Customer Reviews

Bluetooth Stereo Gateway DC800 Bluetooth Adapter for Home Stereo

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(20)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

I was seeking a way to watch t.v. in my basement while running on the treadmill and lifting weights in the early morning hours. The T.V. had to be turned up way too loud so that I could hear it while on the treadmill. I started by purchasing an FM transmitter and using my arm-band fm "walkman" type of device. The reception was terrible unless I stood right next to the transmitter.

I bought the Motorola S9 stereo headset and the Motorola DC800 stereo adapter. These two paired easily and the sound is unbelievable. I can run on the treadmill and watch "loud" T.V. and there are no reception problems. I would highly recommend this set-up to anyone.

I use this most of the time to connect the Bluetooth audio output from my iMac to the stereo, so that I can listen to internet radio using real speakers. The computer and the stereo are in different rooms, not even adjacent rooms, and the DC800 has no difficulty connecting to the Mac. Sound quality is very good; I have not had the problems that some other reviewers mentioned about sound quality.

The DC800 will do more, though. I can listen to whatever the stereo is playing, such as broadcast TV or a DVD, via Bluetooth headphones (I use Motorola BT820s). I can listen to my iPod through the stereo using a tiny Bluetooth iPod adapter (from Sony) that attaches via the iPod's docking connector. Now, it's easy to connect an iPod to a stereo by just plugging a stereo cable into the iPod's earphone jack, but then you have to leave the iPod near the stereo or use a long cable. With a Bluetooth connection, you can sit across the room, holding the iPod, and use the iPod's controls to select music. You'll also need some sort of remote for the stereo's volume control, because the volume setting on the iPod has no effect on the volume of the Bluetooth connection, at least using the Sony adapter.

The DC800 was easy to set up and easy to pair with the Bluetooth devices I have. It has no controls other than a power switch (I leave it on all the time) and a button to press for pairing. It just works.

One thing it WON'T do is two Bluetooth sessions at once. I can't play the computer's sound through the stereo via Bluetooth and at the same time listen to the stereo's output via Bluetooth headphones. There's no real need to do this (just pair the headphones directly with the computer), but I tried it to see if it works -- it doesn't.

I definitely recommend this product.

Great idea. Very convenient and easy to set up and use, but the novelty
is going to wear off quickly as the sound quality is quite poor.
We've used this to stream music from bluetooth devices to a stereo
system and it doesn't perform well, even with the bluetooth audio source
right next to the DC800. As it buffers the incoming audio, the pitch
varies quite noticeably. It's like playing an old record, with one hand
on the turn-table alternately slowing and then speeding up the playback.
It'll drive you nuts! Save some money and buy yourself a decent cable instead.

I've owned this product for 2 or 3 years now. I love it, period. I came here hoping that Moto still made these so that I could grab a second one for the bedroom.

The way I understand it is, the majority of users fall into one of two categories: 1) People want to use this with bluetooth headphones in some way/shape/form, and 2) People want to play the music on their computers and hear it on their home stereos.

I've always thought Mototola mis-marketed this thing. I don't know all the possibilities with the first option, but the second one is dead simple. I can play music and not have to run a long cable from my PC to my stereo. Moto pushed the first option because they could also sell the matching headphones.

At the time, I was so happy to find this device because it meant that, aside from electricity, my laptop experience was completely wireless. And at the time, this device cost me 2 Jacksons, which was a bargain. The only other device at the time that gave me similar functionality cost about 2 Benjamins. I see now that there are a few other manufacturers that make a similar device in a similar price range.

The pros:
-easy to set up. My laptop has integrated BT, and it sniffs out the DC800 no problem.
-audio plays. That's all I want it to do, and it does it well. The quality is good, and the way I figure it is, if you're happy with headphone jacks then you'll be fine with this.
-there are so many devices and software packages out there that will also do audio streaming, but they require codecs and network configurations and so on. If all you want is to use your stereo speakers instead of your pc speakers, this is for you.

Cons:
-I can't figure out how to get my computer (Windows XP) to automatically connect to the device when I turn it on. It works with the BT mouse but not the DC800. So therefore I have to manually pair it when I turn on the PC.
-There were a couple of months when I was getting audio cutting in and out in a very annoying way. I figure it was some kind of interference, and between removing the BT mouse, changing channels on my wireless router, and my neighbor moving out, it got fixed.
-It can't play Crysis. Well, I wouldn't suggest using this if you are going to play video games. There is a ever so slight lag, and if you're one who is anal about audio and video being out of sync, then you should reconsider. I'm fairly anal but I can handle watching internet TV/Netflix on this without pulling out my hair.

Other thoughts
-If I'm using iTunes, I use my iPhone as a remote. Elegant and understated simplicity.
-Some people say the sound quality is real bad. I read somewhere else that there is something even more specific within the A2DP stack where you can have compatibility problems making two devices play well. Maybe try updating your PC BT drivers, or switching BT dongles if you're using one.
-I have XP. When I first got this thing, I always had to make the connection to the DC800 before I opened up whatever app I was going to play audio with. If I didn't, then the audio would get routed through the PC speakers. I think an application will figure out from XP what to rout audio through only upon its startup. This isn't really a con of the DC800, it's a con of XP or the applications, I don't know which. What I've done is gone into the control panel, and within audio devices specified the default to be Bluetooth audio. It works great for me because I don't have to restart apps now after connecting to the DC800. If you do need to listen to your PC speakers (or headphone out) then I'm not sure if this will be as good for you as it was for me.

This product fits my purpose. I have a home theatre and I get yelled at if it's too loud. I put on my headphones and voila, silence in the house. If I get a cell phone call it rings through the headphones and silences the stereo. Works great.

This is a good Stereo Adapter, it can stream music to and from a device.

For example the adapter is hooked in to your Home Theater System, when properly connected this device can send music to wireless headphones, or you can send the device music from a cell phone (that has the proper blue tooth profile), or send music from your MP3 collection at your PC to your home theater (provided that your home theater is somewhat close by).

The range I use is about 12 feet and I have had no problems with reception.

It even comes with a Cell phone headphone adapter that converts the plug to RCA style cables (the red and white cords). It is well equipped to hookup most simple installations.

I have mine hooked in the the Mini Disc (MD) CD-R port in my system, this provided music in and music out, so I do not have to change any cables.

So far the only problem I expierence is Streaming music from my PC to my Home Theater System. The software/driver disables my PC's sound card and sends all the sounds to my bluetooth dongle then to the DC800. Which is okay - - until I want to hear the music on my PC again. For some reason the software/driver will not re-enable my PC's sound card. I have to reset my PC. Which is not a big deal, just a little annoying.

Hope this helps any who wish to buy this.

Cheers!

Motorola Bluetooth Stereo Transceiver DC800 streams stereo music

This is a great addition to your wireless music experience. I recently purchased a Samsung Q1 UMPC which support audio gateway over bluetooth. Combined with the DC800 I can now stream my music subscription to my home stereo. The sound is incredible, and the range is really good. I can pretty much walk around the family room as well as the adjoining room without any signal drop. It is best to keep a line of sight with the DC800 from your bluetooth device to get the best reception.

Turns my TV in my bedroom into silent device so I can watch while my wife is asleep. Works great!!!

The unit is certainly convenient to use, and pairing is rather straighforward. Range is about 30 ft in my (not very exhaustive) test. BUT: The big issue is sound quality! It brings you back to the time of tapes (muffled sound, missing highs, loss of airiness and vigor) and scratched vinyl records (hiss, and most annoyingly, regular pronounced cracks and pops that sound like bad scratches on the record).

A direct A/B comparison of the source CDs (Classical) and 320kbps mp3 rips made from them shows the expected noticeable slight degradation when used with a cable; but when played through this unit, it leads to what I consider unacceptable loss of fidelity, clarity and presence. Why even bother about the digital age when this sounds like a low-to-midrange 60s and 70s setup?

It paired with my iPhone just fine but the output level was so low that I had turn my stereo up all the way to get usable volume. No one in tech support (non-native English speaking) could produce any specifications to determine whether the unit was operating as designed so I returned it. Not recommended.