Avantree C81-Gaming - USB-C Bluetooth 5.3 Audio Adapter for PS5, Qualcomm Chip, aptX Adaptive & HD, Premium Sound, Works with AirPods, Bose Headphones & More

If you’re experiencing choppy Linux audio, especially with a Realtek Bluetooth chipset, stop fighting with BlueZ and consider replacing the Bluetooth hardware entirely with a USB audio-to-Bluetooth transmitter. My PC has a Realtek Bluetooth chipset on the internal sound card, which has been a persistent source of audio problems on Linux. The most noticeable issue was music skipping in Spotify, along with intermittent stutters and lost audio frames. After far too much troubleshooting and frustration, I finally looked for a clean hardware solution. Imagine installing a completely new sound card just by plugging in a USB dongle. That’s essentially what I did. I purchased the Avantree C81-PC Bluetooth transmitter and the Avantree Audition 3 over-ear headphones, and they work perfectly. Setup was truly plug-and-play. No drivers, no configuration, no BlueZ issues, and absolutely no hassle. I just plugged in the adapter, selected it as my audio output, and music played flawlessly. I’m genuinely impressed. This isn’t an advertisement. I have no affiliation with Avantree, and before this week I had never even heard of the company. I’m simply sharing a practical solution for anyone struggling with Bluetooth audio under Linux—especially if you have a Realtek chipset and experience skipping or playback instability. Why this works Instead of relying on the internal Realtek Bluetooth radio, the Avantree adapter behaves as a USB audio device and handles Bluetooth transmission in hardware. This completely bypasses the Linux Bluetooth stack, kernel drivers, Realtek firmware, BlueZ profiles, and related audio quirks. If your audio problems come from chipset or driver instability—this approach simply eliminates them. Avantree C81-PC (Key Features) Microphone support: Your Bluetooth headset’s mic works in meetings and calls. High-definition audio: Supports aptX-Adaptive, aptX-HD, and aptX-LL (low latency). No perceptible delay: Perfectly synced audio with compatible headphones. Long range: Advertised up to 30 meters. It comes with a USB-C to USB-A adapter and is compatible with PC, Mac, and Linux. Avantree Audition 3 (Headphones) Excellent comfort and battery life aptX Adaptive / HD support for improved fidelity “Clear Voice Mode” for spoken content Wireless charging dock included Lightweight and comfortable for long use Any other headphones or earbuds that support compatible aptX codecs will also work well with the C81-PC. Bottom Line If you’re struggling with choppy audio, stuttering, or Spotify skipping under Linux and you suspect a Realtek Bluetooth chipset is involved, a hardware USB audio transmitter is a highly effective workaround. In my case, the difference was immediate and dramatic. This may be the solution you’ve been looking for.

Works great! Bought this adapter because of a new gaming laptop where the bluetooth only works under Windows, not Linux. The adapter is detected as a pair of headphones, the system simply treats it as a USB audio device, and doesn't care about the bluetooth aspect. That's a bit of a black box, but the LED at least provides some guidance. Press the pairing button on the adapter and on your headphones, put them together, and they'll pair. Have tried it with a cheap-ass bluetooth headset, which gets a quality downgrade, and with my regular high-end receiver and studio monitors, which connect using aptX. Range is excellent, sound quality matches the protocol used between the devices. When unplugged, the adapter does not remember next time it's plugged in, as far as I can tell. You just have to pair again. But it does carry over across multiple reboots, including across operating systems.

I purchased this device over the weekend and it arrived yesterday. Today, I have spent a couple hours trying to use it with my laptop and Sennheiser Momentum 4 headphones. The headphones connect easily enough to the dongle, no problems there. The audio through various different apps (Youtube and Twitch via Chrome, Apple Music desktop app) crackles and drops out consistently. I am comfortable doing troubleshooting, so I did some googling and also went to the Avantree website, and proceeded to follow the instructions that I found, which included changing power settings, trying different ports, disabling settings in the Sennheiser headphone app, disconnecting from all nearby devices, factory defaulting the dongle and the headphones, updating firmware (which doesn't work very well, the program for that probably needs to be updated a little, it hung up or just wouldn't start almost every time I tried to run it), and reinstalling the drivers for the dongle itself. After going back and doing some searching in the reviews on here, this model seems to not work very well with the Sennheiser Momentum 4 headphones. I would not recommend it if you are trying to use them with these headphones. I emailed the Avantree support this morning through their website and have yet to hear back, hopefully they will respond, but I am planning on sending the dongle back and trying something different. May change my rating to 2 stars if the support response is helpful, but for now, I will leave it at a 1 star.

Ok so, I have every USB audio adapter I could find to work with my PS5. And because Sony doesn't allow "other" Bluetooth headphones, you have to be very smart on what you buy to get your non Sony headphones to work. I have a pair of Bluetooth Jabra 75's with microphone that I use for work. Because I have small ears and every manufacturer on this earth makes HUGE gaming headphones!! I wanted to use these with my PlayStation and every single USB audio adapter i tried didn't work. EXCEPT for this one! Finally, I get to use my headphones with this adapter! Also, when I turn off my PS and turn it back on, my headphones are automatically connected again. This product is a great value because it works!! Very easy to set up too! I believe it has been out of stock before, so I encourage you to buy this one and try it out instead of going through a ton of them like I did.

I had know idea if this product would be any good... but it seems to do exactly as it advertises. At first I had a little trouble with the Bluetooth connection and I thought the audio quality was really bad... but after reconnecting my AirPod Pros a couple more times and after using the device a couple more sessions, all those issues seemed to subside. In terms of the actual audio quality... I really don't know as I am not an audiophile. That said, there doesn't seems to be very much latency and the audio sounds pretty good to me. I WOULD purchase again if necessary.

Ottimo prodotto, funziona bene , facile utilizzo.

Compré este adaptador para usar con una barra de sonido Samsung HW-T420 por bluetooth y funciona muy bien: sin lag, y con buena calidad de sonido y volumen. Lo mejor es que solo hay que emparejarlos una vez, la barra de sonido ahora enciende automáticamente cuando prendo la ps5. Muy recomendado para los que juegan en un monitor sin bocinas.

Excellent, de nombreux appareils ne sont pas compatible aptx, aptx hd, ce dongle le fait, et le fait bien. Le son Bluetooth est toujours compressé, donc perte de qualité. Mais avec ce dongle je profite d'un de haute qualité sans fil, nickel !

問題なく快適に使えてます

I usually do not write reviews, but had to for this one, works on pc (with mic form headset support, mic bad quality, this is normal with most Bluetooth dingles, but at least it works). And works on ps5 (audio), connects super fasts and works well on my Sony wh-1000xm6.