Customer Reviews

Old Version of Belkin F8Z492 Bluetooth Music Receiver for iPod and iPhone (Black)

5 star:		(39)
4 star:		(26)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(16)

 

 

This device works well. All those who say range is crap etc simply don't know or understand bluetooth application. If you use it with a laptop built-in bluetooth or a mobile phone, then range will be short because the laptop or mobile bluetooth is for connecting to devices in the immediate proximity to your work area. Thats why it's called PAN - Personal Area Network.

If you want to use it with increased distance, get a class I (class 1) USB dongle rated for 100 meters. You will not have any trouble.

I have validated it first hand - my HP laptop's built-in BT cuts off all the time if more then 2 meters (6 feet) away. My ipod and iphone work nicely to about 5 meters (15 feet). A cheap billionton class 1 dongle doesn't cut off even at 10 meters (30 feet) and a belkin class 1 usb dongle even works at 12 meters (36 feet) with one concrete wall between.

Another advantage I find useful is that it supports multiple device pairing, I just leave it powered and once you 'disconnect' one device you can 'connect' a different one.

The device is powered by a 5V/0.2A universal (100V-240V) adapter and remembers my paired devices even after disconnecting and reconnecting power.

Audio quality is as good as any other A2DP bluetooth audio device. They all use the SBC (Low Complexity Subband Codec) bluetooth protocol which limits bandwidth to 512 kbit/s - which allows to enjoy sounds similar to a 256 kbit/s stereo mp3 file.

I purchased both the Belkin Bluetooth Reciever and the BluBridge Receiver from two different locations and was going to return the one that I liked the least. So here is a very quick comparison. In the testing I also had one of my friends give his opinion as well. Here is what we both thought:

Belkin Bluetooth Reciever
Sound Quality: Amazing/Excellent 10/10- sounds just as good if not better than standard wired 3.5mm audio connection
Range: 8/10 Line of sight maybe 20-25ft, although I hear that this also depends on your transmitter, I was using Lenovo s10-3t netbook integrated bluetooth and Iphone 3GS integrated bluetooth as source.
Connectability Ease: 10/10, once you have paired it, it stays plugged in to the wall next to your stereo. Example: I turned off my Lenovo s10-3t netbook, the blue light went out on the belkin receiver showing disconnect, I turned the netbook on a day later, immediately I notice the belkin blue light come back on the belkin receiver, and the connect is so fast that the windows 7 startup sound/chime came in through my stereo. Obviously if you connect your computer to a different bluetooth audio device, you will have to later tell it to reconnect to the belkin. But the whole process is super smooth.
Portability: NOT PORTABLE, stays plugged in to wall, this is also a PLUS, because it always stays very ready for easy connect.

BluBridge 3.5mm Mini-Jack Rx - Receiver
Sound Quality: Excellent 9.8/10, wired and the belkin bluetooth sound were slightly better, it was more of a slightly fuller/richer, slightly louder sound with the belkin or wired connection. Note: it is only very slightly better sound. My friend and I could only tell the difference when we used the same song, same sound source connecting back and forth very quickly. In the BluBridge's defence it produces 9.8/10 sound whether on battery power or connected to usb charging.
Range: 9/10 Line of sight maybe 25-30ft, basically I got an additional 5ft of range from the same bluetooth transmitters. The signal did seem stronger, when I would start to reach the max, the signal would break and then regain clear again for 3-4 more feet if the transmitter was stable. With the belkin as soon as the signal started to break, the signal was gone.
Connectability Ease: 8/10, this is mainly because the unit has a battery power saver that shuts off the device when not in use. So you have to hold down the button on the unit for 7 seconds, then connect with your device (Iphone 3GS or Lenovo s10-3t netbook)
Portability: Extremely and Easily Portable 10/10. I use it off of battery power mostly, I have it plugged into my Harman Kardon Go + Play High-Performance Portable Loudspeaker System with Dock for iPod (Newest Model) which can also operate off of battery power (8-D-cell batteries). Makes for a excellent portable sound source.

Testing: Used the Belkin RockStar 5-Way 3.5-mm Headphone Splitter (White) with Harmon Kardon Go and Play, 2 computer inputs, Belkin bluetooth input, and BluBridge bluetooth input, and Logitech Z-2300 THX-Certified 2.1 Speaker System with Subwoofer. Everything was connected at once and audio was crystal clear, from anysource, this really speaks volumes for the Belkin rockstar. And if your wondering, yes I did play the movie "Gone in 60 seconds" from my HTPC throught the belkin rockstar outputing to both the Logitech z-2300 speakers and the Harmon Kardon Go and PLay at the same time, sounded really good.

Before Very Close scrutinizing side by side testing, I thought I was going to be returning the Belkin, because the range was about 5ft less, and it wasn't portable. And playing with them separately 20min apart I nor my friend could tell a difference in the sound Quality, so it is very slight. But I ended up keeping them both. I recomend the Belkin if you have a stationary high end stereo system and have no need for bluetooth portability with your stereo system. Other wise I recomend the BluBridge 3.5mm receiver if you think you might ever want to hook it up to portable stereo. The Ease of connectiblity at the end of the day with the belkin is what made me keep it.

They are both EXCELLENT PRODUCTS, read details so see which fits your need better, I found a need for both.

PS: at the end of the testing my friend said he is going to buy the BluBridge bluetooth receiver, he like it because the sound quality was still excellent, it was portable, and he liked the look of it.

This product works perfectly as advertised. It works flawlessly with my iPod Touch 3g. The sound quality is better than most other bluetooth streaming devices I've used. The range is good for about 20 feet with a clear line of sight, after that walls and people can break the signal. I've had no problems with it losing connection and it makes streaming Pandora a dream, now when I hear a song I don't like I just reach in my pocket and change songs without having to leave whatever I'm doing, walk across the house and hit the button because it's plugged in. If you are looking for a product like this, go ahead and get this one, you won't be disappointed.

It seemed like a quality product at a great price point, and there is a "wow" factor being able to hear your mobile device wirelessly through your home stereo, but...

Sound quality: the signal is strong, but sounds strange: you can tell the audio is compressed, but worse than that, tunnel-like. It took me a while to figure out that it was the Belkin and not a setting on my home theatre, as the stereo image is wide and there is a good sense of ambiance at first with music. But I think this is where the problem lies - there is TOO MUCH reverb. I tried moving it to a boom box with Aux inputs and no audio processing, and the same thing happened. It is as if the center channel is dialed down 50%, and sounds like a tunnel. Vocals disappear, and any sound source with cymbals, wind, etc is hard to listen to for any amount of time. Maybe OK for certain types of music, but not good for projecting sound from streaming net audio or, movies on your device. NOTE: Most of my audio testing was streamed from Pandora or over Wifi via the Air Video app (these sound fine via headphones). I gave up before trying it from audio stored on my device, but don't think that should help things much.

I've heard these kinds of effect from headphones and speakers before, and it can come from two places. 1). Very low bitrate compressed audio (64kbps or less), sounds become "slurpy" 2) If you don't insert the headphone jack in far enough, it separates the common audio ground and all you get is (left-right) = stereo portion of sound image. I made sure that wire connections weren't the issue here (tried a couple of different cables). Perhaps that effect is what's going on internally in the HW or firmware, but in the end is definitely a product defect, not the Bluetooth A2DP spec (128kbps and higher streamed sources don't have this effect, and A2DP is 256kbps+ per channel). I don't expect any firmware update to fix this, because I don't see anything in the manual about uploading firmware to the device...

Pairing: as other reviewers have mentioned, it does get a bit frustrating when using a portable device, as the Belkin doesn't actively try to reconnect to any devices that come in range. The fact that it remembers several devices doesn't seem to help in practice, as you still have to re-pair from that device (at least for iPhones).

With devices like the Belkin that are AC powered and thus for home use, its value really is in the "set it and forget it" operation - if it falls short, the device becomes fairly useless and you might as well use a headphone to RCA cable, since it's easier to plug a cable in than re-associate the device from your mobile device each time. Again, this could be a limitation only on the iPhone/iPad side, but I don't have this same problem with the Apple Bluetooth keyboard.

When used with a portable device that stays in range (e.g. iPad or laptop), it appears to be marginally more useful as you usually don't have to reconnect after the device goes to sleep and wakes back up. But if something interrupts the pairing (device app or perhaps wifi interference), you'll have to power cycle the Belkin, as simply trying to reconnect via device pairing doesn't work. I had this problem three times in one day with the iPad, only 7 feet from the Belkin - very frustrating.

Summary: the Belkin device may work for some host devices in some situations (podcasts or audio books, with laptops), but not as you would hope for iPhones (and this is how it is being marketed).

I wanted to use Pandora in my car, which had an auxiliary input jack already. This device was exactly what I wanted to fill that gap.

Of course, they didn't design it for use in a car. I wound up making my own power supply for it - 12 volts into an LM7805 5 volt regulator, some capacitors for filtering, and a plug I was able to get from the local Radio Shack.

What's nice about this configuration is that this device only implements the A2DP headphone profile. As such, my iPhone can continue to pair to my headset for taking phone calls while still connected to the Belkin to deliver music. When a call comes in, the music fades out and my headset rings. I find this a much better solution than typical car bluetooth integration systems that want to try to be speakerphones too.

When power is applied to this device, it passively waits for a connection. It would be nice if, instead, it were more aggressive in attempting to connect to the last known device. As it is, whenever I get in the car, I must force the phone to reconnect to the Belkin and then start Pandora. But that's not really the Belkin's fault.

As for the sound, it's great. A2DP audio uses lossy compression, so it's never going to sound as good as regular headphones, but the Belkin, at least in my car, sounds as good as any other A2DP solution I've tried so far.

- I use it from about 10 feet away, mostly with an iPhone 3Gs, but occasionally also from laptops. For the most part it works without hiccups and pitch problems (see below).

- The device remembers up to 8 Bluetooth pairings (i.e. it automatically reconnects with those), but can only be connected to one device (audio source) at a time (which is a typical restriction for Bluetooth receivers).

- As others have noted, Bluetooth audio is not designed to satisfy the audiophile. However, for spoken-word content and low-to-mid-quality music sources (such as podcasts and the non-subscription Pandora streams) it is perfectly adequate.

- Despite its small size, it was designed to be stationary, so it requires a small AC adapter (included) to operate (which, annoyingly, is not stated anywhere). That said, it should be possibly to use this in a car as well (which another reviewer has indicated he's already doing), using a - obviously not included - universal AC/DC car adapter that outputs 5 volts and has a matching tip.

As for connection problems (dropouts):
It is worth pointing out that sometimes the Bluetooth *sender* may be the culprit.
From a 10-foot distance, I never had dropouts with the iPhone 3Gs, and never with *one* of my laptops, but the *other* laptop can be made to cause dropouts by just covering the area in front of the keyboard with an arm - not a big deal if you're just sitting back and listening, but likely a nuisance if you work on your laptop at the same time.

I chose this product because I've had previous Belkin products that work fine.

This one works fine too, but some limitations.

1) Sound quality isn't so good. This may have nothing to do with this product but may be true for bluetooth communication generally. Since I have this unit connected to my high quality 2-channel home stereo system, the audio quality matters a lot. I don't recall the product advertising commenting that this could be a problem.

2) Range isn't great. Yes, it is usually said that bt products work up to 30 feet, but if you are using it in a home environment and have corners, it seems the range is a bit less. Basically, you have to be in the same room with the device.

Som the product may or may not be right for you.

Use it to listen to an iMac through home theater system 10 ft away. Easy to set up, small, stylish, nonintrusive black puck... one less cord to run... definitely worth it.

This product worked just as described for us! I wanted a wireless connection between my smartphone and laptop and our old but great sounding stereo system. The Belkin receiver was easy to use (almost instantaneous setup) and works perfectly. The sound is great (using Foobar with an equalizer plugin)and I've had absolutely no trouble with range or the connection cutting out. In my opinion, this wireless receiver is an excellent deal!

Ok, so I may be late to the game here, but I've been "plugging in" my iPhone to my home entertainment system to enjoy my tunes for a year now. In researching bluetooth stereo audio devices, I discovered this little gem. I was a slight bit skeptical when I first ordered it, but figured for the price, it was worth a try. When received, it took me all of 5 minutes to install (plug into my receiver and plug in AC adapter). Pairing was even easier....couple of selections on my iPhone, and BAM....I'm now listening to my tunes, wirelessly, through my home theater system. I'm TOTALLY thrilled with this device! Range is totally not an issue for me at all. And the audio quality is incredibly impressive! I was so impressed, I bought another, and use it at the other end of my home, to listen through my Samsung sound bar. My only regret is that I did not find this sooner! BRAVO Belkin!! You have a very satisfied customer here!!