Topping BC3 Review (Bluetooth Receiver) & BT CODECs

[qec]

Just received my BC3 which I had to order from China. Have to say it is a solid little piece of hardware and appears to be very nicely made. Mine is going to end up in my Yukon being driven by my Pixel 5 in LDAC mode so certainly not a "audiophile" setup but no sense in making things less then they have to be. Driving "aux in" on the head unit so I will be using both the BT and DAC in this device.
Still trying to decide if I add a second one for my home audio setup to drive a E50. Leaning that way instead of the D90.

 

[Megaken]

Can someone tell me if I can keep it plugged in to electricity forever? I need something for home

 

[qec]

Can't say for sure but I don't see why not. YOu will have to turn the device on each time you use it. It eventually powers off. Nice feature for the car since I don't normally plug it into power but perhaps a bit of a pain in a rack system.

 

[Megaken]

Can't say for sure but I don't see why not. YOu will have to turn the device on each time you use it. It eventually powers off. Nice feature for the car since I don't normally plug it into power but perhaps a bit of a pain in a rack system.

Well some rechargeable bluetooth receivers simply don't work while charging. Also, what do you mean it eventually powers off? Even if it's plugged into electricity and connected to a bluetooth source?

 

[qec]

I will check this weekend and report back. Regarding the "auto" shutoff. It only turns off when nothing is connected to it.

 

[danny87]

Can someone tell me if I can keep it plugged in to electricity forever? I need something for home

Topping replied to a similar enquiry on their Facebook: "This can be done but it is not recommended. It is not good for battery health because it is kept fully charged for a long time without discharging."

 

[PeteL]

Topping replied to a similar enquiry on their Facebook: "This can be done but it is not recommended. It is not good for battery health because it is kept fully charged for a long time without discharging."

It's unfortunate, many smartphone works like that too but it really is not that hard to design a circuit where the battery in not in use when connected with USB and the battery is fully charged, this is actually good for battery health because it's simply disconnected when you don't need it. What this answer really say is that the Device is running on battery all the time, very common but I don't know why manufacturers do this. In this case I find it less excusable since with a squarish clipless look and a digital out, it seams fit to integrate in a home stereo system.

 

[Megaken]

Topping replied to a similar enquiry on their Facebook: "This can be done but it is not recommended. It is not good for battery health because it is kept fully charged for a long time without discharging."

Thanks. I guess it doesn't matter in my case because I plan to use it at home stationary so it will always be plugged in, and yea it'll probably die completely after a couple of years but that's ok

 

[qec]

Looks like the question has already been answered but I confirmed this weekend that the BC-3 will receive BT while plugged into USB C power. I agree that you may burn out the battery eventually but it still should work when plugged in. I have a couple of tablets and old laptop that I use like that and they work fine when plugged in

 

[Megaken]

Looks like the question has already been answered but I confirmed this weekend that the BC-3 will receive BT while plugged into USB C power. I agree that you may burn out the battery eventually but it still should work when plugged in. I have a couple of tablets and old laptop that I use like that and they work fine when plugged in

Yep. Just ordered it.
Do you use it with LDAC by chance?

 

[pseudoid]

It was sent to me by the online seller...

Can we start something with these DUTs that you get au gratis?
Something better than just a raffle for members but with a flair of sorts.

 

[Doodski]

Can we start something with these DUTs that you get au gratis?
Something better than just a raffle for members but with a flair of sorts.

Like a voting process to determine the winner? I prefer random chance.

 

[pseudoid]

I prefer random chance.

I have never bought a lottery ticket in my life for that simple reason.
If I do, everyone else's chance goes up.
[sic? or chances go up? or chances goes up?]

 

[Doodski]

I have never bought a lottery ticket in my life for that simple reason.
If I do, everyone else's chance goes up.
[sic? or chances go up? or chances goes up?]

I bought 2 tickets in my life. I'm still surprised I did. Been to Vegas 5 times and only spent 2 hours at the slots getting rid of a plastic bucket of quarters that I won. I worked for a very talented Chinese chef when I was 14-17 as his dishwasher and he had a major gambling issue and he made sure I didn't develop that issue. As a added plus I studied electronics and saw the folly of gambling.

 

[qec]

I'm using my BC-3 with LDAC streamed from a Pixel 5. Very happy with the sound. Again used in a truck .....

 

[Megaken]

I'm using my BC-3 with LDAC streamed from a Pixel 5. Very happy with the sound. Again used in a truck .....

Does it work on the 9XXkbps setting?

 

[bravomail]

Conclusions
The previous Bluetooth receivers we tested suffered both from codec losses and less than optimal implementation of output DAC. Topping has the same limitation as far as codecs but since it supports LDAC, for simple signals at least, it eliminates that bottleneck. Its DAC implementation is what you expect: "good enough for 16 bit content." Fortunately with digital output you can connect it to your favorite DAC with balanced out and by using LDAC, you have a superb input path for Bluetooth.

Thx for educational review of codecs, Amir!
Now, If only carmakers and phonemakers both adopted LDAC - I'd be ecstatic. I only use Bluetooth in a car, for convenience. Everywhere else it is easier for me to have a wired connection.

 

[qec]

I confirmed that the screen shot and comment from Megaken is true for my phone. It resets to "Best effort" each time my phone reconnects. What I don't know is what the actually bit rate is. Not sure if there is a way to figure this out. It is possible that "Best Effort" is 9xx....

 

[Megaken]

I confirmed that the screen shot and comment from Megaken is true for my phone. It resets to "Best effort" each time my phone reconnects. What I don't know is what the actually bit rate is. Not sure if there is a way to figure this out. It is possible that "Best Effort" is 9xx....

best effort means adaptive - so it's constantly changing as far as I understand based on content/conditions etc.
But what android version do you have on your pixel? It should stick on 11 and 12... the bitrate setting you pick.

 

[Megaken]

I confirmed that the screen shot and comment from Megaken is true for my phone. It resets to "Best effort" each time my phone reconnects. What I don't know is what the actually bit rate is. Not sure if there is a way to figure this out. It is possible that "Best Effort" is 9xx....

Also try sony music center app I heard you can lock in ldac settings per device there