FIIO AIR LINK

Chipset	Qualcomm QCC5181.
Bluetooth Version	Bluetooth 6.0
Audio Quality	Supports 24-bit/96 kHz audio transmission
Supported Codecs	LDAC / aptX Lossless / aptX Adaptive / aptX HD / aptX Low Latency / SBC (AAC currently not supported).

PRICE R1 990.00

IMPORTED BY C-Plan Audio 083 212-4599

WEBSITE www.cplanaudio.co.za / www.fiio.com

 

The Short of it…

If you use Bluetooth a lot when listening to music, then getting one of these Air Links is a true no-brainer – the improvement in your listening experience, compliments of the new codecs and Bluetooth 6, is truly impressive.

The long of it…

As a long-time FiiO fan, I’m always interested in seeing what the company might bring out next, and fortunately local distributor CPlan Audio is quick to send new arrivals my direction.

A recent delivery (along with other gems, due for review soon) was the FiiO Air Link.

Now, having reviewed a fair number of FiiO products over the years, I have to say that I was initially a little underwhelmed by the feel of the unit. The company has always managed to deliver items that are solid and hefty, impressing you long before you even get a chance to listen to them.

The Air Link bucks that trend with its lightweight construction, and one tends to – as I did – initially feel a bit disappointed.

However, with a bit of thought with regards what it is designed for, things do make sense – after all, the last thing you want attached to the bottom of your phone is a heavy chunk of metal that’s also going to place undue strain on your USB-C port.

And most importantly, it’s what this small device is capable of. And it’s a lot — quite possibly one of the most comprehensive Bluetooth solutions available today.

The Air Link is a Bluetooth transmitter that enhances audio quality by supporting high-resolution codecs that include the likes of Qualcomm’s aptX Lossless, aptX HD, aptX Adaptive and Sony’s LDAC – all of which deliver audio quality that is far superior than standard Bluetooth codecs such as AAC and SBC that typically come with your Smartphone or laptop. So, in essence it’s an easy way to upgrade your audio quality simply by plugging it in.

I’m going to go slightly off-topic here for a moment, because the LDAC codec is deserving of a bit of attention. So, for comparison, the standard Bluetooth codec (SBC) only achieves a maximum data rate of 328 kbps, whereas LDAC allows you to stream high-resolution audio up to 32-bit/96 kHz over Bluetooth at up to 990 kbps. That’s quite a jump in quality…

Back to the Air Link. The unit also comes with a secondary USB-C port that allows for pass-through charging, allowing users to charge their device while using the Air Link. This way, you can enjoy your music without having to worry about your battery status.

The Air Link is powered by Qualcomm’s QCC5181 chip and operates with Bluetooth 6.0, promising a stable connection with low latency (around 50 ms). An added bonus is the range of the Air Link, thanks to the Bluetooth version – as far as 50 metres in open spaces and 35 in more cluttered areas.

In practise, this worked very well for me on my Samsung phone, but not on my wife’s one, which however has always had an issue with Bluetooth range and connectivity, so I doubt the Air Link was at fault.

Pairing the Air Link with my Smartphone was typically FiiO-easy. Plug it in, open the FiiO Control App, choose the Air Link and there you have full access to all the unit’s features.

An addition mentioned this time that I’ve never used due to the fact that I’ve only ever used my FiiO DACs on my Smartphone, is a webpage interface that allows you to tweak settings with ease (https://fiiocontrol.fiio.com/jp-bt-device).

Once paired, the Air Link is easy to use – a single multi-function button can be used for pairing and switching codecs. A bright LED indicator shows which codec is currently being used. But good luck remembering which is which, since there are nine different colours in all!

Having the FiiO BTR11 LDAC-capable DAC/AMP lined up for review, I didn’t do much actual ‘headphone’ listening, which is usually my choice, simply because I wanted to test the Air Link’s claimed Bluetooth range and stability. However, on the headphone listening that I did do, pairing was simplicity personified, and audio quality is without doubt a solid step up.

But more on this in the BTR11 review…

Range with the Air Link was great. We use portable Bluetooth speakers in our arena when working with our horses and special needs kids at our business. Typically, we have to keep the Smartphones close to the speakers to maintain a stable connection, and of course the downside to this is that we then can’t change tracks or playlists from where we are inside the arena.

Our arena measures 20 x 40 m, and with the speakers on the perimeter fence, we didn’t experience a single break in the connection no matter how far away we were from them. So the Air Link passed the first test with flying colours.

But portable speakers are one thing. What about a set of PSB AM5 powered loudspeakers, renowned for their ability to produce quality sound far beyond their size? For obvious reasons I prefer playing music via my connected, dedicated Bluesound DAC/streamer. Bluetooth is more convenient at times, sure, but it quite simply cannot compete with a wired connection.

And yet…?

Sure, it’s harder to pick up differences in sound quality (unless you’ve done a considerable change in hardware for your system) just by listening to your music on loudspeakers. The isolation offered by headphones offers a far more friendly, isolated environment for you to pick up the added nuances to the music you’re familiar with.

But comparing tracks from Spotify and TIDAL streamed from my Smartphone with and without the Air Link, there was no doubt whatsoever that there was a clear improvement in what you were hearing.

With headphones, it’s honestly a whoa! reaction, but while less obvious on the PSBs, there was clearly more of a soundstage than with the standard Smartphone SBC codec, and more ‘meat’, more substance to the music. An added bonus of course was being able to change tracks while sitting outside the house while entertaining.

In summation, if you’re look for a relatively cheap option to create a marked improvement to the Bluetooth music quality of your Smartphone or laptop, investing in FiiO’s Air Link is truly a no-brainer.

Andrew Rowland