Sound Impressions
The BT-10 is equipped with a pair of CS43131 DAC chips and provides 45mW @ 32Ω output power from its’ balanced 4.4mm jack. I’ve tested it mostly with my Tahsin Sevgel Model2 Custom IEMs.
Overall I find the BT-10 is a fairly excited, bass-heavy source that may lack refinement compared with expensive wired dongles & entry-level DAPs, but excels with energetic music and delivers outstanding Bluetooth performance.
The first thing I’ve noticed about the BT-10 is that it’s very punchy – it feels like sub bass in particular has been boosted to provide a satisfyingly hard hitting experience. If you’re a basshead you won’t be disappointed, because the BT-10 delivers plenty of slam and rumble.
Moving to the midrange, things are quite forward with vocals positioned fairly close to the listener. With poorly mastered material this can become fatiguing, but vocals are impressively articulated. There’s a nice balance between the lower & upper midrange, resting just on slightly warmer side of neutral.
Treble is slightly dialled down so as not to be fatiguing. All the main details are there, without the tizziness of cymbals and such. That said I feel like a bit of treble resolution is sacrificed due to the Bluetooth connection, so it’s a little on the simplified side without sounding dramatically unrefined.
Technical Performance
This is where I find the limitations of Bluetooth (particularly paired with an Apple device limited to AAC) will tend to reveal themselves.
Starting with the good news, BT-10 dynamics are superb which I suspect is thanks to the quality of its’ internal amplifier, and this is an attribute central to my musical enjoyment that I prioritise strongly.
Moving on to the soundstage, it’s very wide by dongle standards though a little bit too defined into left/middle/right for my taste and quite flat also. Not boxy though, and expansive enough to feel satisfying particularly for a BT source – capable of fooling me into thinking a wired connection is being used.
Note weight feels a little on the limp side, I’d love it if vocals had a tad more weight behind them. Fair to say the BT-10 is about on par with all but the most expensive dongles here.
Similarly resolution. Capable, and far better than I’d hoped for from Bluetooth, but you’re not going to be blown away. Let’s call it “average”. Imaging & separation are similarly middling. Not distractingly bad, but slightly down on many entry-level DAPs. For a Bluetooth dongle though.. I have no complaints.
Oh, and I should mention noise floor – not the quietest I’ve come across, slightly higher than I’d like.
Page 1 – Introduction, Packaging, Ergonomics & Usability
Page 2 – Sound Impressions & Technical Performance
Page 3 – Dongle Comparisons
Page 4 – Conclusion
Thank you for the review!