![\"Avantree](\"https:\/\/www.podfeet.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Avantree-Case.jpg\" "\\"Avantree")
Hi, George reporting in from Tulsa with another episode in my ongoing struggle with Bluetooth. <\/p>\nHi, George reporting in from Tulsa with another episode in my ongoing struggle with Bluetooth. <\/p>\n
Back in 2008 Steve Jobs called Blu-Ray a \u201cbag of hurt.\u201d A pretty good description of most of my experiences with Bluetooth. Had a 2007 Toyota Camry Hybrid that actually worked, though that car\u2019s \u201cBluetooth Hands-Free\u201d was phone only, no media. My 2017 RAV4 is a rolling Bluetooth disaster. Connections drop during calls, returning the call to the phone which may be in my pocket, and in handset not even speaker mode.. When starting the RAV if it was set for Bluetooth Media, it would randomly start playing random media. Daughter\u2019s fairly recent Subaru shows some of the same behavior with iPhone Bluetooth.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m hoping there\u2019s a software update for the RAV Entune system as the \u201ctricks\u201d Google suggested haven\u2019t fixed it.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Buzz back to August 2013 in Allison\u2019s WayBack machine and in Episode #433<\/a> you can read me ranting about other problems with Bluetooth, and my preference for wired headsets.<\/p>\n All that said, I\u2019ve found a Bluetooth headset I can recommend.<\/p>\n It\u2019s the Avantree Audition Pro. $69.99 on Amazon<\/a>, and you can naturally buy it through Allison\u2019s Affiliate link in countries where that\u2019s available. There are two Avantree models, I splurged on the Pro because its tech specs are a bit newer. It\u2019s promoted as \u201clow latency,\u201d which if matched to the correct Bluetooth transmitter would allow use for watching video and keeping the actor\u2019s lips in sync with sound. Avantree offers that correct transmitter, and there are discount links to it and other Avantree products on the Amazon link in Allison\u2019s blog.<\/p>\n I\u2019m recording this using the Avantree Bluetooth microphone captured by the LG HD Audio Recorder App on my V30 Android phone.<\/p>\n What I like about the Avantree is it is genuinely \u201cover the ear\u201d not a headset that sits on ear and starts to hurt in a short time. Finding a headset that truly fits over the entire ear isn\u2019t easy, requiring careful attention to details and reviews. <\/p>\n Avantree\u2019s slightly less sophisticated $45 Avantree Auditon<\/a> is the same form factor, and should offer the same comfort.<\/p>\n I should have picked up on the difference, but followed a blog recommendation and review and before finding the Avantrees, ordered the $84 Sony MDRXB650BT\/B Extra Bass Bluetooth Headphones on a pre-Christmas sale. Not only on-ear, they clamped on painfully tight. Gave that set to my daughter, hoping with her smaller head she can get some use from it.<\/p>\n My headset needs are not so much Hi-Fi as comfort and convenience. I mostly listen to audiobooks and podcasts, less to music. I like to listen while walking or doing yard and house maintenance. Wireless is convenient, no tangle dangle. The Avantree\u2019s sound is more than good enough for spoken word and the music I\u2019ve tried and can remain connected two rooms from the Bluetooth source. Avantree advertises 40 plus hours plus r I\u2019ve not approached 40 hours without recharging, but have used it for hours running without issue.<\/p>\n Now, this is a podcast with a more than slight Apple bias and many of you are surely fans of Apple\u2019s now $159 AirPods.<\/p>\n Come summer, I\u2019ll revert to the $25 SONXTRONIC Xdr-8000 Vertical in Ear Ultralight Sport Running Headband Headphones<\/a>. The Avantrees may be comfortable, but in hot weather, they\u2019d be a sauna.<\/p>\n Hi, George reporting in from Tulsa with another episode in my ongoing struggle with Bluetooth. Back in 2008 Steve Jobs called Blu-Ray a \u201cbag of hurt.\u201d A pretty good description of most of my experiences with Bluetooth. Had a 2007 Toyota Camry Hybrid that actually worked, though that car\u2019s \u201cBluetooth Hands-Free\u201d was phone only, no […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[147],"tags":[2088,102,389,2090,2089],"class_list":["post-14024","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog-posts","tag-avantree","tag-bluetooth","tag-headphones","tag-iclever","tag-sontronix"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.podfeet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14024","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.podfeet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.podfeet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.podfeet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.podfeet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14024"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.podfeet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14024\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14026,"href":"https:\/\/www.podfeet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14024\/revisions\/14026"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.podfeet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14024"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.podfeet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14024"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.podfeet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14024"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Avantree](\"https:\/\/www.podfeet.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Avantree-Controls-FLY.jpeg\" "\\"Avantree")
You\u2019ll find a photo of the controls in Allison\u2019s blog. They\u2019re large enough to easily manipulate by touch, again an improvement over my past Bluetooth experiences. Both models come with a male-to-male 3.5mm wire I\u2019ve not yet tried, but in my experience with other Bluetooth devices that have AUX ports, turning off Bluetooth reduces hum and improves sound quality. <\/p>\n![\"Avantree](\"https:\/\/www.podfeet.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Avantree-Pro-BT-Winter-Wear-Mosquito.jpeg\" "\\"Avantree")
It was 6 degrees Fahrenheit with a windchill of -10 at 10AM New Year\u2019s Day, and Lord Barksalot needed a walk. He gets two Doggie coats and a big sweater, I\u2019m in three layers, head in winter cap, hoodie, and the Avantree Pro acting as an electronic earmuff. All that headgear would have rammed something like the hard plastic AirPods painfully into my brain. I could have used Avantree\u2019s handy controls, had I been willing to risk frostbite by taking off a glove. Actually received a phone call while walking, and it smoothly picked up (are you listening Toyota!), paused the audiobook I was playing, and when disconnected went back to the book.<\/p>\n![\"IClever](\"https:\/\/www.podfeet.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/iClever-Ultra-Slim-Portable-Bluetooth-Speaker.png\" "\\"")
<\/a>Over the holidays I did take another risk on a blog recommended Bluetooth device, and its another I can recommend. The very compact iClever Pocket-Sized for Captain Kangaroo Bluetooth speaker<\/a> really does output sound that\u2019s noticeably stereo out of a very small gadget. The sound quality is superior to the older and larger portable Bluetooth speaker I\u2019ve been using several years. And while the iClever Bluetooth does work well, the included 3.5mm wired connection kills hum and those erratic little glitches as I guess the transmitting device and speaker seem to be checking they\u2019re still connected. Currently $24 on Amazon. A good buy if you need or want a really small and portable speaker. And, again, you\u2019ll find the link in the Shownotes, passing through Allison\u2019s Amazon Affiliate Account.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"