One thing was painfully obvious in my Little Radio Review, the ATS Mini isn’t very loud. I have a solution, hooking up the radio via audio cable to my Sony SRS-XB20 speaker. The problem with that solution is that the SRS-XB20 is heavy and won’t fit in my radio bag and certainly not in a pocket. I paid $48 for this in 2017 but Amazon sells it today for $124.99! Stereo versions get into serious money.
Wireless transmitter
Digging around in a drawer, I found an OiDiPi BT6 Wireless Transmitter/Receiver I had bought in February of 2024 for some reason that escapes me now unless it was because it was under $10 on Amazon.
So I gave it a try.
The BT6 paired with my new Jazmm 213 and I thought the sound was pretty good (Amazon reviewers of the BT6 were less impressed). Several of my radios have Bluetooth capability, including the Tecsun PL-990 that has probably the best speaker of my accumulation.
Dedicated Stereo Bluetooth speaker
For indoor home use, there is the Sony, but it’s not stereo. There is also an Alphasonik Vivid Home Wireless Bluetooth Portable Speaker that is stereo, but it refused to connect; I tried the wired connection, but the speaker generated so much RFI that it overwhelmed the receiver even on FM. Battery powered with Bluetooth off, it still generated massive interference.
I went back to Amazon and lowered my rating from 3 to 2 stars.
AUX
I have an Evche EC-2110BTS radio that sits on my desk all the time, although I don’t normally use it. It has Bluetooth and AUX input. The AUX cable worked fine and the BT6 paired reliably. The speaker is quite nice with good volume.
Amazon sells this radio for $16.99 (I included a link because a search by model doesn’t find it). I also wrote a review of the radio in 2022.
Radios with Aux inputs are uncommon in my inventory, but I see that the Eton Elite Executive, Zhiwhis ZWS-603, ZWS-2415 and LiJiANi RD239 have them too. And of course the Tecsun Q3 has an AUX input as it’s primarily a recorder that just happens to have an FM radio in it.
Wireless streaming
One might ask why I don’t just use some earphones. One reason is that some of the ATS Mini radios (V1) don’t provide enough power out for headphones — they’re made for powered speakers. Plus I wear hearing aids and earphones and hearing aids don’t fit in the same ear at the same time.
There is a solution. When I got my hearing aids, they included a wireless streaming device. It has wired input (RCA phone plugs or optical cable). It then talks to my phone, which in turn talks to the hearing aids. The HearLink TV Adapter for Philips Hearing Aids is listed at Costco for $239.99 (only members can see the price online) but they threw it in for free as a promotion when I bought my hearing aids.
This solution, while not designed for booming bass tones (there is a graphic equalizer in the phone app), speech clarity was outstanding. I’m wondering if this will help with marginal signals where now I’m lucky to just pick out the language.
I wouldn’t normally describe this as a portable solution, but it is powered by a USB adapter and I could take a USB battery pack along with it.