No sound from B2 via Bluetooth

[Dave C]

Good morning Forum

Having recently moved, our new property has a Hamilton Mercury speaker system installed and I am trying to Bluetooth from my Brennan to the speaker system but currently have not been successful.

I have paired the B2 with the Mercury but can't hear any sound from the speakers. Bluetooth seems to be OK and I have connected to the system using the Brennan Web UI Bluetooth options in settings. However, when I try to scan for the Mercury on the Brennan itself, it can't find it, so I assume this may be an issue.

Can anyone suggest a possible solution as I can only really Bluetooth to the Mercury as the B2 is not close enough to the system to wire it in via aux etc. Note that I have been able to play Spotify via Bluetooth from my IPAD so it should be possible to also play the B2 through the speakers as well, unless there is a reason the two systems will not communicate with each other.

As I say, any suggestions would be appreciated.

Kind regards

Dave

[JFBUK]

Hi Dave,

I assume you have tried a Bluetooth reset on both the B2 and the Hamilton system. Sometimes just forcing a re-boot/rescan can clear things

Which version of the B2 software are you using ?

The B2B version offers better Bluetooth connectivity.

Brennan now do not market the B2 as offering Bluetooth output but it does still work for lots of devices

If you cannot get connectivity to work then as an alternative you could buy a Bluetooth transmitter and connect that to the B2 via optical.

The transmitter should have better breadth of connectivity

This is one option

https://www.1mii.com/product-item/b03pro-bluetooth-adapter/

or this 

https://www.fiio.com/bta30pro

Other users have had good results with other models.

If you search the forum for 'Bluetooth transmitter' you should get some more info

John

[JFBUK]

David replied directly

Hi John 

Thanks for the suggestions. I refreshed the Bluetooth on the Brennan and was able to connect to the Mercury and all works OK. 

The software I am running is B2B September 2020 and, despite Brennan not promoting Bluetooth Output, it all seems to work fine.

If anyone wants to use the Bluetooth output option I would recommend it. It seems to work fine for me.

Thanks again for your help. 

Kind regards

Dave 

[Dave C]

Hi Forum

A further update to my Bluetooth journey. Having successfully connected to The Hamilton Mercury and played music without any issue, yesterday I did the same thing and the music kept 'hi-cupping' when played back via the Bluetooth connection (ie. kept cutting out). Annoying!

Would a Bluetooth transmitter, as John suggests, solve this issue? 

I can't get my B2 any closer to the Sound system, so not an option there.

I thought I (and John) had solved this but it still seems further work is needed. Once again, any suggestions gratefully received.

Kind regards

Dave

[fred.w....@gmail.com]

In my opinion connecting the B2 optical output to a dedicated Bluetooth/DAC transmitter would seem to be the best option for those wanting to run their speakers over Bluetooth.

Fred

[Daniel Taylor]

You should check whether the music hiccups when played through a non-Bluetooth method.

[Dave C]

Hi Daniel

I have previously played music from the B2 through a Yamaha Musicast Soundbar connecting by both optical cable

and HDMI cable without the hiccup issue.

Thanks for the suggestion though.

Kind regards

Dave

[JFBUK]

Hi Dave,

The stutter could be wireless interference from Wi-Fi or other sources

A Bluetooth reset and re-pair will often clear this.

Bluetooth will sometimes hop around wireless channels to get the best signal  (its a design feature) and that can exhibit the symptoms you have.

I would try Daniel's suggestion to make sure that it is only a Bluetooth issue.

Fred makes a good point about an external transmitter because I think you will get a more solid and reliable Bluetooth connection if you use one.

The native Bluetooth on the B2 does not support some of latest Bluetooth improvements like aptx so assuming your Hamilton system does offer support it could help.

Hamilton may have solution that can help ?

John

[PMB]

Hi Dave,

Try fitting the Bluetooth dongle onto a USB extension cable (1m max) and repositioning it to stop the stuttering. Power the B2 off before fitting the cable and dongle.

Paul

Brennan Support.

[Steven Kennard]

Further to Paul's response I would just like to add that I have been having similar problems with the Bluetooth out not connecting or only having a very intermittent connection. I actually added a USB data extension cable which boosts the signal and enables you to extend it more than a couple of feet. I think mine is a 10 or 12 foot long cable which I used in my photography studio for boosting the USB connection between my camera and my computer. 

I put it in and it still didn't seem to fix the problem and out of annoyance I just about threw it on the floor on top of a dvd player under my tv, (I would have thought that was the worst place for it) and it now works impeccably. It's the old adage "location, location, location". It only took me 2 or 3 full days to find this out. Ha ha. I hope you have a dvd player under your tv, if not I recommend purchasing one while you still can, LOL!

Cheers

Steven

[PMB]

Hi Steven,

So did you throw the B2 or the dongle on top of the DVD player and if it was the dongle, was it still on the long USB extension cable?

Paul

Brennan Support.