MEE audio BTX2 Bluetooth Wireless MMCX Adapter Cable with aptX & aptX Low Latency, Microphone & Remote, Bluetooth 5.0, IPX5 Sweat Resistance, Black (BTX2-BK)

First, I want to let you know that I was given a BTX2 by Meelectronics for my review. I owned the BTX1, and I can give a comparison, and they trust I will give a honest appraisal. Second, I own a Pinnacle P1-probably the best earbuds for the money. Finally, I use my bluetooth adapter full-time. I have a great cable, but they just seem so inconvenient now-unless I know I won't need portability.Now, to begin, the delivery of my new BTX2 was quick. When they arrived, It was packed well, and it had similar packaging as the first generation. Even before they arrived, I got an email with a link to directions in case I could not figure out how to use it. The link is: https://www.meeaudio.com/content/usermanuals/UserManual_BTX2.pdf. This is a new feature of their customer service.First ImpressionsThe BTX2 feels solid. It is made of great quality components. Compared to the first generation, the wires are thicker, the battery and the control modules are bigger, and the cable length adjuster works better than the first generation. It is an "S" retainer that securely holds both sides of the wires rather than the old clip-type that came off all the time and I was surprised I did not lose.The control module had the familiar three buttons design, but it was different. The BTX1 buttons has three separate buttons. The BTX2s has one button, but it has the three buttons embedded underneath with tactile ridges to indicate where the buttons were. You have to learn to feel the buttons, but it did not take much to get used to them. I suspect that it was better at making the adapter resist any moisture.It was easy to connect the BTX2 to my Pinnacle P1. The BTX1 has tight fitting MMCX connectors and was difficult to separate from my Pinnacle P1 (an understatement), but the BTX2 has great connectors. I easily connected and disconnected them over and over again. Right buds are on the side of the control unit and the left is the battery side.Pairing the BTX2 was just as easy as the first generation. Press and hold the Multifunction button for about 4 seconds until you hear the headset say “Pairing” and the light flashes red and blue. The voice is softer than the first generation, but the communication is the same. The BTX2 talks to you in a soft and gentle (female) voice to let you know what is going on. Powering on, powering off, connected, disconnected are spoken into your ear. The ease of use of these were a dream. Automatic connecting to my Mac and my phone simultaneously allowed me to answer the phone, switch effortlessly between both sources, etc. They are just that good and easy to use. Sometimes I had to contend with the computer, but that was rare. When connecting and playing music, the music would fade in rather than connect full volume. It was a nice touch, and, no, the sound settings were not set up that way. This is part of the BTX2 set up.Connection never dropped and the distance from the source was as good, if not better than the BTX1. Unlike the BTX1 which required reconnecting when I got too far from the source, the BTX2 would automatically reconnect and fade in what I was playing. Very nice touch.ChargingA short charging connector is included with the BTX2, but you can use any standard mini-usb cable. The charging port is covered by a "hinged" soft plastic cover. In the BTX1. I thought that the cover might break off over time with wear and tear, but that never happened. This one is a kind of hinged cover that is more flexible and should not break either. Nice design. One other difference is the LED light. When it is red, it is charging. When it is blue, it is charged. In the BTX1, these lights were bright. In the BTX2 I have, these lights are softer.SoundThese are connected to my Pinnacle P1, and so one would expect the sound to be wonderful. I was not disappointed. The sound was spectacular. I think the output of these are a bit more than the BTX1. It was easy to turn them up to a point where I really did not want any more, but it depends on the source.Then I started to play around with the codec. Understand, before I played with the codec, the performance of the BTX2 would please anyone-even using the standard SBC codec. A common opinion is that AAC produces higher quality, and some believe that AptX is even better. Some think that there is not much difference between the two. It is up to you to decide.I wanted to check out the AAC and AptX for myself to see if there was a difference in sound. I checked the codec being used on my MacBook Pro and it was using SBC. I turned on the AAC in my MacBook Pro and I think there was big difference. Why AAC is not a default setting, I do not know. It may be Catalina. I forced my MacBook Pro to use the AptX codec, but I am still working out how to get the system software to use the AptX. I am not sure why the AptX is not kicking in, but I am sure it is because of the software and not because of the BTX2. Still, the AAC quality is excellent. A recent update to system software, and Apple turned on the AptX, and it stays on for every type of media. All I can say is, “wow!” The sound is magnificent. Try watching Apple TV+. The soundtrack is amazing.When I used the BTX2 with my phone, there was none of the issues as with my laptop. There is a way of testing what codec it is using, but Apple will not let me read it. I will update this review when I find out. But I do not know how much I would gain. The music is nothing short of spectacular which makes me think that it is using AAC natively. The separation is excellent, creating a spacious sound stage. Movies sound equally great too. The volume for movies is not always as loud as I want, but I think that has to do with the import or video converter settings or the source. If you want more, make sure that the import volume is its highest. You can always turn it down. I dream of Dolby DTS and 3D sound in the future.Call features, Siri, microphone quality, and batteryJust like the BTX1, the call features and “hey Siri” work as expected. Having used single button systems and no button systems, the BTX2 is so much easier to use and navigate. You just have to get used to feeling the buttons.The microphone is still a weakness because it is so far away from the mouth. In quiet environments, the call quality is good. In loud environments, the person on the other end hears the background noise and my voice is not as differentiated. It helps when I cup the mic to my mouth so that it focuses my voice to the microphone. However, the background noise is still there. It would be nice to have noise canceling, but I suspect that the feature would considerably reduce the 9 hour playback time. And, yes, it lasts 9 hours.The battery is amazing, and it will tell you when the battery is low and powering down. I know. I ran the BTX2 for a full day before the soft voice came over the buds saying, “battery low.”One other thing I noticed was that the BTX2s will not shut off after a certain amount of time as the BTX1s. This is actually a good thing. I can keep them on for a long time and they will standby for a call or until I turn on some music or a movie. This does not seem to make a difference to the battery life.Final ThoughtsSo, the BTX2 gets 5 stars for its design, great quality, ease of use, and its great sound (Although, part of the great sound is due to my Pinnacle P1). In my BTX1 review, I thought the next step would be to go fully wireless, but this has its advantages-that being battery life, not having the hassle of two units pairing, and being able to hang the earbuds around my neck when I do not use them but want to have them available. The designers certainly learned from their first experience and put that learning into the BTX2.The BTX2 strong points are: its excellent build quality, its excellent sound quality, its solid connection quality, its ability to connect to two sources at the same time, and the designer’s attention to detail that make the BTX2 easy and a joy to use. I would also add that Meelectronics has excellent customer service. In all my experiences with them, they have always honored their warrantee and recalled any defective parts they have discovered to be a problem.The BTX2 weakness? I could only find one-the microphone. Though not at all terrible, it is certainly an area that could be improved upon. However, I believe that it is due to the limitations of iOS software and not the BTX2. In time, software may Improve the experience. The experience might be different for Android phones.If you have earbud headphones that use the MMCX connectors, and you want to go wireless, then these will take care of your needs. Enjoy!Update: it has not been a year and the BTX2 has failed. Not sure what went wrong. I still say that they are a solid choice. I think the battery failed, but I am not sure. Will buy another.

Love the sound quality and battery life, but this cable should not be used as a daily driver. The first cable started cutting out on the right side within just a couple weeks of use, so I got it replaced through Amazon. Now the replacement is suffering the same issue.I would love to recommend this cable as it is great for using my Tin Hifi T2 Pros or my Shure SE215s at work, but they just don't hold up to regular use.

Update 10/3/19: I'm still using the same monitors with the BTX2, but I have switched phones to a Samsung S10+ (personal) and an iPhone Xs (work). They do both technically still work. The S10+ has no issues. However, with the iPhone when an incoming call on the iPhone is answered, the device switches to its own speaker/mic output/input and you have to quickly select the BTX2. In the meantime the person on the other line doesn't know what's going on and you can't hear them. This happens with every call.I'm using the Mee Audio BTX2 with Westone W20's connected to two Galaxy S7's at the time of this review. The product excels in many categories, especially for the price being in the $50-$100 range. It supports multipoint, which was a requirement for me, so I can have my work phone and personal phone connected simultaneously. The BTX2 switches from music on my personal phone to a call on my work phone and back again when the call is done - without my input aside from answering the call. The only hiccup is a tiny skipping noise for a second or so when you get certain notifications on whichever phone is the secondary phone (the one you're not actively listening from at that particular moment). It doesn't totally pause the audio source on the main phone, it just sort of sounds like a couple quick skips as if the device can't decide whether it needs switch to the secondary device and then realizes it doesn't need to. Not a huge issue in my opinion. Also if you're connected to two devices and walk away out of range from one of the two, occasionally it won't reconnect when you come back in range and you'll have to power cycle the BTX2 before it can connect again with the device it dropped. This only happens sometimes and I haven't been able to pinpoint the cause, whether it's the headset or phone causing the issue.Bluetooth 5.0 is no joke. Almost 0 latency compared to many many other bluetooth headsets and devices in general. As a result, watching videos is not infuriating. Sound is sync'd up close enough that any latency is unnoticeable.Call quality: I have made quite a few calls to people I speak with regularly and asked them how I sound in comparison to my old wired connection. The first couple were okay, but then people started saying I sounded far away even though I had only the right earpiece in and was holding the mic as close my face as possible. I don't know how anyone would be able to hear you on a call with the strap going around the back of your neck.(Call quality update 10/3/19: I am constantly being asked if I'm far away from the mic and why I sound muffled. This is with the mic as close to my mouth as possible and in a quiet office. If I use the crappy wired iPhone headphones people on the other line say I sound 10x better. I will likely have to look into another option, but there isn't much that allows me to use nice monitors and have multipoint connection so that I can enjoy music in between work calls without wearing a big bulky headset.)Sound quality: overall it's a noticeable step down from the MFI wired Westone cable and an even bigger jump down from the Westone audio-only cable that doesn't have a mic. Bass impact and clarity is lacking for sure on the BTX2. Mids are punchy, but a tad muddy and narrow. Highs are clear and precise until higher volumes where distortion is present at basically all frequencies. Again, this is in comparison to a wired connection which doesn't have to carry an amplifier on-board on a lightweight neck band. And that wired cable costs just as much as this bluetooth product.Personally, I would pay 2-3x for a similar product with a better mic, processor, and amp that could mimic a wired connection better for music, while retaining the good things about the headset such as good multipoint connectivity and high quality in-call audio. Unfortunately that doesn't seem to exist with an MMCX connection, at least not yet.Overall, this is one of the better options on the market if you need multipoint and want decent call audio/speech and decent media audio. All the "true wireless" options with disconnected ear buds have various major functionality problems or subpar sound quality and cost at least twice as much.