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We compare products from their published specs and features; the verdicts below are our independent editorial opinions.
Updated: 2026-10-05 · 7 min read · Independent comparison
If you want a travel-ready transmitter that turns an airplane’s 3.5mm seat-back jack into a wireless feed for your own earbuds — the setup I’d pack for a library study trip where I watch lectures on a borrowed screen — choose eppfun Professional; if you need a plug-and-play USB-C dongle that adds aptX HD and aptX Adaptive audio to a PS5, PS4, PC or laptop, choose Middle Rabbit D1.
• eppfun Professional — biggest trade-off: it is a transmitter only (source → headphones), so it does nothing for a console or computer that has no 3.5mm output, and it runs on its own rechargeable battery rather than the host device.
• Middle Rabbit D1 — biggest strength: plug it into a USB-C port and it feeds aptX Adaptive/LL/HD/aptX/SBC audio to Bluetooth headphones on PS5, PS4, PC or Mac — no drivers, no battery to manage.
• Middle Rabbit D1 — biggest trade-off: no 3.5mm input at all, and its microphone “call mode” noticeably degrades audio quality, so it is a poor fit for anything with an analog jack.
• Pick eppfun Professional if your audio source is a headphone socket — airplanes, gym machines, in-flight entertainment, older TVs.
• Pick Middle Rabbit D1 if your audio source is a USB-C port — console or computer — and you mainly want low-latency wireless for games, videos and music.
The eppfun Professional (model AK3046E Pro) solves one very specific, very annoying problem: the screen in front of you has a 3.5mm headphone socket and your headphones don’t have a cable. The two 3.5mm plugs rotate, and one of them folds, so the same adapter works with a traditional single socket and with the dual-port sockets common on international flights. Beyond the plane, eppfun lists onboard entertainment systems, computers, cars and fitness equipment as compatible 3.5mm sources, which makes it the more versatile of the two when your source is analog.
On the wireless side it runs Bluetooth 5.2 and lets you switch between SBC, aptX, aptX HD, aptX LL and aptX Adaptive by double-clicking the multifunction button — though it auto-matches the highest codec both ends support, so most people never need to touch it. A single charge is rated at 12 hours of playback, which comfortably covers a long-haul flight or a full day of library sessions. Dual-stream lets it feed two pairs of headphones at once, so two people can share one screen. Note the pairing quirk: headphones with a reset button often have to sit in their charging case, held down, before they’ll enter pairing mode — and eppfun recommends switching off nearby Bluetooth devices like phones when pairing on a plane.
Buy it if you want your own wireless earbuds or headphones to work with seat-back entertainment, gym cardio machines, an older TV with a headphone jack, or any device that only offers analog audio out. Skip it if your source is a console or computer with no 3.5mm output — there’s simply nothing to plug it into — or if you want the adapter powered by the host device instead of its own battery.
The Middle Rabbit D1 attacks the opposite problem. There’s no 3.5mm anything here: it’s a USB-C dongle that adds Bluetooth audio output to a PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, desktop or laptop PC running Windows or macOS (Linux is not supported). No drivers, no setup menus — plug it into a USB-C port, put your headphones in pairing mode, wait for the connection, and select “Middle Rabbit D1” as the audio output. It works with AirPods, Sony, Bose, Sennheiser and other Bluetooth headphones, and with Bluetooth speakers too. It is not compatible with Xbox or the PS Portal.
Where it pulls ahead is latency and codec handling. The D1 uses Bluetooth 5.4 with a Qualcomm chip and supports aptX Adaptive, aptX LL, aptX HD, aptX and SBC, picking the highest codec both ends can handle. Middle Rabbit quotes latency as low as 40ms with aptX Adaptive or LL, roughly 60ms with standard aptX and about 100ms with aptX HD — the kind of numbers that make lip-sync and controller response feel right rather than delayed. It also has a microphone path: triple-press the button to toggle call mode, and your headset’s mic becomes available. Be warned, though — Middle Rabbit states audio quality drops significantly in call mode, and recommends leaving it off for gaming and movies. The light turns white when call mode is active and the mic is in use.
Buy it if you game or watch on a PS5/PS4 or a USB-C computer and want your existing Bluetooth headphones to work wirelessly with low latency and better-than-SBC sound. Skip it if your source only has a headphone jack, if you’re on Xbox or PS Portal, or if you need clean microphone audio while gaming — call mode trades sound quality for mic input.
• Best for airplane seat-back audio → eppfun Professional. Two rotating 3.5mm plugs cover both single- and dual-port sockets; the D1 has no analog input whatsoever.
• Best for PS5, PS4, PC or Mac → Middle Rabbit D1. USB-C in, Bluetooth out, no drivers, works with Windows and macOS.
• Best for aptX HD music listening → close, but Middle Rabbit D1. Both support aptX HD, yet the D1 adds aptX Adaptive and a Qualcomm chip, and its tuning is described around crisp highs and deep bass in aptX HD.
• Best for lowest latency → Middle Rabbit D1. It cites roughly 40ms with aptX Adaptive or LL; eppfun’s low-latency claim is aptX LL without a published figure.
• Best for a long session away from power → eppfun Professional. Its rechargeable battery is rated for 12 hours; the D1 draws power from the host device instead.
• Best for sharing one screen with two people → eppfun Professional. Dual-stream transmits to two headphones at once; the D1 pairs to one set at a time and reconnects to the last paired device.
• Best for microphone use → Middle Rabbit D1, with a caveat. It has a call mode for headset mics, but quality drops sharply; eppfun is an audio transmitter only.
• Best for console owners on Xbox → neither. The D1 explicitly excludes Xbox and PS Portal, and eppfun needs a 3.5mm socket.
For a with microphone open ear earbuds for library setup, the D1 is the more logical partner if you’re listening from a laptop or PC — as long as you accept that mic mode degrades sound, so keep call mode off while you study. A hi res headset for library session fed from a 3.5mm laptop jack or a gym-style console points the other way, toward the eppfun. And if you’re wondering whether a headband headphones for library pair will work with either, the answer is yes — both transmit to standard Bluetooth headphones; the difference is purely what you’re plugging into.
In my opinion, if your source has a 3.5mm jack — a plane seat, a gym machine, a TV — the eppfun Professional is the one to buy, because nothing else in this pair turns analog audio into aptX HD wireless with a 12-hour battery. If your source is a PS5, PS4 or a USB-C computer, I’d buy the Middle Rabbit D1: aptX Adaptive, ~40ms latency and no battery to charge make it the better everyday tool. For library use specifically, I’d pick the D1 off a laptop and the eppfun off anything with a headphone socket. Check the current price on Amazon before deciding — the page’s button has it.
Any Bluetooth headphones whose spec sheet lists aptX HD will negotiate it — the codec has to exist on both ends. Both adapters here support aptX HD (plus aptX Adaptive, aptX LL, aptX and SBC), and both automatically select the highest codec your headphones support, so you don’t have to choose manually.
For lip-sync, lower latency matters more than higher bitrate. Middle Rabbit lists standard aptX at roughly 60ms and aptX HD at roughly 100ms, so for games and video, aptX Adaptive or aptX LL is the better pick — aptX HD is the choice for music listening instead.
Only the Middle Rabbit D1 has a microphone path: triple-press to enable call mode, and your headset mic appears as an input. Middle Rabbit notes audio quality drops significantly in that mode, so it’s not recommended for gaming or movies. The eppfun Professional transmits audio only.
The D1 is not compatible with Xbox or PS Portal. The eppfun Professional is the one for a headphone jack — its two rotating 3.5mm plugs fit airplane dual sockets, TVs, cars and fitness equipment.
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