![]() iPhone users seek out AAC support in their chosen Bluetooth headphone.įlipping it around, iPhone users running Bose’s Quiet Comfort 35 avoid the SBC fallback because of both smartphone and headphone talking AAC. ![]() Pair any Apple iPhone with the Sennheiser Momentum Wireless and the Bluetooth connection will fall back to the inferior sounding SBC. This has sound quality implications for some Bluetooth headphone models. It chooses not to option Sony’s LDAC or Qualcomm’s aptX / aptX HD for its iOS devices - only AAC. LDAC support can be found in any Android smartphone running 8.0 Oreo and above. Sony headphone users won’t have to do quite so much digging. Users should confirm/deny via the smartphone’s specification sheet before purchase. This table shows the codec capabilities of some of the most popular wireless Bluetooth headphones available in early 2019:Īnd this table shows the Bluetooth codec capabilities of some of the world’s most popular flagship smartphones in early 2019.ĪptX HD appears to have become a de facto standard among flagship smartphones manufacturers but its inclusion in more affordable models remains spotty. aptX HD vs AAC is possible because AAC is also supported by the B&W. aptX HD comparison cannot be conducted via the B&W PX because it only includes support for the latter. AAC support is included in most models but, curiously, almost never appears on the front of the box alongside Qualcomm’s aptX / HD logo.įor example, the aforementioned LDAC vs. Sony’s LDAC is only found in Sony headphones. That’s presumably why we see it in many – but not all – high-end Bluetooth headphones. Qualcomm charge manufacturers a per-unit fee for their aptX and aptX HD codecs. Only the weaker-sounding SBC is mandated by the Bluetooth specification.īluetooth software engineer DJ Sisolak explains: Qualcomm’s aptX/HD (or Sony’s LDAC, or AAC) is only engaged if the codec presents in both smartphone and headphone - and that’s an optional extra decided upon by the smartphone manufacturer and the headphone manufacturer. The codec used between smartphone and wireless headphone is determined by the hardware in play. The problem? This isn’t simply a matter of picking up ANY smartphone and ANY wireless headphone. Users are invited to listen for themselves. Codec sound quality will vary according to implementation. As always – and as with everything in hi-fi – there are no hard and fast rules. To these ears, whilst sounding quite a bit better than SBC, it can’t quite match the treble finesse of LDAC and aptX / aptX HD. It is also found on the Sony WH-1000XM3 spec sheet. The AAC codec is less commonly discussed but, as we will see, is no less essential. However, audibly separating aptX (or aptX HD) from LDAC, both included by Sony in their WH-1000XM3 noise-cancelling headphone, proves to be more of a challenge. Qualcomm and Sony find themselves on firmer ground with the collective assertion that their codecs sound superior to SBC. ![]() Neither Qualcomm’s aptX (nor aptX HD) nor Sony’s LDAC can deliver ‘hi-res’ or ‘CD-quality’ audio - only ‘close to’. For the sake of today’s discussion, we’ll simply see LDAC and aptX / aptX HD as smarter implementations of lossy compression. Two of the most popular codecs in the Bluetooth audio world are Qualcomm’s aptX (and its aptX HD variant) and Sony’s LDAC but to get into their numerical specifications is to engage each company’s data rate arms race. Not all lossy codecs work the same way. The more effective the compression algorithm is in discarding the least audible information, the better the perceived sound quality. A small part of the original file is discarded. Before music can be sent from smartphone to wireless headphone, its file size must be reduced to meet Bluetooth’s (lower) bandwidth requirements. All codecs used for Bluetooth audio transmission are lossy. Unlike music streaming services, Bluetooth audio offers no lossless option - at least not yet. Like music streaming services, Bluetooth audio sound quality is determined by the codec that carries digital audio (the music) from source to destination from smartphone to wireless headphone.
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