Auris bluMe Pro Wireless Bluetooth Receiver Review

The Auris bluMe Pro Wireless Bluetooth Receiver is a product that tackles one specific solution, wireless streaming. It is a premium component designed for hi-res wireless audio streaming, combining audiophile-quality components along with the highest quality Bluetooth audio capabilities, to add high-definition Bluetooth connectivity to any existing HiFi stereo system or powered speakers. In my case, I’m connecting it to my NAD 326bee integrated amplifier. The NAD is bereft of any digital connectivity, so I’ve been using the Cambridge DACMagic 200M to fill the technology gap.

The bluMe Pro is less expensive than the 200M and features a less robust feature set. But it’s a different product type so, I’m not going to be comparing the two. It fills a void in my system that I would have if I didn’t own the DacMagic 200M. In addition, it has another use outside of traditional Hi-Fi that I’m dying to try out…

The Auris bluMe Pro Wireless Receiver is a simple yet elegant black box. It’s lightweight, finished in matte black aluminum, and features a simple white-on-black OLED screen. It’s fairly minimal apart from the functional antenna on the left side.

The bluMe Pro features an audiophile quality ESS SABRE ES9028Q2M DAC which up-samples to 32-bit/384kHz encoding. It’s incidentally the same chip that’s inside my DAC magic 200M. Though the 200M sports a dual DAC configuration. The bluMe Pro also supports high-resolution Bluetooth audio codecs – LDAC, Qualcomm aptX HD, and AAC. Also supported is aptX Low Latency, aptX, and SBC. For the uninitiated (me included) LDAC, according to Wikipedia is “… a proprietary audio coding technology developed by Sony, which allows streaming high-resolution audio over Bluetooth connections, at up to 990kbps at 32-bit/96kHz.”

A Cirrus Logic CS8406 digital conversion chip is implemented for high-quality digital output. Should your device feature digital inputs then the bluMe Pro has Digital Optical and Coaxial outputs for easy connection. A high-gain antenna allows for long-range streaming up to 30m/100ft.

It’s simple. Like, plug and play simple. No kidding. It’s one of the best parts of this product. Whenever I fire up my laptop, the Bluetooth picks up the bluMe Pro and I’m connected. Best of all, there’s no app, which in my view gets in the way of the user experience. So yeah, I’m a fan.

In my review for the Cambridge DACMagic 200M, I remarked that I couldn’t hear sonic characteristics imparted into the music when played through the 200M and the same is true here with the bluMe Pro. And for me, that’s just great. More refined ears may disagree or hear the nuances that mine do not. But from my perspective, the bluMe Pro is transparent.

Rather than go over specific test tracks, I was more curious to see how well devices connected to the bluMe Pro and how well it integrated into different setups. My iPhones (12 Pro, 12 Pro Max, and 13 Mini) all connected without issue, as did my MacBook Pro and iMac Pro.

It occurred to me that since the bluMe Pro is so compact, it could be moved all over the home to add wireless to other gear. A few years back I gifted my wife a Tivoli Model One. It’s a simple, good-looking radio with an auxiliary jack on the back. She never uses it. Her iMac sounds just as good (if not better), and the Model One has no Bluetooth, so it just collects dust. The Auris makes it a more complete system. With a longer cable, you can still have the Tivoli sitting pretty on a shelf on its own.

So, what was that specific use case I mentioned earlier? Well, that was in my car. My Kia Rio has a fairly spartan interior. I can play music via a single USB connection or via Bluetooth. The iPhone cables I have used (both Apple-branded and off-brand) get beat up over time and tend to fail regularly. Bluetooth connects but it takes a few minutes to register when the car starts up and sometimes the Kia system auto imports my wife’s phone when she takes my car out and doesn’t connect to mine. Soooo frustrating! So, I was curious to see if the bluMe Pro connected at all and if the sound audibly improved.

My thought was that I could potentially connect it via USB for power and bypass any of my gripes about Kia’s system.

It worked seamlessly. Since the bluMe Pro takes power via USB, I connected that to the cheapo-cigarette-lighter-adaptor-hub-thingy and then connected an RCA to a 3mm adapter to the AUX input. Then I simply connected to the bluMe pro in my iPhone Mini’s settings. And I was off to the races. If you don’t mind a mess of wires, it works quite well. My Kia is tiny and has very little storage or any practical way to hide the unit, and I’m sure there’s a way to cable manage better than I did. But yeah, no real problems at all. As far as an improvement in the sound, well I didn’t hear a difference. But the stock system in my Kia is hot garbage anyway so I wasn’t expecting anything.

For $169, the Auris bluMe Pro Wireless receiver adds Bluetooth to an existing audio system in the home or even in the car. It’s not much money to add modern tech to a classic component.

For $169 USD Auris makes the bluMe Pro an interesting proposition. If your current amplifier, receiver, or powered speaker lacks a quality wireless solution, then Auris has you covered. Alternatively, maybe you’re like me and you’re on the market for a new integrated amp and you’re batting around the idea to get something that covers all the bases, including wireless. You could factor in the bluMe for wireless at $169 USD, and just focus on a great amplifier vs one with all the bells and whistles. Personally, I prefer this approach. The bluMe Pro Wireless Receiver is a great product from Auris. It does what it claims to do and does it well.