TV Out. Samsung P2 In!

I've had a great collection of music for a long time. I started buying portable media players a few years back. Despite ripping all my music to a hard drive and as such being able to put it onto any of these media players, music did not have an easy way to get to my home theater stereo speakers.

That was, until I bought the BlueTooth enabled Samsung P2. I have since added another BlueTooth player to my collection, the Philips SA5243BT. It is the great implementation of BlueTooth on the P2 that has won the day, though.

The secret to owning a BlueTooth enabled media device is in getting the right BlueTooth enabled accessories to compliment it. Yes, you can buy inexpensive (and really crappy sounding) bluetooth speakers at BestBuy to use with it. These are not right, though. The fact that BestBuy often gives them away "free" with the purchase of their Insignia bluetooth players should be a clue. You get what you pay for in this case.

So what do you really need? If you've got a great home theater or stereo amplifier with great speakers, you need a bluetooth receiver or transceiver.

If you already own a decent iPod speaker dock, like the Griffin Evolve, you need a Bluetooth iPod Dock adapter.

A great set of bluetooth headphones finish out the requirements. Not a cheap pair. Not that in-ear bluetooth phone headset. Get a full featured ear covering and sound cancelling bluetooth set if you can find one.

Today the music on my P2 won out over TV. The home theater amp has a bluetooth transceiver hooked up to it's MD/Tape input. That amp drives a 12" subwoofer as well as six 4"/1" 2-way (mid range and tweeter) drivers (speakers). My Griffin Evolve speakers have an iPod Dock bluetooth Adapter on them. I woke up before my wife, and had P2 music playing softy on the home theater system.

My wife wakes up, gets coffee, and usually wants to have the TV on while she reads the morning paper. I'm usually conceeding to give her the remote control then take my P2 with me somewhere else to continue listening. This morning the music was just too good. I asked if she needed the remote and she said "No, I like the music!".

It is great weather here, getting just into the 70's in the afternoon. We have a nice balcony deck outside, and decided to sit out there for awhile. My wife steps onto the deck, and realizes she won't be able to hear the music as well out there. "Just a sec", I said. I paired the P2 with the dock adapter on the Evolves' base, then picked the speakers up and carried them out onto the deck with us.

Here is where the P2 beats other bluetooth devices. The sound was too loud for the deck. The Evolves have their own remote, but I'd left it inside. I pulled out the P2, swiped down on the screen to lower the volume. Perfect! The Philips player does NOT control volume when paired to headphones or speakers. Volume control has to be handled at the headphones or speakers.

P2 in hand, I could skip a song we didn't like. If I found one my wife liked particularly well I could repeat it.

Today, P2 won out over TV. I still have it playing through the Evolves. TV is off.

Someday, the P2 may win out over the PC. Not today, though.

4D