Avantree Saturn Bluetooth Receiver and Transmitter Review

Bluetooth isn’t exactly a new technology–we’ve been using it for years for our handsfree headsets and wireless keyboards–but not every gadget that you have happens to boast Bluetooth functionality. You might have an iPod, for example, that you want to use with your Bluetooth speaker, but you’re left without that Bluetooth connection.

Bridging that great divide is the Avantree Saturn Bluetooth wireless music receiver and transmitter. It’s a tiny little gadget, not much bigger than an iPod shuffle, that connects your non-Bluetooth devices to your Bluetooth-enabled devices.

What’s in the Box?

Inside the box, you’ll find everything that you need to get started. In addition to the Saturn device itself, you get a microUSB cable for charging, a stereo mini cable for connecting to your music devices, a stereo mini to RCA audio cable, and a double-ended stereo mini adapter to work with the RCA cable. There is also a user manual, of course.

You’ll notice that there is no wall adapter here for charging, so you’ll either need to supply your own or rely on charging the Saturn via your computer’s USB ports.

As a Transmitter or a Receiver

On one side of the Saturn, you’ll find the 3.5mm audio jack and the microUSB port. On the other side, as you can see here, there is a switch for choosing between the transmitting (TX) and receiving (RX) modes. The main power button is located on top.

To test the receiving mode, I attached the Saturn to the Antec SP1 speaker via the provided 3.5mm audio cable. I then proceeded to pair the Saturn with my smartphone. The process is identical to pairing with a Bluetooth headset. Streaming music from my phone to the Saturn (and then to the speaker) was easy and the audio quality was as expected, but the range left something to be desired. The signal seemed to break up periodically, even when the Saturn and my phone were in close proximity. This issue was exacerbated by increasing the distance between the two devices.

I had a similar experience with the Saturn in transmission (TX) mode. For this, I connected the Saturn to my non-Bluetooth iPod and then attempted to pair it with the same Antec SP1 via Bluetooth. This process was a little more confusing, since neither end of the connection had a display to manage the Bluetooth pairing, but when I put both the speaker and the Saturn in pairing mode, they seemed to “find” one another after a few seconds. However, as with the receiving mode, the signal would break up periodically and the range did not stand up to the usual (up to) 30 feet we get from current Bluetooth technologies.

The Freedom of Wireless Bluetooth

As an idea, the Avantree Saturn Bluetooth module sounds like it could be very useful. You can connect your smartphone to your non-Bluetooth stereo system, for example. You can stream music from your non-Bluetooth audio sources to your Bluetooth-enabled speakers. However, in practice, I found the connection to be weak and inconsistent.

While the Saturn has an MSRP of $57.99, you can usually find it online for less. It’s a nifty little gadget, but you’ll want to keep the distance low and maintain excellent line of sight.