The departure of the headphone jack from mainstream smartphones is one thing I'll never forgive Apple for, because it kicked off a chain reaction where everyone decided to push USB-C adapters and dongles instead. This made a standard one-item connection between a phone or laptop and wired earphones a two-item affair, requiring an intermediary typically known as a Digital-to-Analog Converter (DAC). Sadly, this affected laptops as well, but desktops may have escaped unscathed due to the combo line output surviving somehow.

That said, the onboard motherboard audio quality stands no match for a dedicated sound card if you have the cash for one. I do not, sadly, and a trusty USB-C dongle DAC has been my daily driver since headphone jacks started disappearing. It worked reliably and consistently with all my devices, but I also used true-wireless earbuds forced onto consumers, and wished for a middle ground between the limitations of motherboard audio and the pathetic quality of most TWS buds. The answer came in the form of a new Fiio BTR11 Bluetooth audio receiver, and I've now got so many reasons to be happy, whether I'm gaming on a Steam Deck or taking a work call on my laptop.

Sound quality is on par with wired

But with latency

When I made the switch from wired audio to TWS, there was a jarring reduction in quality I could notice, quite like going back to FM radio from satellite radio. I longed for the same audio quality, but there was nothing offering the same sound quality as my $10 KZ IEMs under $100, just because I added wireless connectivity and a charging case to the mix. The sudden price jump for the added functionality seems unjustified, given that most premium audio brands like Sony, Bose, Astell & Kern, and others offer similar functionality at lower prices. This necessitated a USB DAC that isolated audio circuitry, at least on wired connections.

On the other hand, I just bought a $20 Fiio BTR11 Bluetooth audio receiver, plugged in the cheap chi-fi KZ IEMs I already had, and bridged most of that quality deficit instantly. It supports LDAC, AAC, and SBC, so the peak audio bitrate would be 990kbps, which is sufficient for CD-quality (16-bit/44.1kHz) FLAC audio, which averages around 900 to 1,000kbps. Sure, there's latency in the transmission, and wired handles even higher bitrates, but that's part of the bargain with TWS buds, too, and most of them are limited to the lossy SBC codec at the $30 my setup costs. For that small price and a little latency, I got more freedom, and sound quality comparable to the limited USB-C dongle DAC I was using.

Multipoint pairing without the lossy audio

One thing only wireless can do

Getting a wireless audio receiver was quite like adding a KVM switch to my dual-PC setup in one way — I am able to pair the Fiio BTR11 to my PC and my phone simultaneously, just like my work laptop and home PC share peripherals through the KVM switch. This is a critical Bluetooth feature borrowed from the admittedly short list of things TWS buds do well. In an effort to replicate this with my dongle DAC, I'll be unplugging and re-plugging it from my phone to my PC and then back to the phone repeatedly. The wireless receiver handles context switching effortlessly.

If I'm in the zone gaming on my Steam Deck and my phone buzzes, the Fiio instantly plays the phone's audio as an overlapping stream to get my attention. When I answer the call, it automatically cuts out playback from the Steam Deck and prioritizes the phone. However, the audio is still running to my connected wired studio headphones or IEMs. Most studio equipment aimed at audiophiles skips an inline mic entirely, so you might wonder how I take calls with the Fiio. That brings me to the next thing I love about making this switch.

There's an onboard mic and physical controls

Take calls even on studio gear

Most TWS buds have decent mics. If they aren't great at isolating my voice from the ambient noise, they at least pick up everything. In stark contrast, the IEMs and studio headphones I own simply lack a mic. But I still use them with my Fiio BTR11 fearlessly, because the receiver has a wonderful onboard mic. Had I been using my USB dongle DAC, I'd be scrambling to disconnect it, answer an incoming call, and switch the audio to the correct stream. Sure, it's just a few seconds, but with the Fiio, it's a convenience that costs me less than a ChatGPT monthly subscription and lasts much longer.

The implementation is wonderful, too. If my wired earphones have an inline mic, the Fiio picks up audio from them and silences its onboard mic. Another key advantage of the Fiio comes from its multifunction button and volume controls. I can link the receiver's volume to the device volume, or leave it independent. The other button handles everything from power to playback and answering calls. These are great tools that I missed when they were taken away in the shift to TWS. I'm just grateful I don't need to look at a screen to change the track playing or answer a call, and that was impossible with a wired DAC.

Charging on the go

And fewer cable snags, too

On the surface, adding a wireless component to a mostly wired connection doesn't make much sense because I'm not getting the true mobility that TWS unlocks. However, there are a few distinct advantages. First, my USB DAC isn't hogging the sole I/O port on my device that I can use to charge it—true for most phones and tablets. Since I've switched to wireless, I can charge my media player or source independently, while my receiver uses its own little battery for eight hours of playback on the best supported LDAC codec. Sure, it's another device I need to plug in every day, but I also benefit marginally from a steady and independent power source, solely driving the headphones with clean current and consistent amplification. Some models even offer balanced output on a 4.4mm jack instead of the usual 3.5mm.

Since I have stuck with wired, I've also worried a lot about my cables getting caught on door handles or other protrusions, and getting ripped out of the Fiio receiver or my ears. It can cause personal injury, but the wireless receiver lets me tuck the cable safely inside my clothing. If it were connected to my playback device, I'd be worried about yanking it out or destroying the connectors every time I left my workstation or slipped my phone into my pocket.

A middle ground I really missed

I often found myself at a crossroads, forced to choose between my cheap TWS buds with low sound quality and high mobility, or a similarly priced dongle DAC wired setup with IEMs or headphones and much lower portability. The challenge was real, but getting a wireless receiver is an ideal compromise: I trade slightly worse audio quality (which isn't garbage) for slightly improved mobility with my wired setup.

The best part is that Fiio's BTR11 costs just $20, making it a really cheap add-on to any existing wired setups that survived the headphone jack apocalypse in your drawer. It's a small price to find out if the discerning audiophile in you would prefer good sound and a little inconvenience instead of expensive and disposable earbuds proliferating our markets.