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In-Depth Review
BlueTrip
Thursday, October 19th, 2006 at 11:30 AM - by Misha Sakellaropoulo
What would you pay for the freedom to wirelessly connect your iPod to your stereo? If your answer includes a portrait of Benjamin Franklin, Griffin Technology has your ticket with the BlueTrip, a two-piece component that uses Bluetooth to unleash your iPod from the tethers of an audio cable.
Griffin Technology's BlueTrip LE |
Griffin recently started shipping the BlueTrip LE, which uses an iPod's dock connector and is thus compatible with all models that feature one (the original BlueTrip connected to the headphone and 9-pin jacks found only on 3G/4G iPods and the iPod mini). Other than the difference in connections, the BlueTrip LE is identical to the original BlueTrip.
Spending just shy of $100 to forgo a direct audio connection may seem pricey, but a Bluetooth connected iPod certainly has its perks, the more attractive of which for us is the ability to retain control of your iPod from a distance. In that sense, the BlueTrip can be seen as the ultimate remote control for your iPod since virtually no features or functionality are sacrificed, like with most iPod remote control solutions.
Unfortunately, the distance you can roam with your BlueTrip connected is limited by the constraints of Bluetooth itself. Griffin claims the BlueTrip can work at distances up to 30-feet away�the typical theoretical maximum for any Bluetooth device�but in our testing the practical range was closer to 20-feet. Still, that's better than other Bluetooth devices we have tested, including various headsets that start drop out just 10-feet away from their source.
Build quality for both the BlueTrip Sink (receiver) and BlueTrip Source (iPod transmitter) is quite solid. The BlueTrip Source blends in nicely with a full-size iPod and the BlueTrip Sink sports a rather attractive white and chrome-accented design. The base of the BlueTrip Sink is a little lighter than we would have liked to have seen, as heavily shielded audio cables can pull the whole thing over if not positioned just right. The BlueTrip Sink supports either an RCA audio connection (those red and white connectors; Griffin includes such a cable with the BlueTrip) or an S/PDIF optical connection (cable not included).
Griffin's Web site says the BlueTrip Sink only functions with the BlueTrip Source, but the BlueTrip's included documentation contradicts this. In fact, you can easily pair a computer or other device with the BlueTrip Sink. Unfortunately, Mac OS X users will not want to do this because Apple has yet to include support for the high-quality A2DP Bluetooth audio profile (rumor has it that it's coming with Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard). A2DP supports CD-quality audio transmission over Bluetooth, which is what the BlueTrip Source uses and what allows your iPod to sound just as good as a direct connection. Unfortunately, the best you'll get with pairing your Mac to the BlueTrip Sink is phone-quality audio, which is to say extremely poor and undesirable.
There is another limitation with the BlueTrip LE: you cannot adjust the volume of your iPod from the iPod itself, since the dock connector by default plays back music at a fixed volume. This means if you want total control of your iPod listening experience from a distance, you will have to keep your stereo or receiver's remote control by your iPod to adjust the volume when needed.
While the aforementioned two shortcomings are hardly Griffin's fault, we did find one other annoyance with the BlueTrip that is Griffin's fault: the incessant blinking blue light on the front of the BlueTrip Sink when it's not paired with the BlueTrip Source (when it is, it glows a solid blue). While the blinking blue light lets you know the BlueTrip Sink is "ready" and can be turned off if you power off the BlueTrip sink via the power switch in the back, the light blinks at a rather annoying and distraction frequency of more than once per second. If you have your audio receiver positioned anywhere near your television, be prepared to turn the BlueTrip Sink off whenever you want to watch TV without a blue light blinking at you.
The Bottom Line
If you're looking for a way to connect your iPod to your stereo while still keeping it by your side, Griffin's BlueTrip is one of only a few options on the market for doing so. As such, it's difficult to gripe about the price since other similar BlueTooth solutions cost as much if not more than the $99.99 BlueTrip (which original retailed for $149.99). Accordingly, consider what should in concept be a relatively simple convenience a luxury; if it remains desirable, the BlueTrip should deliver what you're looking for.
Just The Facts
Pros:enables you keep your iPod by your side while listening to it through your stereo; solid BlueTooth connection gives you a range of 20-25 feet; attractive design; pristine audio quality
Cons:range may be too limited for some applications; can't adjust volume from iPod; can't charge iPod when in use (no pass-through dock connector); BlueTrip Sink blinks... a lot
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