Streamers — Musical Fidelity V90-BLU5 HD

The V90-BLU5 HD is a high-definition Bluetooth receiver from Musical Fidelity's compact V90 range, intended to bring music from phones, tablets and computers into an existing hi-fi system. Unlike most receivers of this type, it does not rely on the converter built into the Bluetooth chip, and it can also act as an input extender for amplifiers that have run out of free sockets. The recommended price in Europe was EUR 399 including VAT.

Key specs that matter

Reception uses Bluetooth 5.0 with the SBC, aptX and aptX HD codecs, and aptX HD is limited to 24-bit and 96 kHz at 576 kbit/s. The radio works between 2.402 and 2.480 GHz at up to +10 dBm, and Musical Fidelity quotes a range of up to 240 m in Class 5 operation against 30 m in Class 2. Measured through the analogue output, THD plus noise stays below 0.01% A-weighted, the signal to noise ratio is 80 dB A-weighted, channel separation is 78 dB and response deviates by no more than 0.1 dB. Inputs are one analogue RCA pair, one coaxial digital input to 24-bit and 192 kHz and one optical input to 24-bit and 96 kHz, mirrored by the same three outputs. The box measures 170 x 47 x 117 mm and weighs 590 g.

Engineering and use context

A Qualcomm CSR8670 chip handles the wireless link. That chip has its own converter, but Musical Fidelity chose to bypass it and added a separate digital section. A Burr-Brown SRC4392 sample rate converter re-clocks and upsamples every incoming signal, and a Burr-Brown PCM1781D DAC then produces the analogue output. As an input extender, the unit passes its analogue RCA input straight to its analogue output and its digital inputs to its digital outputs, then switches automatically to the Bluetooth stream whenever a paired device starts playing. Phones without Bluetooth 5.0 still connect, falling back to the older standard with reduced range and bandwidth, and aptX HD works only if the source device supports it. Supplied items include a 12 V, 500 mA DC power adapter and a Bluetooth antenna.

Pairing

Placed between a CD player or TV and an amplifier, it takes over a single occupied input without removing the existing source. The coaxial and optical outputs can also send the Bluetooth stream to a different external DAC instead of the built-in one. Any amplifier with a spare line-level input, or an outboard DAC with coaxial or optical inputs, can serve as the destination, which makes the unit usable with older stereo amplifiers that have no wireless option.

Alternatives

For full network streaming with Roon and hi-res services, Musical Fidelity offers the MX-Stream, a USB transport without an internal DAC.