Wireless Audio Transmission

Almost all receivers and amplifiers today have built-in Bluetooth and streaming functionality. Should you choose one over the other?

Bluetooth is probably the most common wireless transfer protocol for audio, but is it the best? In most cases; no. Bluetooth (aside from a few codecs) is considered a Lossy transfer method, so you will not get the best quality by choosing this. AptX Lossless was just announced, and claims to be lossless, but support for this codec is rather sparse.

What's the better option?

Receivers often have built-in options for streaming services like Tidal, Apple Music, and Amazon Music HD, which all support lossless music. Brands like Yamaha and Denon have MusicCast and HeosLink that support lossless audio formats stored locally.

In short

Bluetooth is very convenient, but rarely the best option on modern equipment.