If it's on and solid - This means the B1 is powered on, and currently connected to a Bluetooth enabled device.

If it's on and blinking - This means the B1 is powered on, but not currently connected to a device

If it's off (and plugged into power) - This means the B1 is powered off (standby) and not connected to a device. The B1 is however still visible to Bluetooth enabled devices in this state. So simply connect to the B1 using your device, and it will automatically wake up.

You can absolutely still use the B1, and it will sound great. aptX® is a high quality Bluetooth audio codec that works really well. With that said, in addition to mandatory support for SBC, Bluetooth also includes optional support for many other codecs, like MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, and AAC, all of which have their own advantages, and some of which sound very close to aptX®.

Yes, any audio product with a standard analog audio input can connect to B1 with the included RCAs. B1 also includes a digital output so you also can connect via optical (TOSLINK).

B1 automatically powers-down and mutes the output after about 10 minutes. The BT input, however, is still active so you can just pair to it again without pressing the front panel button. B1 will remain on if a device is paired with it and turned on though.

From what we understand the devices listed on TIDAL’s website are network media servers with the TIDAL app already installed on their operating systems, that’s all. No difference in audio quality or anything else as compared to their downloadable app, just that TIDAL comes pre-installed on those devices. The only notable exception is that if you're listening to TIDAL on a computer, the only web browser that supports the full audio quality is Google Chrome.

The overall range you can expect will vary depending on the device you use with the B1. We tested using mostly a variety of smartphones though, and found 100 FT to be a realistic expectation, and that's through one wall.

If you have a Mac running snow leopard or later, you can create a multiple output device to accomplish this. Here's an article we wrote about how to set this up:

http://audioengineusa.com/articles/the-easy-way-to-get-multi-room-sound-with-bluetooth

Changing the name of the B1 (or any Bluetooth device for that matter) depends on the source that it is connecting to. Most computers and Android products can rename a Bluetooth device once they've paired to it to make it easier to tell them apart. With an iOS device, there is still no way to rename Bluetooth devices that we know of. The best way to tell them apart on an iPhone/iPad is just knowing the order listing. The first one you've paired to will generally stay listed before the 2nd one, and the second before the 3rd, etc. It is worth noting that renaming the B1 in the source device will only change the way that particular device recognizes the B1; there isn't a way to change the way the B1 will show up on other devices, so any new device will always see the B1 as "Audioengine B1."

The B1 uses Bluetooth, which operates on the same 2.4GHz band as most Wi-Fi Routers. There's always a possibility for interference with wireless technology on the same frequency, but in our testing this was very uncommon.

Once your B1 is paired and connected then any app (iTunes, etc.) or online players (such as Youtube) will automatically play your music through Bluetooth.

Yes, the B1 transmits 16-bit stereo audio.

No extra software or drivers are needed. The B1 is compatible with any device that supports Bluetooth, and the A2DP profile for streaming stereo audio. This includes most all Smartphones, Tablets, and Laptop Computers.

AptX® keeps an up to date list of supported device on their site. See here, for supported smartphones:

https://www.aptx.com/products?field_product_category_tid=126

And here, for supported tablets:

https://www.aptx.com/products?field_product_category_tid=135

Yes, you can still use the B1 with the original A5 model! With this kind of setup, you'd just need to use either an RCA to mini-stereo adapter (like the one that was included with your A5s) or an RCA to mini-stereo cable. You would just connect the RCA end into the RCA outputs of the B1 and the connect the mini-stereo side to either the top or back mini-stereo inputs of the A5s.

The B1 uses the Bluetooth drivers located on your computer, so you may need to ensure you're using the most up to date drivers for your computer's Bluetooth. We'd also recommend going to the manufacturer of your computers website, and see if they have Bluetooth drivers there.

B1 has a delay of about 30ms (milliseconds) so you can watch videos from Youtube, for example, and stream out the audio through B1 to your stereo system without any noticeable lag between the video and audio.

The short answer is yes! You can use TIDAL on any compatible source device (PC, Mac, iPhone Android, etc.). The B1 is compatible with most all of these devices as well since they almost universally also include Bluetooth.