BRIK Audio Bluetooth stage

I run into a forum style review from Australia / New Zealand about the BRIK Audio components by a person called “surgeprotector” .. . I thought it was interesting enough to re-post here.

“Been really crook for the last few days. Will be playing with the Bluetooth stage some more and posting review shortly”.

Bluetooth Stage

“The Brik Bluetooth stage is a convenient little unit that lets you connect your Bluetooth phone or other tablet device etc to your stereo”.

“I tried it with the DAC and without, paired to my Blackberry 9900, using the analogue connection and the digital coax out to the Brik DAC as well”.

“Before I get too far into the review, I’d like to first say that I have a huge gripe with Bluetooth audio. Just clearing that up, so you know. Bluetooth audio is usually unreliable, skips occasionally and makes everything sound so thin …”

“So I got the unit out and the set up process is nice and simple. Get it out of the box, screw the antenna in the back, connect all the cables and power, turn it on, pair it with your Bluetooth device, type in “0000”. Done”.

“As simple as that, and I have music streaming from my device”.

“The first impression using “analogue out” is as with all Bluetooth device. It’s heavily limited by the fact that it utilises Bluetooth …”

”I then got my friends to bring over his Logitech wireless speaker adapter and Voiis. Both much cheaper unit than the Brik, Logitech at $69 and Voiis about $120 last I checked. In comparison, Brik does a credible job despite the fact that it is heavily limited by the capacity of bluetooth. Brik sounds a lot more natural and neutral in comparison”.

“The other point I would like to point out, is that no other Bluetooth unit I know has a digital output. Brik does, and this gives you a lot of flexibility if you have a DAC you like using. I tried the Metrum with the Brik bluetooth, as well as the Brik DAC. The use of DAC alongside, does improve the sound quality somewhat. Brik was no huge leap from the analogue output, but once the Metrum was connected, the sound got a lot crisper and given a little life… although it was still limited by the bluetooth’s capability”.

BRIK Audio Bluetooth stage

The final thought on the Bluetooth stage

“If you really want the convenience of a Bluetooth audio in your stereo system, this is a great unit. Especially if you have already got a decent DAC with free coax input”.

“Bluetooth capability in your stereo is probably a handy thing if you have friends come and go and want them to play music off their devices easily, or you have different iphones, phones, tablet PCs or whatever else you use, and want to simply connect and stream music to your stereo”.

“I can definitely see the benefit, but for a dinosaur like me who prefers paper books to an ebook reader, I will stick to a wired DAC for now”.