Do they make STEREO bluetooth speakers for iPhone yet?

[h4lp m3]

I was at Costco a couple months ago and a sales rep was blasting this massive Samsung deck that ran two 24"s off his iPhone via bluetooth. One problem... It was playing only mono so naturally, I inquired.

The rep congratulated me on my ear and told me he "wouldn't buy this crap" and that "these fools pay hundreds of dollars" just because it says bluetooth.

Long story short, he told me that modern bluetooth decks don't support stereo streaming from iPhones yet. When I asked him if the problem lied within the iPhone architecture or on the bluetooth end he said "That's a good question".

My question: Is there any truth to this?

 

[Ghostbusters]

Lies. All lies. Bluetooth 2.0 and higher supports stereo just fine. It is somewhat dependant on the protocol used. An example is A2DP, but pretty much all bluetooth speaker systems on the market support the latest ones with higher end speakers supporting multiple.

True audiophiles will tell you, and they are correct, that the audio fidelity is not the same as with a direct wired connection. This is mainly due to compression although interference may be an issue as well. That being said the comman consumer doesn't really care and can't tell too much the difference. I've owned many sets of bluetooth speakers and devices and have enjoyed them immensely. The reason for my success was because I stuck with Logitech, Jambox or Beats (No joke! ). These manufacturers usually have good bang for their buck, especially Logitech.

 

[takeshi74]

Nope. Always consider the source. Store reps aren't generally reliable but you really have to assess them individually.

Don't overlook Airplay if the audio quality of Bluetooth is a concern.

 

[Outrigger]

I was at Costco a couple months ago and a sales rep was blasting this massive Samsung deck that ran two 24"s off his iPhone via bluetooth. One problem... It was playing only mono so naturally, I inquired.

The rep congratulated me on my ear and told me he "wouldn't buy this crap" and that "these fools pay hundreds of dollars" just because it says bluetooth.

Long story short, he told me that modern bluetooth decks don't support stereo streaming from iPhones yet. When I asked him if the problem lied within the iPhone architecture or on the bluetooth end he said "That's a good question".

My question: Is there any truth to this?

you know they make bluetooth headphones right, as in stereo.

 

[h4lp m3]

you know they make bluetooth headphones right, as in stereo.

I do now. Thanks.

 

[skorpien]

This is why I prefer to do my own research online prior to any purchase. Even the best intentioned CSR can have gaps in his/her product knowledge. Sales reps are usually worse, with commission based reps at the very bottom in my experience. There have been those that knew their stuff, but those tend to be few and far between unfortunately.

I've had a pair of Bluetooth headphones (Motorola HT820) since about 2006 or 2007, and so long as the device supported A2DP I was able to stream stereo music to them no problem.