This is a very cool gadget, that adds a Bluetooth interface to anything with either audio-in or audio-out jacks.
For example, receiver side of this device will connect your home/car/boat stereo to your Bluetooth-enabled MP3 player (like the one built into the RAZR V3xx and V3i mobile phones) allowing you to play your MP3s through the stereo's amp and speakers.
The transmitter side makes it possible to listen to the TV over Bluetooth headphones, just plug this thing in to the audio output jacks (found on most cable converters, DVD players, etc.)
In short, it makes your older audio devices available via Bluetooth, in just about every way you can imagine.
A couple of quick usage notes:
1.) To put it into pairing mode you must hold it's ID button for 7 seconds while it is powered *off*. You can hold it all day long after it's powered on, without changing a thing.
2.) The female audio jacks built into it are pretty stiff, you have to push it in until it clicks, and it takes a little more force than usual. (btw, its package does not RCA jack adapters, as is suggested in some of the product's literature, but those adapters are both cheap and readily available.)
3.) It's documentation states it can store 8 pairings with other devices, but does not indicate whether its transmitter is capable of connecting to more than one device at a time (which would be most functional, for sure.) At the moment I only have one device that supports A2DP (as a receiver, so until I get another, it's wait-and-see, I suppose... (I'll be pleasanty surprised if it does support more than one concurrent receiver, but what the heck: dare to dream.) Sony Two-Way Bluetooth Adapter for iPod and MP3 Players
I've read through some of the other reviews and find a few of them shouldn't really be targeted at this particular unit. If you are a potential buyer, then there is a good chance you are familiar with Bluetooth, yet may not know much about the A2DP profile.
Bluetooth, is by far, not a flawless means of communication; for that matter, neither wired or wireless formats are flawless. This must be kept in mind when choosing which is right for you.
Bluetooth has quite a few limitations: range, compatibility between versions, and profile support, to name a few. A2DP is a fairly new profile, so there are hiccups and bumps along the path.
A2DP stands for Advanced Audio Distribution Profile. It is able to stream stereo sound from one device to another. In order for it to work properly (or at all), both devices you are attempting to pair together (ie: you want this unit to work with your music phone or laptop) must support A2DP. The Sony HWSBTA2W supports A2DP and no other profile! It does not support HSP or HFP! Which means it will not work with a headset or hands free Bluetooth device; you cannot answer your phone with it. It will, however work with Bluetooth headphones that support A2DP.
Again, this is streaming music from one device to another. If you have it connected to a computer, your Bluetooth Stack (program that manages your computer's resources to communicate to and from other Bluetooth devices) will be running in the background continuously. If another program you are running prioritizes higher than your Bluetooth Stack, you may hear stutters, distortion or speed changes to your music. There is also a delay, for the music is being encoded at one end and decoded back to analog signal at the other end. If you ask me, I wouldn't use it to watch a movie.
Believe it or not, all this information and more is in the instruction manual. I'm sure if you search on Sony's support page, you will be able to download a .pdf of the manual.
Personally, I used this in conjunction with a Sony XA-300 auxiliary selector connected to my car stereo to stream music from my phone. If attempting to power this unit with a car adapter, I highly recommend the Sony DCC-E345 or Sony equivalent. I couldn't find my power adapter as fast as I would have liked and ran out to a local Radio Shack and bought one of theirs. It powered the HWSBTA2W but with a substantial amount of Bluetooth radio noise. Luckily, I was later able to find my DCC-E345 after a few hours of searching. I then powered it off that and the noise was gone! I guess you get what you pay for (then again, I paid $12.99 for the Sony one and $25.00 for the Radio Shack one!).
All in all, a great unit and will continue to buy Sony products because of it!
Because I hate the static-ridden 900MHz technology, I purchased an expensive set of cordless infrared headphones. Everything was okay until I purchased a 50" plasma television. Everytime a white or yellow screen appeared, I either lost the sound signal or it became annoyingly intermittent. Unfortunately, the plasma screen seriously interferes with infrared transmission.
My answer was to buy a quality pair of Bluetooth headphones with a stereo transmitter, and I could not be happier. The SONY DR-BT50 headphones and the SONY HWS-BTA2W transmitter/receiver combination are an excellent solution. I highly recommend these products.
I bought this to use with an iPod sitting in an Apple dock. Unfortunately there was very noticeable distortion when hooked up to the line level output of the dock. Although this is documented in the operating instructions, I thought I would pass it on here so others can be informed before purchasing. From the manual:
"Be sure to connect this unit to the headphone jack of the stereo audio source device to be connected. If this unit is connected to the LINE OUT jack of the device to be connected, the sound may be distorted."
I can vouch that this does cause distortion in the case of the Apple iPod dock. The sound quality is actually quite good when plugged into the headphone jack (you may need to lower the volume of the iPod). Whether this is good choice for you really depends on how you intend to use it . - Bluetooth Receiver - A2dp - Bluetooth Adapter - Bluetooth'
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