Not every speaker is made the same. Some have massive drivers, some have woofers, some have wireless capabilities. These days with the popularity of mobile computing products, wireless audio is preferred by many solely on the basis of convenience. That said, not every speaker has wireless capabilities built in. Often you may have great speakers or a great audio system, but as it may not have wireless audio, you may end up ditching it for something new, which may or may not be as good, sonically.
But is this the only way out? No, it is not. We are Indians so we always do some jugaad. And there is a jugaad to turn your plain speakers into Bluetooth speakers.
In the truest sense, this is not jugaad, but there are some products in the market that can add Bluetooth or wireless capabilities to your existing speakers.
What do you need?
The essentials for adding Bluetooth or wireless audio to your speakers include either the Apple AirPort Express or the Logitech Bluetooth Adapter. These two gadgets/accessories are a minimum requirement.
In addition to these, you may need relevant cables and adapters depending to the type of speakers you have.
You could need a ¼-inch cable if you are trying to connect studio monitors or two way audio cables if you are trying to hook up your home theatre. The Logitech Bluetooth Adapter comes with a pair of a cables. It includes an 3.5mm to 3.5mm cable, better known as an auxiliary cable and a two way audio cable.
While trying to connect a stereo speaker system or a multi-channel set up you may also need relevant adapters that combine the split audio signal in one channel.
Just to recap, you need:
-- Airport Express/ Logitech Bluetooth Adapter
-- Cables
-- Speakers
--Adapters
Which speakers did we use?
We used a pair of M-Audio BX5a Studio monitors for setting up our wireless audio system. Now clearly, the BX5a speakers are not designed to be used wirelessly and they don't even use standard cables so a bit of jugaad is needed.
So first, we needed two 1/4inch cables. Guitarists or musicians will know theses as the big brother of the 3.5mm jack as they are found in most professional audio gear.
Additionally, we needed an adapted which combined the two way 1/4-inch output to a 3.5mm input, which is a little too hard to find. That said, such adapters can be bought in the grey market or from online retailers like Amazon.
Apple Airport Express method
The Airport Express is a Wi-Fi router at its heart. So first one needs to hook up their broadband connection to it. Then, while setting it up one has to download the AirPort Utility, choose Airport express and enable AirTunes. You can also rename the Airport Express here. It is recommended to put in a password so that only people who know it can activate the wireless audio.
Once this is set up, you have to connect your speaker with the 3.5mm point on the Airport Express. On iTunes or the iPhone or iPad, the Airport Express will appear as an option for wireless usage and one just needs to click it to enable wireless audio.
The only problem with this method is that it is locked to Apple's ecosystem as it uses the AirPlay protocol. So, it will not work with your Android smartphone or any other music player than iTunes.
It is also expensive as the Airport express can cost as much as Rs.6,500. That said, AirPlay sounds slightly better than standard Bluetooth audio.
Logitech Bluetooth Adapter method
The Logitech Bluetooth Adapter is a great little tool for enabling wireless audio. Enabling Bluetooth audio via it is simpler too and it is a universal solution agnostic of any device type.
You just need to connect your device with the Bluetooth Adapter over Bluetooth and wireless audio will be enabled as long as your speakers are connected. It works with all kinds of hardware and there is no limitation. This will be the solution for users of Android hardware. It is also a cheaper solution as the Bluetooth Adapter costs Rs.1,995.
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