Creative BT-W5

This is a great little dongle to allow pretty much anything with a USB port to deliver AptX Adaptive / HD sound quality over bluetooth. I use mine both with my PC and also my phone which only supports LDAC which my buds don't. The dongle uses an app on the computer to adjust settings, reset, update firmware, enable room modes/eq etc. I find the app a little lacking in friendlyness. I often am unsure which mode i'm in or whether an adjustment will persist across devices. I tend to just use it therefore for a straight connection and don't both with all the room simulation modes etc. The dongle is a USB type C port device. So if you want to use it on something with a USB-A port you'll need to buy an adapter, which for the price of this device i would expect to be included. The overall sound quality when paired with a set of buds / headphones that support AptX Adaptive is really one of the best sounding experiences i've ever had via bluetooth. I am using this with Tidal lossless service as i genuinely can hear the difference between Spotify and Tidal lossless. It does sound better, in my experience, than the Sennheiser BTD600 but not by much. Given the 2x price difference i think on balance the Sennheiser is a much better value proposition and i would expect this Creative dongle to really be similarly priced or maybe £40-45. I think the £55 price tag is definitely too much. Works great though, can be used without a PC using the button on the device to trigger pairing but updates or tweaks does need the app. Be nice to see a mobile version of the app too

I am a PC user, so I got the adapter to benefit from during gaming and video watching. I am using Bowers & Wilkins PX8 S2. In Windows PC Aptx standard is what we get. Aptx standard and Aptx Adaptive operate at around 80ms latency. Selecting a low-latency mode in the app does lower the latency by half after doing some audio testing. So it feels very good, and I wouldn't even bother using a wired headset for gaming. Works well, after switching my headset on, it automatically connects to the dongle. For anyone considering this dongle for low latency experience, make sure your headset or earbus has Aptex adaptive. Aptex Low Latency LL is a completely different older codec. The BT-W5 frequently acts as its own sound card, meaning setting Windows to 10% might still send a 100% signal to the dongle, which is then sent to your headphones. I have an example screenshot of how I manage sound volume. In volume mixer settings, I set master vol at 50%, then Spotify, game, and browser at literally 4% vol. In this setup, using the master volume gives good volume control.

Works very well with my Win 11 laptop to Dali Katch G2 Bluetooth speaker. It connects automatically via the best codec for my situation, which is AptX HD. The Creative app shows the bitrate being used (24/48) and has useful EQ options to tailor the sound, which the Dali lacks. A big advantage. One can also can update firmware and other settings. I also used this via my Samsung S24. Creative make it clear that Android isn't supported. And indeed, I found the Creative app doesn't work with this device, which means none of the information or EQ options that the Windows app has are available. However......the dongle did connect to my Dali successfully and is using the AptX HD codec (as shown by the gold light illuminating on it). But the volume is controlled by the phone and other sounds can be heard unless you mute "system sounds", which means the audio is going through the Android internal mixer. That resamples audio to either 16/48 or 24/48 (never sure). Which is still fine in my case, since Samsung don't offer AptX HD or better, only AptX standard. AptX HD tops out at 24/48 so this is no worry. If your phone offers AptX HD, Adaptive or Lossless and you don't plan to use Win 11 etc., then don't bother getting this. Otherwise, I recommend and am happy with the purchase.

Bluetooth connectivity is on the Top, never had any issues with connecting stability. Works great with my Aptx Adaptive earbuds. Just 3 clicks on the button, and I can switch between High Quality (Purple) or Low Latency mode (Cyan). The Creative App makes them very easy to setup. No issues with compatibility as long as the earbuds/headphones have supported Bluetooth codes by the dongle. Overall it's very good value for money, and as always creative can deliver great sound quality ! Recommending either for music or gaming 👌🏻

Great little device, works exactly as intended with my Bose QC ultras. Low latency whilst gaming was exactly what I needed along with decent range. Easy to set up, would reccomend to someone who wants to use better headphones and not need a wire

I am a big fan of Creative and own many of their other audio products. I tested the transmitter with: PS4, PS5, Switch, XBOX, PC, Mac, iPhone, iPad, and an Panasonic OLED TV. Sadly, I can not find a positive side to this device, so, let me start the list of negatives straight away: BUILD QUALITY: The only button rattles when moving the dongle in any way. The button also has multiple click-stages. So, you might think you have pressed it already when you actually need to press harder for the second click - that's when it usually triggers. I remember "crunchy" buttons like this one from mobile phones of the 1990s. THE LED: The LED is positioned on one side of the stick, so, you have a 50/50 chance of actually seeing it. (Seeing it is important because everything is communicated via this one LED) The USB-C plug: Most PCs and earlier versions of the Playstation 5 do not have a USB-C plug and there is no USB-A adapter included. If you think you're smart and bought an adapter yourself - it's likely not going to work. (Apart from PS5, where an adapter does work) AptX CODEC: (Which is most likely why you're thinking about buying this) It does have AptX codecs and it does sometimes connect to compatible devices via AptX... However: If you're using this to watch TV, or play videogames: You will be stuck with a laggy transmission because the default of the stick is NOT the LowLatency version of AptX! You'll have to download a program on your PC in order to be able to adjust that setting. But the stick won't be found by the Creative Program under Windows10. (See attached screenshot: Win10 finds it but Creative Program doesn't) You can maybe force your headphones to only accept LowLatency codecs but this requires pairing them to your phone first - then unpairing them again and then pairing them to the stick. (Pairing is usually very slow and unpredictable.) COMPATIBILITY: PC: No Playstation 5: Yes but with severe lag - unusable. Panasonic OLED TV from 2024: No Nintendo Switch: Yes with severe lag - unusable XBOX - No (To be fair: this wasn't claimed) iPhone / iPad: No (See attached screenshot - stick needs too much power!!) Mac: Yes but only via USB-C and after tweaking the settings in the Mac app. (Otherwise laggy, which would be ok for music.) SUMMARY: This device is entirely useless, no matter what you're planning to do with it. The ONLY reasonable use-case would be to listen to uncompressed music on a Mac. (If you're using iTunes or Apple music or Spotify - you will not hear a difference between the SBC or the AptX codec as the source material is not righ resolution enough. Also, if high-res audio is what you want to listen to on a Mac, you should probably use LDAC not AptX. Which means that there is literally no point in buying this stick. I really hope this helped! (Sorry for the bad news)

Great bit of kit, allows me to get better sound quality when using my phone with my headphone, it works flawlessly everytime.

I bought this to use with a Playstation 5. The problem is that the BT-W5's default mode is High Quality (High Latency). Obviously, for gaming I want the Low Latency mode. BUT the only way the user can select Low Latency (or other) mode is by first connecting the BT-W5 to a Windows 11 PC or a Mac, downloading the Creative App, and using that app to select the desired mode. The BT-W5 then remains in that selected mode and can be connected to a PS5 or other device. Tough luck if you don't own a Windows 11 PC or Mac (I don't). You are stuck with that one High Quality mode (which is laughably high latency ... just watching video on the PS5, the sound is lagging, lip sync is awful). So, it's a a stretch for Creative to claim that the BT-W5 works with that long list of devices. It does connect, but you can only use a fraction of its functionality. Not everyone has a PC or Windows computer to set the device up fully. If you're planning to use this on anything but a PC or Mac, don't waste your money.

J’avais peur des vis a vis des avis negatifs, mais RAS de mon côté, je l’ai couplé à un recepteur bluetooth qui est sur mon ampli. Windows envoyait du compresser, le creative la envoi du aptx hd, excellent j'ai tout de suite entendu la différence, je re-découvre mon set up hi fi. Tout sonne plus juste, plus clair, avec spotify en qualité loseless quel bonheur.

Works great with PS5 Pro and Sennheiser Momentum 4 headphones. With aptX Adaptive Low Latency enabled, there's no noticeable lag with sync between video and audio whilst gaming.

Cercavo da tempo una soluzione per sfruttare al meglio le mie Bowers & Wilkins PX7 S2e con il PC, e il Creative BT-W5 ha superato ogni aspettativa. La differenza rispetto al Bluetooth integrato del computer è immediata e netta: grazie al supporto aptX Adaptive, finalmente riesco ad apprezzare tutta la qualità sonora che le PX7 S2e sono in grado di offrire. La scena sonora è più ampia, i dettagli emergono con maggiore chiarezza e i bassi hanno quella profondità e controllo che mi mancavano con le connessioni standard. La configurazione è semplicissima: basta inserire il dongle, accoppiare le cuffie e il gioco è fatto. L'indicatore LED conferma il codec in uso, così ho sempre la certezza di essere collegato con il codec migliore disponibile. Costruzione solida, dimensioni compatte e latenza praticamente impercettibile anche guardando video o giocando. Se possedete cuffie di fascia alta compatibili con aptX Adaptive e volete finalmente sentire cosa sono capaci di fare, questo dongle è un acquisto obbligato. Sono molto soddisfatto.

Vorab eine Warnung: Achtet auf die AptX Standards und versteht, was euer Kopfhörer beherrscht und was nicht und was euer Ziel ist! Dieses Dongle beherrscht AptX HD und !Adaptive AptX HD/LL. Es beherrscht kein AptX LL! Wichtig ist, dass man sich im klaren ist, dass AptX LL und AptX Adaptive LL zwei unterschiedliche Dinge sind! Zu meinem Hintergrund und meiner Erfahrung mit dem Dongle: Ich habe mir "Beyerdynamic Amiron Wireless" Kopfhörer gekauft. Primär um Spiele auf meiner Playstation 5 zu spielen, aber auch ab und zu Filme zu schauen. Die Playstation 5/PS5 beherrscht kein Bluetooth, also war die einzige Option ein Dongle. Zuerst ging ich über den Weg per Koppelung des Kopfhörers mit dem TV (Samsung 65KS9590). Das lief über AptX HD, allerdings war die Übertragung ab 1 Meter instabil und jede Bewegung sorgte für Aussetzer, Glucksen, Störgeräusche. Also habe ich einen Avantree C81 bestellt und ihn direkt an der PS5 betrieben. Funktioniert einwandfrei, aber über AptX Low Latency, was nicht die beste Qualität ist. Die Übertragung war allerdings einwandfrei. Keinerlei Störgeräusche, nichts und die Latenz ist vermutlich so gut, wie es technisch möglich ist. Empfohlen wird für die Playstation 5 überall der "Creative BT-W3". Der wird aber nicht mehr gefertigt und ist dementsprechend nicht mehr verfügbar. Also habe ich es riskiert, den "Creative BT-W5" zu kaufen. Mir war allerdings nicht klar, dass "Adaptive LL" nicht "LL" ist. Also an die PS5 angeschlossen und sehr einfach per AptX HD verbunden. Ich dachte dann, ich könne über die "Creative" App am PC auf AptX LL umstellen. Pustekuchen. Erst dann habe ich gelernt, dass "Adaptive LL und HD" nicht normales LL und HD bedeutet. Nun also zum Betrieb mit der PS5. Funktioniert absolut 1a out of the Box. Verbindet per AptX HD. Latenz ist vorhanden, aber noch halbwegs vertretbar. Ich würde sagen, ein 0 8 15 Benutzer wird damit leben können. Keinerlei Verbindungsprobleme in einer Distanz von ca 3 Metern. Kein Glucksen, kein Knacken, keine Unterbrechung, abgesehen von sehr seltenen Einzelfällen. Ich muss dafür aber meinen Kopfhörer von anderen Quellen trennen. Wenn er beispielsweise gleichzeitig mit dem Handy verbunden ist, gibts immer mal Stöhrungen. Darüber hinaus ist die Verbindung absolut perfekt. Genau das, was ich mir vorgestellt hatte. Betrieb auch an meiner Nvidia Shielt möglich. Einfach per Adapter an einen der USB-A Slots gesteckt, funktioniert der Dongle einwandfrei. Über AptX HD, so wie auf der PS5. Die Nvidia Shiel ist eine Android Box, also wird der Dongle an (vermutlich) allen Android Geräten genauso funktionieren. Den Betrieb habe ich auch am PC ausprobiert. Die App ist sehr einfach zu verstehen und installiert auch neue Firmware auf dem Bluetooth Stick. Sound am PC, genau wie an der PS5 makellos. Mein Resumee also: AptX HD Verbindung super. Wireless Soundübertragung nicht perfekt für latenzfreie Übertragung von perfekter Klangqualität, aber wer einen Kopfhörer mit den nötigen supporteten AptX Protokollen besitzt, der wird mit diesem Stick zwar einen der teuersten, aber auch besten erwerben.

Connects well thru bluetooth with your headphne and lets you play high res quality bluetooth codec APTX from you iPhone [Tidal, Qobus etc] which otherwise when connected direct only plays AAC [max 320kbps]