FiiOBR13 HiFi Bluetooth 5.1 Music Receiver Long Range Bluetooth Adapter with USB DAC, LDAC/aptX Low Latency, OLED Display & RCA Optical Coaxial Output for Home Stereo,PC/TV

I have a vintage stereo setup in my office and I wanted to add Bluetooth to it so I could connect both my iPhone (using the AAC codec) and my Sony NW-A55 hi-res digital audio player (using LDAC) to it. LDAC should theoretically let me get almost the full sound quality from my hi-res files wirelessly, so I really wanted that.I had bought another, slightly cheaper Bluetooth receiver that promised LDAC support but sent it back because no matter what I did, LDAC playback was totally bugged - it either played like, Chipmunks fast or highly distorted. Other codecs worked, but they didn't sound all that great to me, so I also suspected a pretty crappy digital to analog converter.This model seemed like a pretty significant upgrade over the previous one I'd tried and for only about $15 more. But it has a metal case, a full LCD screen to tell you what codec it's using and other info, it can pair to two devices at once (and I'm trying to use two devices with it, so that's perfect), it supports more codecs including AptX Adaptive and LL, and it's got the same DAC in it that's used by much more expensive Bluetooth receivers. It also has a power button, which the previous model I had tried did not! I figured it was worth a shot.I did read some of the negative reviews here about it dying after a few months and also the bad companion app behavior, and the jury's going to be out on at least the first of those issues for me for a while (I'll update this review if necessary), but I'll address all that after getting the good stuff out of the way.Out of the box, everything on the unit itself worked as advertised. LDAC works, along with every other codec. My phone and Sony player both paired just fine and are using the best codecs that they support. I'm experiencing no dropouts, distortion or any other issues. Sound quality is a definite step up from my previous Bluetooth receiver. I don't know if it's really as good as my wired components but it's definitely pretty good, and good enough to keep using this thing.So what about the app? Well, it's important to know that you don't need it at all - most of these types of receivers don't have one, so it's just an extra thing. And yes, at first, the app on my iPhone would just crash immediately any time I would try to connect to this device.But it's not true that FIIO haven't done anything about this, or don't care. It's not ideal but they do have a firmware update for the BR13 on their web site that you can install via PC. It's not that hard but there is a set of lengthy instructions that goes along with it (essentially it's just installing the drivers, installing the USB flashing software and then flashing the firmware), so it may seem daunting to anyone who's not tech-savvy. But I did that and afterwards, the FIIO control app connected to the BR13 just fine. And all the functions of the app work as intended, and it doesn't crash.I don't know if that firmware update (or even a previous one, because this seems to be the 9th version) fixes the issues some people are having with the unit slowly dying over time due to what sounds like some sort of data corruption or memory leak or whatever. The release notes for this particular firmware update, which is the latest as of my writing this, just say it fixes the app crashing, which it does. It does seem like most of the people who have had their units start skipping or dropping out have left their units on all the time for months, and I don't plan to do that. That's what the power button is for! I get the impression that a lot of those people haven't been able to update the firmware either, so I am hoping that one of the interim updates did fix whatever issue that was... but I won't know for a while.I definitely did think about taking a star off because you really *need* to update the firmware in order to even use the app at all, and the only way to do it is going to seem impossible to probably a large subset of consumers. But I ultimately decided not to because out of the box, even without the app you're still getting the same functionality and actually the same hardware (DAC, Bluetooth chip) as much more expensive Bluetooth receivers that don't come with a companion app at all. I also have not yet experienced any dropouts or other issues that some report from long-term use, and I figured I could write a review based on my experience now, or I could wait a year before writing anything to see if I have any problems, at which point it may be kind of pointless.I think it's better to post this review now based on my current experience and at the same time let people know about that firmware update via PC. It is on their support page for the BR13 - just look on their web site. Hopefully that will help some people.One minor quibble that I do have is what comes in the box. It literally just comes with a USB cable and that's it. So make sure you add whatever audio cable you need onto your order, and potentially a USB power brick if you don't have one. That can drive up the cost a little bit, but you could probably get both of those items for about $10.With that firmware update and the app working, as well as all the codec support and the good sound quality I'm getting from this thing, I still think it's a pretty screamin' deal. Hopefully that won't change over time.

sounds great for such a small unit. I'm using to bring sound into my garage via an old receiver, this is by far the best part of the signal chain. Easy to connect to, great sound via LDAC, a really solid unit.

Got one of these, and another LDAC-capable receiver (YMOO B06T3+). Both work very well; but the FIIO is more of an audiophile grade unit and sounds noticeably better. The YMOO is a great one to put in a car as it is tiny and simple, the sound quality is good and it works very well.The FIIO delivers very nice, clean and crisp sound and tight bass response. The firmware was a problem though; the app upgraded the unit to v1.03 but that one caused the unit to not work. There is a procedure on the FIIO site to plug connect the unit to a laptop via usb and directly flash 1.09 firmware. Having done that, it works great.The equalizer seems brilliant and has slots for rock/pop etc. and 2 custom ones you can tweak yourself. I didn't notice any noise or other issues when fiddling with it - maybe I'm just not a enough of a hi-fi aficionado to notice such things. I am considering cutting down the bass to make it less boomy now that I've put good quality speakers in. But for now I just have it set to flat (all equalizer bands set to 0).Bought a pair of old used Bose Mediamate powered speakers to go with it; using Spotify at high data rates (you can tweak this in Spotify settings) the combination sounds awesome in my office.

The media could not be loaded. I just received this (01.12.23) and I am amazed how my Emotiva BasX A-100 now has re flourished beating my pair of Polk T-15. I should say that I also have a BasX emotiva Sub. All together make my listening experience so compelling.I am playing my favorite music from Dezzer HIFI plan FLAC format.I am really impressed since I used to plugged to the aforementioned set to a GVaudio DAC a really cheap one that cost me only 30 bucks and although it did not sound bad always made an annoying noise between tracks hence I was looking for something better and also affordable and I finally reached what I think is the best choice for the so affordable price of 59.99 bucks and better with free shipping.Really easy to pair and operate. It auto turn on/ off making the whole experience much better.The Fiio control App is neither complicated nor simple but works good. It has pre EQ options so it’s up to you to use it or adjust the sounds to your preferences on the two customs options that are also offered.It has 7 different Bluetooth codecs and by default all are pre selected but you can choose to deselect which ever you might think is not required.I order this from Lima Peru now that Amazon is delivering to the country and way better my purchase qualifies for free shipping. It was planned to be delivered on Jan 16 and it gets to my hand four days earlier.Thanks Amazon for that superb service.Thanks Fiio for this amazing device.

After comparing other units, this is by far the best value for a bluetooth/DAC. ZYou can immediately hear a difference in the separation and soundstage. My vintage stereo sounds better than ever at a great price.

When received it worked perfectly and sounded great. After few uses, I noticed that the power button started failing, since sometimes it couldn’t turn on/off the device so i had to unplug it. Now after approximately one month of use it just died, it doesn’t turn on anymore