Most people go about their each day lives and by no means take into consideration Bluetooth codecs. And who can blame them? Why fear about which codec your wi-fi headphones and/or smartphone are utilizing so long as every part works if you hit play in your favourite streaming music app?
And but, relying in your gear, your selection of Bluetooth codec may offer you higher sound high quality than you’re presently getting. We’re going to check out three of the perfect choices — aptX HD, aptX Adaptive, and LDAC — however earlier than we do, let’s handle an necessary caveat. If you happen to largely hearken to lossy digital music (e.g., all music presently on Spotify) or when you personal an iPhone, you’ll be able to cease proper right here.
Why? The Bluetooth codecs utilized by practically each cellphone and each set of wi-fi headphones/earbuds (SBC, AAC, or aptX) are greater than able to transmitting lossy audio with out a lot alteration, and Apple solely helps SBC and AAC on its iPhones.
Nonetheless with us? OK, let’s dig into it.
Lossless and hi-res audio
Earlier than we begin the comparability, it’s value explaining why these three codecs matter.
As talked about within the intro, lossy 16-bit music has already been compressed to the purpose the place it may match into an audio stream that solely requires about 328Kbps of bandwidth. This bit price is definitely served by the three customary codecs (SBC, AAC, or aptX). That is the default high quality you get from a service like Spotify, however even Apple Music, Amazon Music, and others will carry out comparable compression until you modify their streaming high quality settings.
Nevertheless, when you hearken to lossless CD high quality and/or lossless hi-res audio (both out of your private assortment or a streaming service), you’re getting pristine high quality digital audio. AptX HD, aptX Adaptive, and LDAC are all engineered to protect far more of that additional element than customary codecs. In some instances, they’ll triple the bit price out there for transmitting audio.
For 16-bit audio, this can lead to practically lossless efficiency. Nevertheless, all three codecs are additionally suitable with 24-bit audio sources, which implies they’ll theoretically ship hi-res audio over Bluetooth, regardless that it would nonetheless contain some lack of data.
Not everyone seems to be satisfied that hi-res audio is definitely higher than CD high quality, and never everybody agrees that lossy hi-res is healthier than lossless CD high quality, however these are debates for a unique article.
For now, the important thing takeaway is that this: If you wish to protect as a lot audio high quality as potential when utilizing wi-fi headphones and earbuds, these three codecs are a better option than SBC, AAC, or aptX.
The gamers
Qualcomm, which designs chips for cellphones and different wi-fi units, is the driving power behind the aptX household of codecs. There at the moment are a number of flavors of aptX, together with aptX basic, aptX Low Latency (LL), aptX HD, aptX Adaptive, and aptX Lossless, every with their very own specs and {hardware} necessities.
Sony created LDAC. Initially, it was solely out there on Sony’s wi-fi headphones and earbuds, however lately, it has sharply elevated its licensing of the expertise, which implies it’s now out there on many extra merchandise.
However which of those codecs is the perfect? That is determined by loads of elements, so let’s begin firstly.
Compatibility and availability
As with every Bluetooth codec, aptX HD, aptX Adaptive, and LDAC have to be supported on each the supply gadget (cellphone, pc, and many others.), in addition to the sink gadget (headphones, earbuds, audio system).
Talking strictly about smartphones for the second, Google added AptX HD and LDAC to Android 8.0, letting any Android smartphone producer benefit from them. In case your cellphone is on Android 8.0 or increased (and so long as your cellphone’s producer hasn’t deliberately disabled one or each), it is best to be capable of use them with a suitable set of earbuds or headphones.
AptX Adaptive is the latest of the three codecs, and whereas it additionally runs on Android units, it’s not constructed into the Android working system. Solely Android telephones that use Qualcomm’s audio chipsets help aptX Adaptive. You’ll discover good help for aptX Adaptive help on Android telephones which have been launched since about 2020, with two very notable exceptions: No Google Pixel or Samsung Galaxy telephones presently help aptX Adaptive.
On the sink aspect of the equation, any wi-fi headphones or earbuds that help aptX Adaptive should additionally use Qualcomm’s chips. From a compatibility and availability standpoint, this places aptX Adaptive at a little bit of an obstacle.
AptX HD has limitations too, however on this case, it’s strictly on the headphones aspect of the equation. For causes we’ll get into shortly, aptX HD is primarily used for wi-fi headphones, not wi-fi earbuds. There are some exceptions — just like the Bowers & Wilkins PI7 — however they’re very uncommon. If you happen to’re purchasing for wi-fi earbuds, they may most probably supply aptX or aptX Adaptive, however not aptX HD.
LDAC can work on headphones and earbuds, and regardless that the codec is owned and licensed by Sony, a producer doesn’t want to make use of Sony’s chips so as to add LDAC help to their merchandise — it may be carried out utilizing software program on quite a lot of processing platforms.
Once we first created this comparability, not many producers had chosen to undertake LDAC. Nevertheless, as of August 20024, the record consists of many widespread manufacturers. Apart from Sony itself, you’ll discover LDAC help on merchandise from 1More, Anker Soundcore, Audeze, Earfun, QCY, Soundpeats, Shure, Audio-Technica, Technics, Tozo, Edifier, Ausounds, Ankbit, Mark Levinson, Dali, and Philips. AptX HD has been utilized by greater than 30 headphone producers, and aptX Adaptive has been utilized by much more firms if you rely each headphones and earbuds.
LDAC’s potential to run on headphones and earbuds with out particular chipsets, plus its default inclusion on nearly all Android telephones, makes it probably the most broadly out there of those 24-bit codecs.
Although they’re nonetheless uncommon, we’re starting to see wi-fi headphones and earbuds that work with each LDAC and aptX Adaptive, just like the Earfun Air Professional 4.
Winner: LDAC
Sound high quality half 1: bit depth and pattern price
With regards to sound high quality, most specialists would agree that your selection of wi-fi headphone or earbuds is a very powerful issue. Excessive-performance headphones will sound higher than lower-quality headphones even when the lower-quality ones use a “higher” codec.
Nevertheless, we are able to nonetheless consider a codec’s potential to assist a set of headphones or earbuds (or perhaps a Bluetooth speaker) sound their greatest.
When a codec is used to transmit audio wirelessly, it encodes that audio at a selected decision (bit depth) and a selected pattern price or frequency (kHz). When these traits aren’t an similar match for the bit depth and pattern price of your supply music, conversion takes place. Typically, this conversion is inaudible, however purists insist that any change is undesirable.
AptX HD operates at as much as 24 bits, which is the usual for many hi-res audio. Nevertheless, its pattern price help is proscribed to 48kHz.
LDAC and aptX Adaptive, however, can protect as much as 24-bit and 96kHz, with out conversion or resampling.
LDAC and aptX Adaptive’s higher preservation of authentic audio is arguably solely helpful when listening to hi-res audio, however the reality stays that when you’re listening to 24-bit audio and need to protect as a lot of that sign as potential, LDAC and aptX Adaptive are preferable to aptX HD.
Winner: Two-way tie between LDAC and aptX Adaptive
Sound high quality half 2: bit price and scalability
The nerds on the market are in all probability yelling at me proper now as a result of whereas decision and pattern frequency may be the be-all and end-all for sound high quality when coping with hi-res audio recordsdata, the second Bluetooth will get concerned, you additionally must keep in mind how a codec handles itself underneath extremely variable wi-fi circumstances.
We’re speaking about bit price, or the quantity of information a codec makes use of to ship data throughout a Bluetooth connection. The upper the bit price, the extra data may be despatched, and thus (theoretically) the higher the sound high quality.
Some codecs have mounted bit charges, which implies that they’ll’t react to adjustments within the high quality of a wi-fi hyperlink. AptX HD is a set bit price codec, and it requires a continuing velocity of 576Kbps when transmitting a 48kHz sign. So long as your connection can deal with this velocity, aptX HD ought to be capable of ship its full high quality. But when the standard of your connection drops under that velocity, which might occur if you’re too far out of your cellphone or there’s loads of wi-fi interference, the audio will begin to break up. It’s an all-or-nothing proposition.
LDAC and aptX Adaptive are scalable codecs — they’ll alter the quantity of bandwidth they use in response to your Bluetooth connection. The distinction between them is that LDAC steps between three particular speeds — 330Kbps, 660Kbps, and 990Kbps — with no in-between steps, whereas aptX Adaptive can alter its velocity from 110Kbps to 620Kbps in 10Kbps increments.
Sustaining a Bluetooth connection at LDAC’s high velocity of 990Kbps may be tough in sure environments. Interference from different units, in addition to proximity between your cellphone and your headphones, can get in the best way. If you happen to power your cellphone to solely use the 990Kbps velocity (which is feasible utilizing the optionally available Android developer settings), and it may’t be maintained, you’ll get stuttering and dropouts. Allowed to set its personal velocity, LDAC will usually run at 660Kbps.
AptX Adaptive’s potential to easily scale as a substitute of stepping in such massive increments, in addition to its decrease total velocity necessities, means it is going to be capable of join at its high quality extra of the time whereas presenting a much less noticeable transition when it must ramp its velocity downward. Nevertheless, there’s no technique to power aptX Adaptive to make use of any particular bit price — as its identify suggests, it’s at all times adaptive.
No matter their minimal, most, and incremental bit charges, one factor continues to plague the world of Bluetooth codecs: there’s no technique to see your present bit price.
On paper, LDAC’s 990Kbps bit price is clearly the perfect of the three, with virtually double the quantity of information transmitted per second than aptX HD and virtually 50% greater than aptX Adaptive. If you happen to can obtain that bit price (and preserve it), LDAC might be superior.
Winner underneath ultimate circumstances: LDAC; winner underneath variable circumstances: aptX Adaptive
Latency
Latency is the time it takes so that you can hear a sound after it has been created by your gadget. For normal music listening, latency doesn’t matter a lot, however when you’re gaming or watching any type of video with dialogue, you need that point to be as brief as potential. The overall consensus throughout the gaming group is that something decrease than 32 milliseconds is quick sufficient to be akin to utilizing a wired headset.
A number of elements can have an effect on Bluetooth audio latency, however codecs are an necessary ingredient. AptX HD has a reported latency of wherever between 200ms and 300ms. LDAC can exhibit equally lengthy lag instances.
AptX Adaptive, however, can alter its efficiency based mostly on the type of audio you’re streaming. If it detects that you simply’re gaming, making a cellphone name, or doing anything which may require low latency over excessive decision, it may function as little as 80ms.
That’s sufficient to earn it a win within the latency class, however it may get even higher. Qualcomm says that when you’re utilizing a cellphone and wi-fi headphones which have each been licensed underneath its Snapdragon Sound program, latency as little as 40ms — the identical efficiency as its aptX Low Latency codec — may very well be potential.
Winner: aptX Adaptive
Energy consumption
One factor we’ll in all probability by no means get sufficient of on the subject of wi-fi headphones and earbuds is battery life. Nobody likes to recharge, so the much less often we have to do it, the higher.
For LDAC, this poses a problem. Operating LDAC on a set of earbuds or headphones can imply a measurable discount in playtime. On Anker Soundcore’s Liberty 4 earbuds, partaking the LDAC codec drops their playtime from 9 hours per cost to only six hours.
The aptX household of codecs has at all times been extra environment friendly than its rivals, and that goes for each aptX HD and aptX Adaptive. Low energy consumption isn’t a key function of Adaptive, however Qualcomm says it makes use of much less energy to ship the identical efficiency as aptX HD. Producers that incorporate aptX applied sciences don’t usually cite decrease battery life when aptX codecs are used as a substitute of SBC or AAC.
Winner: aptX Adaptive
Conclusion
For Google Pixel, Samsung Galaxy, and every other Android handsets that don’t use Qualcomm chips, it’s a simple reply: LDAC is the perfect codec of the three.
For telephones which can be aptX Adaptive succesful, it turns into a query of priorities. If you happen to worth sound high quality above battery life, above latency, and maybe even above the flexibility to make use of your headphones in conditions the place Bluetooth connections could also be dicey, go along with LDAC. However for many different situations, aptX Adaptive will show extra versatile, with increased consistency.
