There are many different ways to connect devices together, but Bluetooth is one of the oldest and is the most common way to get the job done. Bluetooth has been around for some time now and only continues to get better with age.
One of the most common modern uses for Bluetooth is Bluetooth speakers. Unfortunately, there are several myths surrounding Bluetooth speakers, and Bluetooth as a whole. Let’s take a look at some of these myths and clear them up so you understand just how good Bluetooth really is.
- Bluetooth Speakers Drain Battery
One of the most common myths about Bluetooth speakers is that connecting devices via Bluetooth will put a serious drain on the battery. There is some truth to this myth. It dates back to the early days of phones and Bluetooth when phones didn’t have the best battery lives and used up a lot of power naturally. With so little power to go around, it was only natural that Bluetooth would bleed those batteries dry.
Thanks to modern advances to phones, laptops, computers, and Bluetooth speakers, this is less of a problem than before. Thanks to modern technology you can turn on Bluetooth and connect your speakers without having to worry about it draining the battery. There’s even the “Low Energy” (LE) module built into Bluetooth 4 that ensures using Bluetooth to connect to a speaker does minimal damage to your battery life.
- Bluetooth is Harmful, so you Shouldn’t use Bluetooth Speakers
People have always questioned how harmful radio, Bluetooth, phone signals, and wireless signals are. It’s understandable that people should be concerned about their health. The questions over the health concerns of radio waves are something of a mystery and there’s always going to be misconceptions. Several studies have supposedly linked Bluetooth to radiation but there’s yet to be concrete evidence that the signals from cell phones can harm the health and wellbeing of users.
Thanks to all of the myths and rumors over radiation, electronics manufacturers are getting concerned that their sales may drop because people think the technology is bad. That’s why they’re pushing towards Bluetooth speakers with a reduced power output.
This reduced power output has created speakers that are not only safer, but also produce better sound quality. There are still some concerns about the health impact of Bluetooth and radio waves, but you can trust that any modern speaker isn’t going to do any damage to you. Anything that it may output is so small it is negligible.
- Bluetooth Speakers Can be Affected by Wi-fi – And Vice Versa
Another common myth that people believe in is the idea that Bluetooth and Wi-Fi interfere with one another. Like any kind of wireless technology, Bluetooth is based on radio waves. Bluetooth in particular is based on the 2.4Gz radio frequency.
Actually, everything that is connected via radio waves, from a smart microwave to the Wi-Fi, all runs on the same frequency level. This means that there is the potential for interference if two devices are trying to use the same signal at the same time in the same area.
The good news is that, once again, modern technology has saved the day. Modern Bluetooth speakers are made with adaptive frequency hopping. This basically means that when two devices, such as a Bluetooth speaker and a wireless router, are attempting to use the same frequency the signal will hop to another frequency. It means that the signal from one device doesn’t interfere with another device. The transition happens seamlessly too, so there’s no drop in audio quality or transmission speed.
- Bluetooth Speakers are Unreliable
The idea that Bluetooth speakers aren’t very reliable is another myth that goes back to the early days of the technology. There was certainly a time when they weren’t. Bluetooth devices – and the technology as a whole – had a lot of bugs in those early days. They would disconnect all the time and have trouble transferring data.
These days, Bluetooth speakers are far more reliable than they have ever been. Don’t forget that you have to pay for quality too. In general, a good quality speaker will cost more but it will be much more reliable. That’s why quality is such an important consideration when buying a Bluetooth speaker. Also, in recent years there’s been a certain trend toward retro or vintage looking Bluetooth speakers. But while these may look antique, they certainly don’t sound like it.
- Bluetooth Doesn’t Go Through Walls
What happens when you try and hear something from another room? It doesn’t sound as good does it? The clarity and volume of sound from another room can depend on the material in the wall. You’d find it much easier to hear something through sheetrock than through concrete, for example. Either way, you can’t make out what is being said unless it’s loud enough. That principle also applies to radio waves, the foundation of Bluetooth.
Path loss is a thing. It affects signal strength as a signal passes through the air and makes it weaker. That’s why the further away from a signal you are the weaker it is. This is a natural phenomenon and it can be affected by environmental factors such as walls and windows. With that said, strong radio waves – such as those given off by a quality Bluetooth speaker – can still pass through walls. Walls can impair the quality of a signal, but they can’t outright block it. Just look at videos of people playing games from the bathroom using a Bluetooth controller.
- Bluetooth Speakers Suck at Bass
If you were to ask anyone what a big problem with Bluetooth speakers is, they’d likely tell you that they suck at bass. This is another myth that is partially based in reality. It is true that Bluetooth speakers are more lightweight and mobile, meaning that they don’t have the room for a lot of bass.
That doesn’t mean that good bass is impossible to get from a Bluetooth speaker. There are lots of speakers that pump out a ton of bass thanks to some ingenuity by the engineers behind them. The latest Bluetooth speakers are packed full of bass while still being lightweight and portable. Don’t think you can’t drop the bass on Bluetooth.
Final Thoughts
Many of the myths around Bluetooth speakers date back to the early days of the technology. Bluetooth has come a long way since those days. Bluetooth speakers are safe to use, more reliable than you’d expect, and can pump out a lot of bass.