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Sennheiser BT T100

Bluetooth audio transmitter for connection to TVs, stereo systems and PCs

In a nutshell

The Sennheiser BT T100 is just the right solution for anyone who wants to use headphones primarily to watch lip-synced TV content. However, the codec-side support of the headphones is at least as important and should be clarified before buying the audio transmitter. In addition, the BT T100 can also be used to upgrade home systems and PCs with high-quality codecs and make them virtually wireless.

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Connecting Bluetooth headphones to your TV or home stereo system can sound easier than it actually is. Especially when it comes to synchronicity between picture and sound, it becomes apparent that classic wired headphones still can’t be topped. Sennheiser wants to change that for good and with the BT T100 adds a Bluetooth transmitter in its range that seeks to minimise the picture-sound offset thanks to Qualcomm aptX Low Latency Codec. Will this “strike a blow for freedom” and succeed on the sofa at home?

Package

In a small square box, Sennheiser supplies (almost) everything you need to connect to the TV or stereo system: the BT T100 (approx. 9 x 9 cm, 85 grams), an analogue mini-jack cable (3.5-millimetre plug, approx. 160 cm long), an optical cable (Toslink plug, approx. 150 cm long), a USB-A to USB-Micro-B cable (approx. 120 cm) and a quick-start guide including safety instructions.

Practicalities

In order for the BT T100 to work, it needs power, of course. It gets it via the USB cable mentioned above, which is connected to an available USB-A socket on the TV, this then supplies the box with 5 volts of operating voltage. Let’s get back to the word “almost” in the package though, because if you don’t have a free USB socket on your TV, you would have to “sacrifice” a USB charger from your smartphone or use a power bank to power the device.

To ensure that the box also receives signals, it is connected either via an analogue mini-jack cable to the headphone socket of the TV or digitally with the optical fibre cable to the corresponding connection. The fibre optic solution is of higher quality and should always be preferred, as the signal from the TV does not have to be converted from digital to analogue and then back from analogue to a digital audio stream. Using the selector switch on the back of the BT T100, you can decide which input source to use, and both cables can remain plugged in at the same time.

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That concludes the hardware setup, and all that remains to be done is to connect the BT T100 to a pair of Bluetooth headphones.

For our test, we decided on the following candidates: The Sennheiser Momentum 3 Wireless which have the aptX-LL codec, the Teufel Supreme On which come with aptX without LL, and the Apple AirPods Pro which do without Qualcomm codecs completely. They offer SBC and AAC, although the latter does not come into play in this test, as the BT T100 does not support AAC and therefore chooses the lower-quality SBC codec.

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Firstly, we connected the Momentum 3 Wireless to the audio transmitter: To do this, we put the headphones into pairing mode, then we pressed and held the power button of the BT T100 for four seconds so that it too became ready to receive. If the LED of the small box flashes blue and red alternately and then lights up blue for about three minutes, this indicates a successful connection.

Normally, the TV speaker should now be muted and playback will be via the BT T100. Some TV sets, however, output the signal in parallel. It is worthwhile taking a look at the settings of the TV set, as it is often possible to select whether a parallel output should take place or not. If you have connected the audio transmitter digitally and are surprised that you can’t hear anything, you should also consult the TV’s setup and set the audio format to “PCM”.

But back to the listening test: Since the Sennheiser Momentum 3 Wireless uses the low-delay aptX-LL codec, we were curious to see how synchronous the playback was. We zapped through all kinds of talk shows and streaming providers and quickly found out that everything was just fine: Lip movements were always in sync with what we heard, and visually and auditorily at least, we couldn’t detect any noticeable offset on the TV. However, we noticed a slight delay on an iMac that was playing Netflix in a browser, although this was not considered to be that annoying. This changed with headphones connected via aptX (without LL). Here, we noticed a clear offset that was disturbing, and the Apple headphones connected via SBC codec also demonstrated this behaviour – both on the computer and on the television.

This was to be expected and shows for whom the Sennheiser BT T100 is worthwhile: Everyone who wants to watch TV with low latency and has a pair of headphones that supports aptX LL. Or anyone who wants to enjoy high-quality music from their stereo system or PC wirelessly and owns headphones with at least aptX codec.

Those who want to listen to TV or music via headphones as a couple can also do so, because the BT T100 supports the simultaneous connection of two pairs of headphones – but with the restriction that aptX LL will not then work. In this case, the audio transmitter jumps back to aptX or even SBC.

Also, the small box can save the connection profiles of up to eight pairs of Bluetooth headphones, so there is no need to keep pairing with previously connected headphones. If a ninth pair of headphones is added, the profile that has been used the least often is deleted.

One more word about the range: In our test setup, we only heard the first audio drop-outs after about 30 metres of free field; in our living room, the first drop-outs were perceptible after leaving the room (about ten metres).

While the manufacturer also gives instructions on how and where to place the BT T100 so that it can transmit with as little interference as possible, for the purists among us: Sennheiser has made the small box so light that it can easily be attached to the back of a TV with double-sided adhesive tape, keeping TV furniture clear.

4 years ago by Pete Schloßnagel
  • Rating: 4.25
  • Sound
  • Handling
  • Price/Quality
  • Function

Technical specifications

  • Ear couplingBluetooth Transmitter
  • Frequency response (headphones)20 - 20.000 Hz
  • Weight without cable85 g
  • Cable length150 cm

What's in the box

  • Mini jack cable
  • Optical cable
  • USB cable

Special features

  • BT codecs: SBC, aptX, aptX LL
  • BT version: 4.2
  • BT profiles: A2DP

13 Antworten auf “Sennheiser BT T100”

  1. Serge says:

    Question: if i connect the bt100 via toslink,
    can i adjust the volume of the headphones via the headphones seperate from the tv audio?

    • Redaktion says:

      Well, that depends what TV model you have. Normally, the volume cannot be changed with optical connections. If necessary, you would have to change the volume directly on the headphones, if this is possible.

  2. Bart says:

    I bought this device to connect my iphone to my analog amplifier (just like my now non functional Apple airport used to do). But apparenty there is no receiving signal on the Sennheiser? I can’t connect my iphone to it through Bluetooth…

  3. Robert Mallett says:

    Hello, Disapointed as I purchased this device based on this positive review however I have a bad latency between the TV (connected via optical to the BT T100. I have tried several different headphones and it’s the same on them all. If I connect headphones to a firestick BlueTooth audio plugged into the same TV it works fine – no delay at all but this cuts the output to the TV and I want both TV speakers and headphones to work at the same time which they do when the BT T100 is connected to the TV via the optical connector, but you can here the delay quite obviously when both are functioning – it’s unusable. I just wanted to point this out as it doesn’t not work well for me. My TV is a Samsung.

  4. Peter Steele says:

    I’m running my Panasonic surround sound home theater system through my optical to the TV as I have smart tv no need for dad’s. as the bluetooth unit runs through the same optical port I presume I’d have to disconnect theater system manually everything I want to go incognito. hope you understand my meaning
    regards Peter

  5. Brian says:

    I have a Sennheiser BT T100 and two sets of headphones, both Sennheiser M2 AEBT. Either set of headphones pairs to the BTT100 and works perfectly, but I can not get both headphones to connect simultaneously (despite User manual page 16 , and some reviews, saying this is possible. Has anyone actually done it successfully?

    • Redaktion says:

      Have you tried another second headphone instead of the M2?

      • Brian says:

        No, unfortunately I do not have another set with Bluetooth capability.

      • Brian says:

        No. I do not have other bluetooth-enabled headphones except of the M2s.
        The BT T100 user manual states that it will connect to 2 headphones simultaneously so I am keen to get it working rather than buy different headphones which may not work anyway.

  6. Brian says:

    I have twice replied to Redaktion’s post dated 19 January by clicking on the “Reply” link under his message, but neither of my replies seem to have been posted. I will try again by putting in a new message:

    No, I have not tried headphones other than the M2 because I do not own any others that are Bluetooth-enabled. Nor am I keen to buy other headphones without knowing that the BT T100 works as claimed in their specs.

    • Redaktion says:

      I connected two headphones and they could be connected so that the BT T100 output the signal in parallel. As I don’t have two identical headphones, I used the Sennheiser Accentum and the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds. At first it didn’t work, as both headphones automatically connected to the computer and smartphone. I had to go to “ignore” in the Bluetooth settings.

      • Brian says:

        The M2s are not connected to any computer – only to the BT T100 – so I don’t think I can ‘ignore’ them. Maybe I have misunderstood your suggestion.

        Any other ideas would be welcome.

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