1mii B10 Bluetooth USB Adapter with aptX HD for $26 at Amazon

aptX headphones, but your notebook or PC does not support the Bluetooth codec? With the 1mii B10 Bluetooth 5 adapter you can easily upgrade the whole thing, even if there is a small catch.

• 1mii B10 Bluetooth Adapter
  • at Amazon for $25.99

Compatible with many devices

It’s a 3 cm long stick that connects to your device via USB-A. The adapter works without drivers with Windows, macOS, Linux and even with PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch (USB-C adapter required). It is important to note that this is only an audio adapter. If you want to connect a mouse and keyboard via Bluetooth, you will need another adapter.

Upgrade to aptX & connect two headphones at the same time

However, the 1mii B10 can do something that is not very common. You can connect your headphones or speakers to your device via aptX Low Latency, aptX or aptX HD Bluetooth codec and benefit from their advantages. This feature is almost always available in Android smartphones because of the Qualcomm Snapdragon processors, but it is often not available in other devices. Of course, you can also connect headphones that do not support special Bluetooth codecs. You can also pair two devices directly and listen to music with someone on two pairs of headphones at the same time, for example.

Since the whole thing works without drivers and software, there is also no graphical interface to connect to the adapter. If you use the stick with a Windows computer, for example, the stick appears as the audio source and you have to switch to it.

Automatic connection not always good

When you plug in the stick, it automatically searches for Bluetooth devices that are in pairing mode. This is not a problem if you just want to pair headphones, but it is problematic if there is a speaker with a Bluetooth connection in the neighboring room, which is also ready for pairing by default. Here, the concept is not completely worked out and should be reconsidered in a next version. Once the connection is established, however, everything works as expected.

Controlling the modes at the push of a button

You can switch between aptX Low Latency (blue) and aptX HD (green) via a button on the top, and the respective mode is indicated via a color. However, it is not possible to use the microphone of your headphones in these modes and you have to switch to call mode by double-clicking the button. The sound quality is really bad here and you do not want to listen to music anymore.

Regarding the range, I can say that it is lower than with a OnePlus 8T, for example. The signal still penetrates a wall without problems with the smartphone, but the adapter loses some range. 10 meters with a wall in between is about the maximum.

Assessment

If you want to connect your aptX headphones to your PC or another device, you probably get the most straightforward solution here. No 3.5mm cable and any power cables that need other adapters. It’s not ideal, though, of course, because connecting has the flaw with the automatic connection and the headset function isn’t ideal either. Considering that you can get a normal Bluetooth 5 adapter even for $5, you pay a lot for the aptX function here. I am definitely satisfied, because videos and sound are finally in sync.

What do you think of the adapter and how do you connect your Bluetooth headphones with computer, notebook and Co?