Wireless DAC/AMP to use headphones with, for watching videos on Apple TV

[LouisLoh]

Would appreciate your help on this.

So far, my search has yielded the likes of Fiio BTR5, iFi Go Blue, Shanling UP5 - bluetooth DAC/AMPs that work primarily for audio.

If anyone has used the above for watching videos, could you please share your experience re: lag and sound quality?

Does anyone know of any alternative solution to the above situation? Bonus points if they work via Airplay, and have balanced outputs (e.g. 4.4mm pentaconn).

Cheers.

 

[Sheepish-Lord]

A wireless dac/amp kind of defeats the point. You can only transmit so much data over wifi/Bluetooth and it will never be lossless so I would ask what your intentions are? Additionally, you’re talking about balanced inputs for less noise and yet want wireless/BT as the in between of you main source and your headphones which will inherently introduce some lag, noise, and quality issues.

It’s like asking for the best a/v receiver then using a portable Bluetooth speaker as the main output. You can check out Crutchfield but the wireless dacs are limited and poor quality because that’s not the intent of the product.

 

[martinm0]

Would appreciate your help on this.

So far, my search has yielded the likes of Fiio BTR5, iFi Go Blue, Shanling UP5 - bluetooth DAC/AMPs that work primarily for audio.

If anyone has used the above for watching videos, could you please share your experience re: lag and sound quality?

Does anyone know of any alternative solution to the above situation? Bonus points if they work via Airplay, and have balanced outputs (e.g. 4.4mm pentaconn).

Cheers.

I hate to say it, but you likely should look at actual Apple headphones. I see you list yourself as a headphone enthusiast, as I was (had some of the Fostex TH-X00). I sold those and ended up with the AirPods Pro and Max products. I hate how good they are in this ecosystem...

 

[LouisLoh]

Thanks for the replies!

Maybe a little context and background would help clear things up:
- All of the above DAC/AMPs listed do work as USB-C DACs as well, and I do watch videos on Infuse on my iPad from time to time, so the wireless solutions I’m looking for would actually be serving multiple purposes

- I do own a pair of Airpods Pro, and they do work pretty well, and I am aware of the lossy nature of bluetooth audio, which is why I said Airplay compatibility would be a bonus (Airplay supports lossless audio). I am asking for first-hand experiences precisely because there are so many pieces to the puzzle:
> Transducer quality (Airpods vs my headphones)
> Codec support
> Lag, and ways to rectify them on ATV

Ultimately, I’ll need to decide if the convenience factor of using Airpods Pro trumps the sound quality factor of using a separate wireless DAC/AMP/IEM system.

So probable combinations of variables to the above equation would be
1. Wireless DAC/AMP supporting Airplay transmitting lossless files,
- Supports balanced outputs
- May cause significant delays which are hopefully rectifiable
- Allows the driving of much higher quality transducers
- Provides significantly higher quality, cleaner, lossless sound compared to Airpod Pros
- If this exists, it would be an extremely favourable option

2. Bluetooth DAC/AMP with balanced outputs
- Again, may introduce delays
- This system still allows me to use higher quality transducers
- While only playing lossy files, I will still have better transducers which will be driven by better DAC/AMP components
- The connection between the actual DAC/AMP and the headphones will be wired, balanced
- There have been favourable reviews of these bluetooth DAC/AMPs with music playback even with lossy formats
- The relative advantage and value of this solution will be less than the first combination, as you have rightly pointed out
>> In other words, at the very least, a bluetooth DAC/AMP + IEMs will still provide definitive upgrades in sound quality over the Airpods Pro (both solutions only providing lossy transmission cancels each other out), albeit at the costs of introducing probable lag
>> Hence, I am keen to hear from you, how bad is the lag issue, and if it is rectifiable, and ultimately, if the upgrade in sound quality is worth these potential issues

 

[HDFan]

1. Not sure why you are looking for a DAC for an AirPod Pro. Maybe you will get some improvement, but you will never get great sound out of a plain AirPod. An AirPod Max would a better job. Airplay lossless might be what is playing internally in the Apple TV but there is major loss transmitting the signal wirelessly to headphones. There are supposedly some higher quality wireless codecs that other headphones can use (think Sony) but lossless just isn't an option for unwired phones. Apple recently indicated that the wireless protocols were inadequate which seems to be a hint that they are working on some sort of a solution.

2. High quality wired headphones connected to a bluetooth dac probably would give you the best sound from your Apple TV but you still have the bluetooth/DAC bottlenect. Not worth the investment.

My solutions for the best sound:

1. Connect my Apple TV via HDMI to a receiver with a good DAC and listen via headphones plugged in to the receiver.
2. When I want the absolute best sound, such as the high bitrate DTS/MA lossless tracks on Blu-Ray disks I don't use the Apple TV since it doesn't support it. Use a Nvidia Shield TV which does, again using wired headphones connected to the receiver.
3. On my computer I listen with a USB headphone amp/DAC which has all of the bells and whistles such as XLR output.

 

[LouisLoh]

You got it mixed up, I will be using the DAC/AMP with my Vision Ears Elysium customs.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

• Quality maximization: Wired or bust.
• Convenience: Wireless with wireless tradeoffs.

There is no "having your cake and eating it too" right now.

If me and I want wireless listening- perhaps for group ears- I use terrific-quality speakers hooked to a receiver and put headphones/buds away for that session.

If only me and I want high-quality audio without the noise perhaps for sleeping others, I plug some terrific-quality, wired headphones into the headphone jack of the receiver.

If I want to prioritize wireless over maximizing quality, I simply accept the quality tradeoffs therein, as there's no magical solution to be had. Yes, Airplay will beat Bluetooth but even Airplay has its audio hiccups.

All you can do here is chase subjective opinions about what maximizes the less-than-optimized sound quality of wireless. Up to every responder can have a different opinion and it is unlikely you will find any consensus (except, of course, bias towards Apple stuff).

Best move if you want wireless anyway is to read lots of independent reviews (not biased to a single manufacturer) and go with whichever you assume is best. Then listen with your own ears and decide if you are satisfied. If not, try the runner-up option. Etc. Maybe you find something you can judge as "good enough" or maybe you never quite hear that and adopt a wired solution when you want to use headphones.

 

[LouisLoh]

• Quality maximization: Wired or bust.
• Convenience: Wireless with wireless tradeoffs.

There is no "having your cake and eating it too" right now.

If me and I want wireless listening- perhaps for group ears- I use terrific-quality speakers hooked to a receiver and put headphones/buds away for that session.

If only me and I want high-quality audio without the noise perhaps for sleeping others, I plug some terrific-quality, wired headphones into the headphone jack of the receiver.

If I want to prioritize wireless over maximizing quality, I simply accept the quality tradeoffs therein, as there's no magical solution to be had. Yes, Airplay will beat Bluetooth but even Airplay has its audio hiccups.

All you can do here is chase subjective opinions about what maximizes the less-than-optimized sound quality of wireless. Up to every responder can have a different opinion and it is unlikely you will find any consensus (except, of course, bias towards Apple stuff).

Best move if you want wireless anyway is to read lots of independent reviews (not biased to a single manufacturer) and go with whichever you assume is best. Then listen with your own ears and decide if you are satisfied. If not, try the runner-up option. Etc. Maybe you find something you can judge as "good enough" or maybe you never quite hear that and adopt a wired solution when you want to use headphones.

Yes, thanks for the perspective. I am aware of the trade offs. My main concern is that of video/audio lag. I am just wondering if anyone has any experience with any products, and can comment on the actual degree of lag and if they have come across any methods to rectify that. That would help me decide if the convenience is worth the trade off.

The other main trade off being signal quality doesn’t bother me as much, as anything in my repertoire will still beat the Airpods Pro in terms of sound quality, even taking into account the limitations of wireless.