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Noble Audio has unveiled, Sceptre, a high-performance Bluetooth audio dongle designed to provide enhanced wireless sound from any device. You plug it into the USB-C port on your device, pair your audio gear, and off you go. Noble has priced the Sceptre at $70 and designed it for easy portability. There are plenty of these external wireless Bluetooth transmitters on the market that promise better audio quality between devices, like a smartphone and set of Bluetooth headphones, but Noble’s Sceptre is one of the newest.
After plugging the dongle into your device, the audio stream you want to listen to is sent through the Sceptre It works similarly to a Digital-to-Analog Converter (DAC), which is one of those Hi-Fi gadgets that should be on every audiophile’s wishlist. But Noble’s dongle supports the latest audio codecs, which help compress and decompress files, to deliver high-quality wireless audio. The Noble Sceptre also supports HFP, A2DP, and AVRCP Bluetooth profiles aimed at ensuring reliable connectivity between devices.
A solid pair of headphones increases the audio experience even more
The Noble Audio Sceptre is essentially taking the audio from your phone and sending it to your listening device — headphones or speaker — in a higher-quality stream thanks to the way the advanced codecs work. That means your listening device is getting a higher-fidelity feed, within reason.
Realistically, Bluetooth cannot handle lossless high-resolution audio, but to transmit more effectively, the audio is compressed, and that’s where the codecs come into play. Advanced codecs like aptX and LDAC are more effective at compressing and decompressing audio, while preserving the quality and original sound. But you still need a pair of high-end headphones to take advantage of those premium codecs, which means a set that supports aptX or LDAC.
You don’t necessarily have to run out and buy the most expensive pair on the market. However, your headphones are the most important piece of the puzzle. So stick to some of Consumer Reports’ picks for audiophile-friendly headphones and you’ll be just fine. And yes, there is a difference between Bluetooth and wireless headphones. As for alternative Bluetooth wireless dongles, the Sennheiser BTD 700, Questyle QCC Dongle Pro, and Creative BT-W5 all work the same way as Noble’s Sceptre — acting as a bridge between your audio and listening device.
