Jump to content

Bluetooth


revbobuk

Recommended Posts

I've got an event coming up next year (typical outdoor fete style of thing) and I'm used to people turning up with all kinds of devices and asking if they can play the background music for such-and-such. Two questions. Up until recently, the 3.5mm Jack was almost a universal solution. What would be needed to cope with the newer iPhones? And does anyone have experience of Bluetooth kit, like the ARX Blue Di?

 

I do realise that the easiest option is to insist on a particular format, but I would rather be prepared to cope.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

For these type of events we use the Radial ProAV1 to connect any phones, ipods, etc. The mono summing is a good feature and the pad can be useful and you're up & running in seconds. We always use our cables, to avoid crappy, abused consumer grade cable that acts tend to carry with them.

 

We looked at the Radial BT-Pro, however foresaw potential problems. For talent and arena acts that walk up with their phone 30 seconds before they go on, there would be insufficient time to pair devices, cue & and check the signal level. That aside, the limited distance would likely cause problems when the act walks away with their paired phone, goes out of Bluetooth range, then the music stops... which would translate into being the sound man's fault. If the thing is wired, the talent has no option but to leave the phone at the sound control position... much safer.

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The Radial puzzles me. It's a lot more expensive than the ARX, it doesn't run off phantom power, but instead uses a separate wall-wart style PSU. And it has a pair of separate isolating transformers (in addition to a ground-lift switch) which you can use 'in case of ground loops'. But the only way you could get a ground loop into this system is through the power supply - and if that had come from the mixer via phantom, you wouldn't have that problem. Then they have also added a 3.5mm output socket for headphones - 'for monitoring' - which they point out goes very loud. So they have added a volume control. Which not only affects the monitoring headphones, but also the main L&R XLR outs. I think Radial have made a few strange choices with this one!

 

E2A - the ARX gets round power limits on phantom by requiring that phantom is active on both the XLR channels - so you can't drop down to mono to minimise the channel count.

Edited by revbobuk
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well, there are the different classes of Bluetooth. It IS possible they are using the higher powered variant.

 

How can a receiver be "high power"?

 

It's a negotiated protocol so the receiver can tell the transmitter how much power to use.

However, there's only 3 classes - very short range, up to 10m and up to 100m so claiming a range of 100ft is a bit odd.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's a negotiated protocol so the receiver can tell the transmitter how much power to use.

However, there's only 3 classes - very short range, up to 10m and up to 100m so claiming a range of 100ft is a bit odd.

 

The receiver can only tell your phone to transmit as much power as it can. That does not make the transmitter capable of high power.

 

Mac

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's a negotiated protocol so the receiver can tell the transmitter how much power to use.

However, there's only 3 classes - very short range, up to 10m and up to 100m so claiming a range of 100ft is a bit odd.

 

The receiver can only tell your phone to transmit as much power as it can. That does not make the transmitter capable of high power.

 

Mac

No, that's true, most phones are class 2. Anyway the point I was trying to make is that it is probably just marketing numbers as opposed to anything real.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.