hi, all. I'm going old skool and am looking at CD players (with Bluetooth... because, not THAT old skool!). Then I realised I probably would have a lot more options just buying an external optical drive for my Mac. That way I could also burn CDs and play DVDs and shoot the sound to Bluetooth. I have an M2 2023 MacBook Air; what are the pros and cons, please?
MacBook Air 15″, macOS 15.3
I think your search for an optical drive that burns CDs & DVDs via Bluetooth will prove fruitless. The example drive you posted appears to be a portable player only. Playback of a CD via Bluetooth is apparently easy enough to accomplish.
Burning discs, however, requires a certain level of data integrity that probably won't be found in Bluetooth data streaming. Optical burners will be wired devices, most likely USB. Successful burning of an optical disc is sketchy enough with a wired connection and I hate to think how many discs would end up being drink coasters if one were to rely on Bluetooth as the connection to the computer.
This is the manufacturer's description of the device in the OP's screenshot.
FiiO – DM13 Portable Stereo CD Player
Looks like it has optical and coaxial digital outputs, and also can be used for "USB CD ripping" (to a drive which is formatted using FAT32, not to a computer). The latter is not a typical feature of portable CD audio players.
The manufacturer also claims that this CD player has better DAC chips than other portable CD players.
However, this device cannot burn CDs, read DVDs, or burn DVDs.
I think the OP is asking about the pros and cons of buying a portable audio CD player, that connects to headphones and speakers via Bluetooth – but that isn't designed to be a reader or burner for a computer, versus a device that is designed to be a reader and burner for a computer, but not to be a portable audio CD player or to use Bluetooth.
In other words, the merits of apples vs. oranges.
CD player with Bluetooth or external optical drive for MacBook Air?
