Bluetooth Receivers are DACs... Specialized DACs, but DACs Nonetheless

[drp1003]

Does anyone know what kind of DAC is built into these cheap little Bluetooth receivers one can buy from Amazon?

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't a Bluetooth receiver a very small DAC but without the inconvenience of having a cable (digital signal) running from your playback device to the Bluetooth receiver. The digital cable has been replaced by a digital radio signal, essentially.

I bought a Bluetooth receiver off of Amazon not too long ago. I use it to transmit SXM Internet Radio from my smartphone to the receiver.

Bluetooth is a digital signal; the receiver converts that digital signal to analog where it then gets sent to my amplifier via RCA cables.

Has anyone ever cracked open one if these Bluetooth receivers to see what kind of DAC lies below?

I'm guessing it's all proprietary stuff. And I'm also guessing the digital music files are getting cut down to size before they get sent wirelessly to the receiver - and it's 16bit lossy.

Thanks for replying!

 

[red 111]

The PEACHTREE BT 1 (now discontinued) has a WOLFSON DAC plus a toslink out...good sounding unit

 

[drp1003]

Hello again,

The Bluetooth audio receiver I have is the ESINKIN W-29us. It's an exact clone of a Logitech Bluetooth Audio Receiver.

I cracked it open last night and took a look at what's under the hood. I am almost 100% certain that this device employs the CAMBRIDGE SILICON RADIO (QUALCOMM) CSR8630 IC. It's an all-in-one chip that sports a built-in DAC.

The reason why I'm not 100 percent certain about the chip, is that there is a white QC mark partially covering up the manufacturer number. I could read 'CRS' and '30'. But the '86' was obscured by the white QC mark.

It's absolutely the most standard of Bluetooth music streaming devices. It's A2DP, Bluetooth 4.x, SBC & 2-channel stereo.

Below is a download of the CRS8630 Datasheet.

 

[BMC]

The FXAudio BL-MUSE01-PRO is a BT receiver with an ESS9023 DAC chip. It also has optical and coax out. Sounds great - and under $40.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B08L8VM3WP?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title