USB used for charging the adapter with.
When powering for the first time, it will automatically go into pairing mode. It will then attempt to connect to the last paired device when you turn it on and will enter pairing mode again if it cannot find any known devices nearby.
Of course, if you’re looking for a shortcut and your phone supports NFC (near-field communication), the BTunes does support this as well. Simply tap the adapter to the backside of your NFC supporting device and pair right up without having to play around with any Bluetooth menus.
It also talks to you for user-friendly notifications such as battery level and confirmations of connecting to a media source (ie, phone) and so forth.
Inside the box there is simply a USB to micro-USB cable for charging and some documentation. There is no wall adapter included, so you will either have to use the USB port on your computer or the wall adapter from one of you other gadgets.
Price is the only variable we couldn’t agree with. The going MSRP for the BTunes is $99.99, which is a little pricey when it leads to sound quality of a pair of $100-200 headphones. Here you are paying for a portion of technology from such headphones you would have normally have had to fork out the money for, for the same price. The price may be set a little high.
Our Conclusion
Outside of the price, the BTunes adapter delivers. It is nice being able to plug the adapter into any pair of headphones and walk off without wires. It sounds good and is as simple to use as any pair of natively wireless headphones. Using the Bose QC headphones is a plus and the battery life is great. A perfect solution to go wireless with.
Video:
Additional Images:
Specifications:
Audio codecs: aptX/AAC for CD quality wireless stream.
Bluetooth specification: Bluetooth V4.0
Near field communication (NFC): touch to pair
Bluetooth profiles supported: A2DP/HFP/AVRCP. Streaming music. Hands free phone calls.
Multiple Connection: 2 simultaneous connections
Operating distance: 33 ft (10 meters) Class II
Bluetooth frequency range: 2.402GHz-2.480GHz
LED Indicator status: Blue, Red
Battery: Rechargeable190 mAH Li-polymer battery
Standby time: Up to 300 hours
Music (moderate volume): Up to 10 hours
Charging time: About 2 hours
Charging input voltage: DC 5V/500mA
Charger jack: Micro USB
Are you a manufacturer or distributor that would like us to test something out for review? Contact us and we can let you know where to send the product and we will try it out.
- Final
