Managed to sort the BT-W3 issue out. A full reset of the dongle brought back the Aptx connection to the MTW2 earphones.
For me the best SQ solution is⊠native. AAC 256kbps still. aptX HD with dongle? Hmmm. Maybe Apple will introduced own protocol with i.e. AirPods Max 2 like LDAC near lossless solution for BT. You know, all streams via Bluetooth lossy now.
I have this adapter designed originally to get pictures or any other data OTG from the iPhone to USB 3. It has to be this one, otherwise the iPhone wonât work because due to a matter of power. Then I connect the Sennheiser BMD 600 and that is it! Aptx Adaptive from the iPhone. I have been using it with Roon on my IPhone since December with no issues at all. But the key it is that iPhone to USB 3 adapter that consumes very low power. I got in in Amazon Spain but it is available in Amazon all over the world. This the link:
https://amzn.eu/d/hkG6jpV
Thank you for sharing. I ordered the exact same dongle and it works like a charm, in my case with a Sennheiser BTD 600 and Focal Bathys.
I think I prefer the AptX Adaptive codec over AAC, I think⊠
From my point of view, AptX Adaptive codec is much better than AAC.
Do you have a UK link to that lightning to USB cable? I have the Apple version but it gives me the âtoo much powerâ error when using it with the BTD 600.
Nope. Couldnât find it in the NL store either, so I just ordered it from Spain. Took a few days, but arrived in good order.
Thanks, will give it a go.
A quick update and some success! I was trying to replicate what @Mathesis_Corp_SL had set up using the Apple USB 3 camera adapter but not having much success at first. The components in use were an iPhone 14 pro, Apple USB 3 camera adapter with the lightening power port and the Sennheiser BTD-600 (I was after the Aptx Adaptive codec to feed B&W Px7 S2 headphones). Despite using a genuine Apple power supply I kept getting the âinsufficient powerâ error. I also noticed that the phone wasnât charging either. I swapped in a 20w 3rd party charger with the same result.
I then switched out the iPhone for an old iPad mini (2nd gen), which was running ios 12. I had the original 12w charger for this device. Plugged it all together and hey presto, everything charges and works fine. So the take away seems to be that the genuine Apple USB 3 adapter is very fussy about being paired with the Apple power supply that is matched to the device, even though the wattage may be lower than that from a 3rd party charger.
With that sorted I set the private zone in Roon to ânoâ and enabled the option to keep the screen alive. That now enables me to control the iPad Mini endpoint from my phone or any other Roon controller.
Hope this helps for anyone else pulling their hair out with Apple and Aptx and thanks to those on here who nudged me towards this solution.
I signed up just to say, I had the dilemma of owning an iphone and Sony-wf-1000XM5s, that support LDAC. LDAC at 990kbps (you can set this figure) is far superior to any AptxHD/Adaptive. And although I now listen to wired earphones, I found one device that allowed my iphone to stream a DAC/Bluetooth Tranceiver that allowed perfect streaming of full LDAC to my Sony Wf-1000XM5s. And that device is the Fiio BTA30 PRO. And in addition to simply streaming LDAC from iphone to LDAC wireless earbuds, its got the benefit of enhanced DAC signal processing, and some god options on the fiio control app.
The only issue is 1. You need to use the USB to USBC cable provided, which is around 50cm. OR use a legit USB 2.O OTG DAC cable, as long as one end is USBC to plug into the DAC, you can use a Lightning to USBC or USBC to USBC (it MUST be OTG) and the Fiio BTA3A PRO isnât battery powered, your phone or connected device powers it. It barely uses any power btw so on a full phone charge it would power it for many hours.
The only issue is, the BTA30 Pro is a beautiful little device, yet it wasnt designed to be portable. However, it has included a foldable, removable SMA BT antenna, and it has significantly more range than your phone. Even on the highest 990kbps LDAC mode (it has adjustable codecs), this thing rarely cuts out when iâm walking throughout my flat, occasionally it cuts out briefly in hot spots, but it will never drop to 660kbps unless you put it in the adaptive/adjustable mode.
As for portability, it is tiny if not for the BT antenna, but even this folds sideways in parallel with the device. I put it inside an old Fiio portable DAC woven case thing for the Fiio Q3, and if you make a tiny slit in the weaving you can screw the antenna in the whole, and it then fits perfectly. Its far far lighter than my tiny iphone SE, about the same length, a tiny bit taller but its about 20% less width.
And providing you have decent sized pockets, it worked perfectly for me as a portable LDAC transmitter. Its also a receiver and can transmit to two devices but I didnt mess with that.
I just thought id share as i see many iphone users looking for some kind of dongle for aptx, which is barely worth it IMO but the BTA30 PRO not only solves Aptx and LDAC codecs for iphone⊠but it has very good DAC sabre chips in it also which alone would imrpove the sound over Aptx
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