Do you want in Stereo and know how to? Read this
By Art Video
Rated 5 out of 5
Date: 2024-09-26
For the price this is sold as, it’s a steal, and having TWO units is a MUST, as Stereo is infinitively better than Mono. The enclosure seems to be made of aluminum, and the Bluetooth, once I connected it to my devices, it STAYS connected for hours.
I tested it connected to my iPhone first several hours. Every time I check it back, the XBR-2 XLR never fell asleep or broke connection, which is what you want for a live presentation or as a musician. IOS or Android, no problems.
Now, not everyone is tech savvy… If you experience any a hard time connecting the XBR-2 XLR to an iPhone, Android or what have you, if you MUST disconnect the assigned device FIRST, THEN connect to the other device you want. MAKE SURE the XBR-2 is not connected to any other device or simply DISABLE that other device’s BlueTooth. Otherwise, it is impossible to transfer the connection to the other device! For example, another phone. That applies to ALL Bluetooth devices. And every time you hit “connect” the XBR-2 XLR connects back in a blink of an eye!
Battery: claimed to last about 10 hours. I left it on and connected to my phone for 7 hours straight. That’s plenty enough for me. And to charge it took less than 1 hour from full charge minus the 7 hour run. Btw, it comes conveniently pre charged from factory to nearly full but I always make sure to charge in full.
Now the best part!
How to connect TWO XBR-2 XLR:
For stereo playback, connect two XBR-2s to two line-level input channels of your mixer, amplifier, or PA. I have included pictures. To see them, you must be on a DESKTOP browser.
1- Plug in the first XBR-2 into an available LINE-IN XLR from your Mixer.
2- Connect the first XBR-2 to your laptop or phone as usual from your manual.
3- Plug the second XBR-2 into your Mixer and LEAVE IT POWERED OFF!!
4- Once the first XBR-2 is paired and displays a slowly flashing blue light, power on the second XBR-2 and DO NOT assign the second XBR-2 to your Bluetooth!!!
5- Press and hold the stereo link buttons on both XBR-2s for two seconds, and release. The second XBR-2 will search for the first by communicating with each other. Nothing to do with your device’s Bluetooth.
6- Once it's paired, the second XBR-2's pair indicator will rapidly flash red and blue. The first XBR-2's pair indicator will continue to slowly flash blue!
7- Lastly, make sure to HARD PAN LEFT and RIGHT on your Mixer inputs, otherwise, you’ll still hear Mono.
ENJOY in STEREO!
Now what’s even more impressive:
If there are many Bluetooth devices listed on your phone, another great thing that the XBR-2 has is that you can RE-NAME its ID to anything you want for easy identification instead of the default name. And that name you just renamed, (this is NOT in the manual) it STAYS REGISTERED in the XBR-2 so you only need to do this ONCE, even if you decide to plug the XBR-2 into another phone or laptop. ONCE you configure these in Stereo, unlike most other bluetooth devices, you don’t have to setup, pair or rename ever again, the XBR-2 REMEMBERS everything you did, EVEN if you pair them to another phone, laptop or anything else. You DO NOT have to pair. You simply power ONE unit first, then power the SECOND unit thereafter, wait a few seconds, and it will automatically do the magic! And if you rename its Bluetooth ID, it will also RETAIN that information IN the unit, not on your phone.
Summarizing its biggest selling points:
Pros:
1- reliable Bluetooth and high transmission range
2- well built and high transmission range
3- can be renamed on Bluetooth settings.
4- ease of use
5- it’s an XLR device primarily. And you can still used as a non XLR with a cable adapter from XLR to 3.5mm, 1/4, RCA, etc
6- can be paired as Stereo if you purchase 2 of them.
Cons:
1- In a mixer, if using 2 of these, the XBR-2 XLR’s body is a tad too wide to fit next to the other input (see pictures). You’ll have to either place the second unit 1 input over like “channel 1 and 3” and skip the Chanel 2, however, if that’s a problem for you, you use an 1’ XLR short cable between the mixer’s input and the XBR-2 XLR and lay them on the table near the mixer. If you are using only one, ignore this paragraph.
2- Every time you press PAUSE on a song, or when it ends, you’ll hear a chime. It’s very gentle, discrete and low volume but to me that chime is unnecessary. I’m guessing they might remove the chime on the next batches.
I really like this unit and no more cable limitations when plugging in my IOS / Android devices.
[I have received this product in exchange for my honest review].
Brings new life to my PA speaker
By Nick
Rated 5 out of 5
Date: 2024-09-03
I love the functionality that this Polsen XBR-2 brings to my old PA speaker. It can't be simpler to set up, plug it in, turn the power on, and it shows up on my laptop as an available device. Once you connect the audio starts streaming, it's wonderful. No more long cord runs or having to plug my iPad in with an aux cord. I like that you can connect two of them to get a stereo mix if needed. The internal battery has been pretty solid as well. So far I've had it running continuously for 6+ hours with no issues. I'm a big fan of this device.
[I have received this item in exchange for my honest review]
