- Sound Quality
- Portability
- Functionality
The Kanex AirBlue is simple. It’s about the size of a camera lens cover on a current SLR. It looks like a small hockey puck with a button in the middle. With a design seemingly based upon simplicity, the AirBlue does a great job of streaming music over bluetooth while looking good and elegant.
Judging by their website, the AirBlue’s target appears to be streaming to a car audio system or a home speaker system but I found that my favorite use of it was to stream to my headphones. It can take two plugs– one mini-USB and one 1/8″ stereo jack. The mini-USB is for charging. The 1/8″ stereo jack is for any device you have that can take a 1/8″ input or right/left RCA inputs.
Supporting Bluetooth 2.1 EDR with A2DP stereo, the AirBlue can handle decent sounding music through a wireless connection. With a 30+ foot range, I could hear it across two rooms. What was really impressive though was not the specs but the battery life. I have been using it sparsely for a few hours a day for the past week and it still isn’t dead yet. I only have to charge it very occasionally.
My preferred use of it is to turn my headphones into wireless ones. Rather than pairing my iPhone and connecting it to my home theater receiver or car and playing music while walking around, I connect it to my computer at night and use it to watch movies while not disturbing anyone else. It’s great. I can even go to the bathroom and still be listening to Dexter streaming without having to pause.
The sound quality is not as good as through a wire or KLEER wireless systems, but it’s the closest I have ever heard. I really enjoy using the Kanex AirBlue and its size and portability make it extremely capable and allow it to be very versatile. The only potential caveat I found was that when music is not playing for a period of time (a few minutes), the unit shuts down. Of course, you have to go back to it to turn it back on. The solution: Keep the music playing!
