Bring your old HiFi back to life using Bluetooth or WiFi

Music from a smartphone can be played through old HiFi speakers using a Bluetooth or WiFi adapter. — dpa

For a long time, the HiFi system was a star of the living room. Today, however, it has lost ground to networked systems that stream music from the Internet.

So is it time for the old HiFi to go to the recycling centre? Not necessarily – there are retrofit solutions available.

The cheapest way to network an old HiFi is by using Bluetooth audio adapters, says Christian van de Sand from German consumer goods tester Stiftung Warentest. These small receivers are plugged into the HiFi and stream music to it from a smartphone or computer using Bluetooth.

The adapters offer a good introduction to acoustic networking, van de Sand says. Even devices as cheap as €20 (RM96) can do the job – if you can live with a range of around 10 metres. Also, if a smartphone is your music source, you won't be able to listen to music and make phone calls at the same time.

However, audio purists who expect concert hall-quality sound won't be satisfied by Bluetooth adapters, says Bernhard Grill, an audio expert with the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits (IIS) in Germany.

"Bluetooth is dominated by codecs that are over 20 years old and not the superior AAC codec, which transmits the music almost loss-free," he says.

An alternative is to use WiFi audio adapters. These have more range and flexibility, as they can connect not only to the home network but also to the Internet. That means you can stream music from online streaming services to your HiFi.

For Grill, WiFi audio adapters are the solution of choice if pure listening pleasure is your goal: "With WLAN transmission, higher data rates are used, which in principle allows lossless transmission."

WiFi audio adapters can be bought from €40 (RM193) upwards and are generally controlled by an app. They can be synchronised with other systems and wireless speakers so that the same music plays simultaneously in several rooms.

The prerequisite for this multi-room functionality is that all the systems and components support the same technical standard. Airplay, Chromecast, Spotify Connect and Undok are examples of manufacturer-independent standards, but HiFi manufacturers often rely on their own, mutually incompatible standards.

"WLAN connectors almost always only connect with matching loudspeakers of the same brand," says Roland Stehle from the German consumer electronics association GfU.

Then there are wireless speakers, available from €100 (RM481) upwards. These are almost mini-systems in their own right and can often play music from older players such as cassette decks and MP3 or CD players via an analogue input.

This usually also applies to the voice-controlled speakers with intelligent assistants aboard. More and more manufacturers are offering these, but users need to bear in mind that these speakers contain an always-on microphone that transmits information to the servers of the manufacturer.

If you don't want to control your system using an app, there's always a WiFi network player. These devices have the format of classic HiFi components and offer buttons for controlling the audio system. But they're more expensive and bulkier than simple audio adapters.

For that reason, van de Sand advises beginners to first try out a cheap Bluetooth adapter to see how effectively music is transmitted to the old HiFi. If that test works out well, you can then consider upgrading to a WiFi solution. — dpa

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