Anker SoundSync Bluetooth Receiver: Great Product for the Masses

The Anker SoundSync Bluetooth Car Receiver offers a way for you to connect your smartphone to your not-so-smart car via the latest in Bluetooth technology. This little device plugs into a USB port in your car, which can be built in or from a separate car charger plugged into a car power port. The USB cord is only for power, so the other cord attached to the SoundSync is a simple 3.5mm audio cable that plugs into your car’s AUX port. With these two cables connected, you are all set to stream music to your car’s sound system.

The Good:

• Good build quality
• Easy to install
• Easy to use

The Bad:

• Cord might be too short for some
• No included extension cable

The Anker SoundSync is packaged quite simply. All you will find inside is the SoundSync itself, a welcome guide and feedback card. As with most Anker products, no setup or cord-plugging-in is required. However, this proves to be a disadvantage, at least in my situation. In my car, the USB port was far enough away from the AUX port that I had to use an audio cable extension in order for the SoundSync to work. However, in most cars the USB port and AUX port are right next to each other, and this would prove to be no issue. Just be aware of the cord lengths when purchasing this product. My suggestion to Anker would be to not have the two cords join into one cord, but rather make it so you can split the glue on the cords apart to make the SoundSync work for whatever situation you are in.

The build quality of the SoundSync is top notch. It is lightweight, but doesn’t feel cheap at all. When it’s mounted with the pre-attached sticky pad, it feels very solid when you press it. The sticky pad itself is high quality, and you shouldn’t have any issues with it coming off, even when mounted on a vertical faced surface.

Now down to what matters: the audio quality! Now, I’m not one who owns $200 headphones or super fancy speaker systems. In fact, $20 Sennheiser headphones sound great to me. So, while my opinion of the audio quality isn’t professional by any means, I can judge what sounds good vs what sounds actually bad. And, with the Anker SoundSync, I don’t hear any drastic change in the audio quality. There is no distortion that I can pick up on, and the audio sounds as good as it would if I plugged my phone directly into the car’s sound system. Now, there definitely is some audio quality loss, as that is what is sacrificed when you use Bluetooth, but it is practically undetectable.

In my personal use case, this product isn’t something that I was desperate to have, but I was eager to try this product when Anker sent me a sample in exchange for my fair and honest review. While I only occasionally use this product, when I do use it, the experience is very seamless and enjoyable.
Now, while the Anker SoundSync is built for cars, do keep in mind that you don’t have to use it in a car. In fact, you can hook it up to any sound system and use it as a regular Bluetooth receiver. I did try this before I installed it in a car, and yes, it does work perfectly fine.

To sum up my experience with the SoundSync: it is easy to install and use in a variety of situations. However, you have to be mindful of your use case and you may have to get a separate extension to make it work for you. This is still a five-star review, even though I ran into this issue because the issue is not with the product, but rather the situation it is put in. If you are looking for a high quality Bluetooth receiver for your car (or house!), I would highly recommend that you get this product. You won’t be disappointed!

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