JBL Launches First Lightning-Compatible Speaker Docks

[DesignerOnMac]

Originally Posted by Radio

some people want better sound guys

blutooth music bitrate isn't the greatest. 128kb but correct me if im wrong.

I remember when JBL was a great speaker company, was sorry to see them bought out!!!

[hchung]

Originally Posted by PatriotInvasion

Question for this crowd: I bought the JBL Flip Bluetooth speaker and it doesn't seem to always be "listening" for audio coming from my Mac. It sounds like the connection "sleeps" when no audio is playing and then when I play something, it takes a few seconds to "wake up" and start playing audio.

Is this normal for Bluetooth speakers? Just a way to conserve battery life?

Any way to get it to "always listen" for audio to avoid this delay? If not, I'll just use an auxiliary cord...

PS - There is also latency between the mouth of a person in a video and the audio from the speaker. Not always but frequently...is this normal as well?

That's all normal for bluetooth. The start/stop is to conserve battery life. Having the radio "always listen" won't fix the latency either.

The latency is because A2DP is done by sending a compressed stream over the air. Often times, it'll have to be recompressed by the device and then decompressed by the other device, hence the latency. Not to mention that bluetooth itself adds latency too.

[Berserker-UK]

Originally Posted by duneriderltr450

What hotels do you stay at that don't have an alarm clock?

Most hotels. Even the non-budget ones. Outside the US, anyway.

[TC03]

Originally Posted by Yumbo

AirPlay requires the Airport Express or AppleTV.

Both are cheaper solutions than docks.

[Sedrick]

I sit in an office 9 hours a day. Why in the heck would I want to 'Airplay' music and also plug in my phone to keep it charged when I can plunk it down in a nice speaker dock? A decent speaker dock is also a helluva lot less expensive than an Airplay device.

[mkbook]

Bluetooth music streaming in a dock? That's disappointing. Bluetooth sounds terrible. I need to stick with AirPlay I suppose.

[bobr1952]

Originally Posted by Yumbo

Swap it for the cable adapter. Allows phone to be held and passes audio.

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AirPlay requires the Airport Express or AppleTV.

Hmm--read my post on this page about the Altec Lansing InAir 5000--just one of many non-Apple Airplay solutions.

[PatriotInvasion]

Originally Posted by hchung

That's all normal for bluetooth. The start/stop is to conserve battery life. Having the radio "always listen" won't fix the latency either.

The latency is because A2DP is done by sending a compressed stream over the air. Often times, it'll have to be recompressed by the device and then decompressed by the other device, hence the latency. Not to mention that bluetooth itself adds latency too.

Thanks. Does AirPlay also suffer from this annoying latency?

[hchung]

Originally Posted by PatriotInvasion

Thanks. Does AirPlay also suffer from this annoying latency?

I'm sure Airplay introduces latency, that's just a fundamental given.
However, the amount of latency could be lower given that there's more powerful hardware thrown at the problem.

Here's another thing. Airplay tends to be used when sending both video and audio. Those arrive at the same time, so that if you're watching from the output device (TV?), it's all nicely synced.

However, if you're playing a game on an ipad, and sending the video to a TV over airplay, then the latency for the audio/visual output will cause a slight delay in reaction time.

But, this reaction time is small enough that many gamers wouldn't notice. It's a lower lag then over-the-internet multiplayer games, for example.

[JemTheWire]

Originally Posted by Leonard1818

why is everyone so hung up on "Docks" when we have much simpler/better solutions available. I've never really seen the appeal of a "dock".

Completely agree. Networked my SoundDock 10 via AirTunes. Superb. And I can sit in my chair and select what I want.

[AJAAY]

OMG! Does it really matter if someone uses a dock, AirPlay or Bluetooth!?

Why do people feel the need to pawn off their usage habits on other people, or argue that their usage habits are superior.

Get over it! There is no right answer or all time right way to use an iPhone. You use it the way YOU want to use it.

[Yumbo]

Originally Posted by ftaok

actually AirPlay doesn't require them. They make airplay speakers. You do, however, require wifi.

Yes, but that was in reference to those posting about hooking up to existing stereos, and with the exception of 1 or 2 amps, they don't have built-in Airplay.

[KanosWRX]

Originally Posted by iGrip

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Bluetooth sounds like ass.

If you really want good audio you will be streaming it from your loss-less flac directly, not from a phone!

[iGrip]

Originally Posted by KanosWRX

If you really want good audio you will be streaming it from your loss-less flac directly, not from a phone!

Android phones play flac files just fine.

[AppleScruff1]

Originally Posted by DesignerOnMac

I remember when JBL was a great speaker company, was sorry to see them bought out!!!

Harmon owns some great companies. Ever hear of Mark Levinson? Infinity? Harmon Kardon?

[bobr1952]

Originally Posted by iGrip

Android phones play flac files just fine.

And the iPhone plays Apple Lossless just fine.

[KanosWRX]

Originally Posted by bobr1952

And the iPhone plays Apple Lossless just fine.

And 99% of the rest of the world has no idea what FLAC or Apple Lossless is and wouldn't be able to tell the difference anyways