FiiO BTA30 PRO Wireless Bluetooth 5.0 Long Range Transmitter/Receiver

The FiiO BTA30 Pro is a desktop Bluetooth transceiver and DAC that can be the centre of a home audio system. It receives Bluetooth to bring wireless music to a hi-fi, transmits it to send a TV, CD player or computer to wireless headphones, and works as a USB, optical and coaxial DAC, with LDAC in both directions, which few Bluetooth devices offer. Inside are a Qualcomm CSR8675 Bluetooth chip, an XMOS USB receiver, a CT7302 upsampling DSP and an ESS ES9038Q2M DAC, in an aluminium body. It holds both Hi-Res Audio and Hi-Res Audio Wireless certification and won a VGP 2022 Summer award.

Three modes, four jobs

The BTA30 Pro has three operating modes and four functions, and its many inputs and outputs can give new life to your TV, speakers, computer and other equipment.

1. Receive: Bluetooth for your hi-fi

In receiving mode, connect your phone or music player over Bluetooth (LDAC, aptX HD, aptX, AAC or SBC) and connect the BTA30 Pro to an amplifier or active speakers by RCA, optical or coaxial, and your existing system plays wireless music. It remembers two devices at once, with two buttons to choose between them. Connect its optical output to an external DAC and that DAC can play straight from your phone.

2. Transmit: wireless sound from your TV

In transmitting mode, connect the digital output of a TV, CD player or computer (optical, coaxial or USB) and the BTA30 Pro sends it to your Bluetooth headphones or speaker, in LDAC from any of those inputs, aptX HD, aptX, aptX Low Latency or SBC, for a private cinema anywhere. Press LL/HD to step through the codecs, or twice for aptX Low Latency for games.

3. DAC: good old wired audio

Without Bluetooth, the BTA30 Pro is a DAC for a computer or other source: USB up to 384kHz/32-bit and DSD256 (DoP), coaxial up to 384kHz/24-bit and DSD128 (DoP), and optical up to 96kHz/24-bit, with RCA line output from any input. It supports UAC 2.0 and driver-free UAC 1.0 (set in the app).

Bypass: in and out at the same time

Bypass mode lets you use several devices at once. In transmitting mode, an optical input goes to the optical output and Bluetooth at the same time; in DAC mode, the optical input passes through to the optical output.

XMOS, ES9038Q2M and a 384kHz DSP

The XMOS USB receiver handles a wide range of formats with ease. The ESS ES9038Q2M DAC brings out the small details with a wider dynamic range than portable products, and film capacitors working with it make the treble clearer and more transparent. Unusually for a desktop Bluetooth and S/PDIF unit, there is an independent CT7302 DSP, which upsamples any digital signal to 384kHz for greater accuracy.

Qualcomm CSR8675 and a long-range antenna

The Qualcomm CSR8675 handles 32-bit audio processing with a 120MHz DSP, combining Bluetooth 5.0 and all the decoding in one chip. An external gain antenna gives faster connections, a more stable signal and transmission across rooms, up to about 30 metres without obstacles (SBC). An RGB light shows the codec: blue for SBC, teal for AAC, purple for aptX, green for aptX LL, yellow for aptX HD and white for LDAC.

One-button control, precise volume and an app

One button switches between inputs, with a light showing the current source; another chooses sound-quality or latency priority for music, TV or gaming. ADC curve reconstruction gives precise, balanced volume, and both analogue and digital volume are quick to adjust. With the FiiO Control or FiiO Music app you can also set channel balance, four digital filters, Bluetooth codec priority, the indicator light, the volume and a fixed output level.

Good to know

• In transmitting mode with LDAC or aptX LL, it connects to one device at a time. Some headphones don’t reconnect automatically; reconnect them manually.
• Coaxial input isn’t available while coaxial output is in use, and bypass works with the optical input only.
• There’s no headphone output and no microphone for hands-free calls. For a desktop DAC with a headphone amp, see the FiiO K11 R2R.
• It is powered over USB-C: use a 5V 2A USB charger (not included).
• In the box: BTA30 Pro, RCA cable, USB-C cable, isolation feet, manual and warranty card. Choose black or walnut.