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We compare products from their published specs and features; the verdicts below are our independent editorial opinions.
If you want one adapter that can both send and receive Bluetooth audio across a TV, PC, car or stereo and handle two headphones at once, choose MakerHawk Upgrade; if you need a pre-paired, no-Bluetooth-needed system that puts clear, lip-synced TV dialogue straight into open-ear earbuds for one listener, choose 1Mii ClearLinkTV E5.
• MakerHawk Upgrade — biggest strength: a true 2-in-1 Bluetooth 5.2 transmitter and receiver built on a Qualcomm chipset, with aptX-LL low latency, aptX-HD, aptX-AD, a built-in mic and 3.5mm AUX, USB and RCA connections.
• MakerHawk Upgrade — biggest trade-off: it's a hub you pair and manage yourself, its battery gives up to 6 hours per 1-hour charge, and FM transmission can pick up regional signal interference — in which case you fall back to AUX or RCA.
• 1Mii ClearLinkTV E5 — biggest strength: a pre-paired 2.4G system that needs no Bluetooth pairing at all, with up to 18 hours of playtime, open-ear comfort and lip-synced low-latency TV audio.
• 1Mii ClearLinkTV E5 — biggest trade-off: it does not support Bluetooth, only one audio connection works at a time, and the transmitter base has no battery, so it must stay plugged in to power the earbuds.
• Who each pick is for: MakerHawk Upgrade for tinkerers and multi-device households that want one adapter to move audio around; 1Mii ClearLinkTV E5 for a single viewer — often a senior — who just wants private, clear TV sound.
The MakerHawk Upgrade is the more flexible of the two. It runs on a Qualcomm Bluetooth 5.2 chipset and covers aptX-AD adaptive, aptX-LL low latency and aptX-HD high-fidelity audio, so it can aim at both the "keep the audio in sync" crowd and the "keep the audio clean" crowd. Because it works as both a transmitter and a receiver, it slots into places a one-way device can't: send audio out from a TV, PC or home stereo to a pair of Bluetooth headphones, or pull audio in from a phone to an older speaker or car stereo.
Two devices at once is the headline trick. In transmitting mode it pairs with two headphones, so two people can share one movie; in receiving mode it connects to two smartphones, so two people can take turns streaming to the same speakers. Around the back you get 3.5mm AUX, USB and RCA, plus a digital-to-analog conversion chip and a built-in HD microphone for hands-free calls and navigation. There's also USB stick playback up to 128GB with lossless file support, an LED display for status and mode, plug-and-play with no drivers, an adjustable RGB light and a 400mAh battery good for up to 6 hours on a 1-hour charge.
Buy it if you want one box that adapts to whatever's in front of you — a TV today, a car stereo tomorrow, a pair of AirPods the day after. Skip it if you hate pairing menus, if you need all-day battery, or if you want a system that just works the second it's plugged in. This is a device for someone who enjoys having options and doesn't mind steering them.
The 1Mii ClearLinkTV E5 solves a narrower problem, and solves it more directly. It's a set of open-ear wireless earbuds paired with a 2.4G transmitter that comes pre-paired, so there's no Bluetooth pairing and no setup ritual — plug the transmitter into the TV and start listening in seconds. That's the entire pitch, and for the right person it's a much better one than "learn a pairing menu."
The 2.4G link is where the low-latency story lives. 1Mii touts perfect lip sync for movies, sports and shows, with no annoying audio delay, plus up to 18 hours of continuous playtime. The open-ear design sits outside the ear canal, so it reduces ear pressure and keeps you aware of the room — you can hear the doorbell or talk to family without pulling the earbuds out. A companion app switches between Dialogue, Movie and Standard modes for clearer voices, which matters if TV dialogue is exactly what you struggle with.
Connections cover Optical, AUX and RCA, so it works with almost any TV, and a Bypass mode lets audio play through the earbuds and external speakers at the same time — handy for shared watching, and multiple ClearLinkTV E5 sets can share the same TV audio with independent volume. Two caveats from the spec sheet: it does not support Bluetooth, only one audio connection can be used at a time, and the transmitter base has no built-in battery, so it stays plugged in. Buy it if you want private, clear, synchronized TV sound with zero pairing; skip it if you want a general-purpose Bluetooth adapter for phones, cars and headphones.
• Best for low-latency Bluetooth headphones → MakerHawk Upgrade. aptX-LL low latency is built in, and it transmits to two headphones at once.
• Best for lip-synced TV with zero setup → 1Mii ClearLinkTV E5. Pre-paired 2.4G, no Bluetooth pairing, up to 18 hours per charge.
• Best for battery life → 1Mii ClearLinkTV E5. Up to 18 hours versus up to 6 hours on the MakerHawk.
• Best for flexibility and device count → MakerHawk Upgrade. Transmitter and receiver, two headphones or two phones, AUX/USB/RCA, USB stick playback up to 128GB.
• Best for seniors or non-technical users → 1Mii ClearLinkTV E5. Plug-and-play, open-ear comfort, Dialogue mode and app-based mode switching.
• Best for calls and hands-free use → MakerHawk Upgrade. Built-in HD microphone for calls and navigation.
• Best for shared listening in one room → 1Mii ClearLinkTV E5. Bypass mode plays through earbuds and speakers together, and multiple sets can share one TV.
• Best for a car or home-stereo upgrade → MakerHawk Upgrade. The receive mode is what turns a wired stereo into a Bluetooth one.
If your whole goal is "make my Bluetooth headphones low latency," the MakerHawk is the tool that speaks that language. If your goal is "I want to hear the TV without bothering anyone, starting now," the ClearLinkTV E5 is the tool that speaks that one.
In my opinion, the MakerHawk Upgrade is the better buy for most people reading a Bluetooth-focused comparison, because aptX-LL low latency, dual-headphone transmission and the transmitter/receiver combo cover far more situations — TV, PC, car, stereo, calls and USB playback — from one box. But I'd hand the 1Mii ClearLinkTV E5 to anyone whose real problem is TV dialogue and setup fatigue: no pairing, up to 18 hours, open-ear comfort and lip-synced 2.4G audio are exactly the right answers. Pick by the problem, not the spec sheet. If price is the deciding factor, check the current price on Amazon for both before you commit.
how to make bluetooth headphones low latency
Use a transmitter that supports a low-latency codec. The MakerHawk Upgrade includes aptX-LL low latency alongside aptX-HD and aptX-AD, and it transmits to up to two headphones at once — so the adapter, not the headphones alone, is doing the work. Your headphones also need to support the matching codec for the benefit to show up.
how to get low latency on bluetooth headphones windows 11
Put a transmitter between the PC and the headphones rather than relying on the PC's built-in radio. The MakerHawk Upgrade works as a transmitter over 3.5mm AUX, USB or RCA, and it's plug-and-play with no drivers, so Windows 11 doesn't need to negotiate anything. If your source is a TV instead, the 1Mii ClearLinkTV E5 uses 2.4G for lip-synced audio, though it is not a Bluetooth device.
do bluetooth headphones have latency
Yes — Bluetooth audio involves encoding and transmission that can introduce delay, which is why low-latency codecs exist. The MakerHawk Upgrade addresses this with aptX-LL low latency on a Qualcomm Bluetooth 5.2 chipset. The 1Mii ClearLinkTV E5 sidesteps Bluetooth entirely with a 2.4G link that 1Mii describes as perfectly synchronized.
how to get low latency on bluetooth headphones
Match a low-latency transmitter to low-latency headphones. The MakerHawk Upgrade supports aptX-LL and can pair with two headphones simultaneously, so two people can watch the same source in sync. Keep in mind it runs up to 6 hours per charge, so for a long session plan on a 1-hour recharge or a wired AUX/RCA fallback.
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