Most folks go about their day-by-day lives and never think aboutBluetooth codecs . And who can blame them ? Why worry about which codec yourwireless headphonesand / or smartphone are using as long as everything make for when you hit free rein in your favorite cyclosis music app ?
And yet , look on your gearing , your option of Bluetooth codec could give you better sound quality than you ’re currently getting . We ’re going to take a flavor at three of the best options — aptX HD , aptX Adaptive , and LDAC — but before we do , let ’s address an important caution . If you mostly heed to lossy digital music ( e.g. , all medicine presently on Spotify ) or if you own an iPhone , you may stop right here .
Why ? The Bluetooth codecs used by about every phone and every set of wireless headphones / earbuds(SBC , AAC , or aptX ) are more than open of transmit lossy audio without much alteration , and Apple only support SBC and AAC on its iPhones .
Still with us ? OK , let ’s dig out into it .
Lossless and hi-res audio
Before we start the comparison , it ’s worth explain why these three codecs affair .
As mentioned in the introduction , lossy 16 - bit music has already been compressed to the point where it can correspond into an audio watercourse that only ask about 328Kbps of bandwidth . This bit rate is easily served by the three standard codecs ( SBC , AAC , or aptX ) . This is the default tone you get from a service likeSpotify , but evenApple Music , Amazon Music , and others will perform interchangeable compression unless you change their teem lineament options .
However , if you listen tolosslessCD quality and/or losslesshi - res audio(either from your personal aggregation or a streaming service ) , you ’re getting pristine quality digital audio . AptX HD , aptX Adaptive , and LDAC are all direct to preserve much more of that extra detail than stock codecs . In some cases , they can triple the bit charge per unit useable for transmitting audio .
For 16 - morsel sound recording , this can result in nearly lossless carrying out . However , all three codecs are also compatible with 24 - bit audio source , which means they can theoretically hand over Hawai’i - reticuloendothelial system audio recording over Bluetooth , even though it will still involve some loss of data .
Not everyone is convert that hi - res audio is actually better than standard candle quality , and not everyone agrees that lossy hi - reticuloendothelial system is better than lossless cadmium timber , but these are public debate for a different clause .
For now , the primal takeaway is this : If you need to continue as much audio lineament as possible when using wireless earpiece and earbuds , these three codecs are a better choice than SBC , AAC , or aptX.
The players
Qualcomm , which designs chips for wandering phones and other wireless gadget , is the repel force out behind theaptX crime syndicate of codecs . There are now several flavors of aptX , let in aptX classic , aptX Low Latency ( LL ) , aptX HD , aptX Adaptive , and aptX Lossless , each with their own specifications and hardware requirements .
Sony produce LDAC . ab initio , it was only available on Sony ’s wireless headphone and earbuds , but in late years , it has sharp increase its licensing of the technology , which mean it ’s now available on many more products .
But which of these codecs is the best ? That depends on a lot of factors , so let ’s start up at the beginning .
Compatibility and availability
As with any Bluetooth codec , aptX HD , aptX Adaptive , and LDAC demand to be supported on both the rootage gadget ( headphone , computer , etc . ) , as well as the sink gadget ( headphones , earbuds , speakers ) .
address strictly about smartphones for the moment , Google tote up AptX HD and LDAC to Android 8.0 , letting any Android smartphone manufacturer take advantage of them . If your phone is on Android 8.0 or higher ( and as long as your phone ’s producer has n’t intentionally disabled one or both ) , you should be able to use them with a compatible set of earbuds or headphones .
AptX Adaptive is the new of the three codecs , and while it also runs on Android devices , it ’s not built into the Android operating organization . Only Android phone that utilize Qualcomm ’s audio chipsets support aptX Adaptive . You ’ll find good documentation for aptX adaptative support on Android earphone that have been release since about 2020 , with two very noteworthy exceptions : No Google Pixel or Samsung Galaxy earphone presently support aptX Adaptive .
On the sink side of the par , anywireless headphonesor earbuds that support aptX Adaptive must also use Qualcomm ’s chips . From a compatibility and availableness point of panorama , this order aptX Adaptive at a bit of a disadvantage .
AptX HD has limit too , but in this pillow slip , it ’s strictly on the headphones side of the equation . For reason we ’ll get into shortly , aptX HD is primarily used for wireless headphone , not wireless earbuds . There are some exception — like theBowers & Wilkins PI7 — but they ’re very rarefied . If you ’re shopping for wireless earbuds , they will most likely bid aptX or aptX Adaptive , but not aptX HD .
LDAC can wreak on headphones and earbuds , and even though the codec is owned and license by Sony , a manufacturer does n’t postulate to use Sony ’s chips to add LDAC support to their intersection — it can be implemented using package on a variety of processing political program .
When we first created this comparing , not many manufacturers had choose to take in LDAC . However , as of August 20024 , the leaning includes many popular brands . Other than Sony itself , you ’ll find LDAC support on products 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 used by more than 30 headphone manufacturing business , and aptX Adaptive has been used by even more companies when you consider both earphone and earbuds .
LDAC ’s ability to play on headphones and earbuds without peculiar chipsets , plus its default inclusion on about all Android sound , makes it the most widely uncommitted of these 24 - bit codecs .
Though they ’re still uncommon , we ’re beginning to see wireless headphone and earbuds that do work with both LDAC and aptX Adaptive , like theEarfun Air Pro 4 .
Winner : LDAC
Sound quality part 1: bit depth and sample rate
When it comes to strait caliber , most experts would agree that your choice of wireless phone or earbuds is the most authoritative constituent . gamy - performance headphones will fathom good than lower - quality headphones even if the lower - calibre unity use a “ better ” codec .
However , we can still evaluate a codec ’s power to assist a set of phone or earbuds ( or even a Bluetooth speaker ) sound their best .
When a codec is used to transmit audio wirelessly , it encode that audio at a specific resolution ( bit depth ) and a specific sample pace or oftenness ( kHz ) . When those characteristic are n’t an identical mate for the minute depth and sample rate of your root medicine , rebirth takes place . In most cases , this conversion is inaudible , but purists assert that any modification is undesirable .
AptX HD operates at up to 24 bits , which is the standard for most hi - re audio recording . However , its sample rate bread and butter is limited to 48kHz .
LDAC and aptX Adaptive , on the other hand , can preserve up to 24 - bit and 96kHz , without conversion or resampling .
LDAC and aptX Adaptive ’s good conservation of original audio is arguably only utile when listening to hi - res audio , but the fact rest that if you ’re listening to 24 - second audio recording and want to keep as much of that signaling as potential , LDAC and aptX Adaptive are preferred to aptX HD .
Winner : Two - way tie between LDAC and aptX Adaptive
Sound quality part 2: bit rate and scalability
The nerds out there are believably yelling at me in good order now because while resolution and sample frequency might be the be - all and goal - all for sound timbre when dealing with hi - res audio files , the moment Bluetooth gets involved , you also require to take into account how a codec handles itself under highly variable wireless circumstance .
We ’re speak about bit pace , or the amount of data a codec uses to send entropy across a Bluetooth connecter . The gamey the bit pace , the more information can be sent , and thus ( theoretically ) the better the sound quality .
Some codecs have pay back bit rates , which mean that they ca n’t respond to change in the quality of a wireless link . AptX HD is a fixate piece charge per unit codec , and it requires a constant speed of 576Kbps when transmitting a 48kHz sign . As long as your connexion can handle this speed , aptX HD should be able to give up its full lineament . But if the quality of your connection sink below that velocity , which can bump when you ’re too far from your earphone or there ’s a lot of wireless interference , the audio will come out to stop up . It ’s an all - or - nothing suggestion .
LDAC and aptX Adaptive are scalable codecs — they can line up the amount of bandwidth they apply in response to your Bluetooth connector . The difference between them is that LDAC step between three specific speeds — 330Kbps , 660Kbps , and 990Kbps — with no in - between whole step , while aptX Adaptive can adjust its speed from 110Kbps to 620Kbps in 10Kbps increment .
Maintaining a Bluetooth connection at LDAC ’s top f number of 990Kbps can be wily in sure environments . noise from other devices , as well as propinquity between your phone and your headphones , can get in the elbow room . If you force your phone to only use the 990Kbps speed ( which is potential using the optional Android developer scope ) , and it ca n’t be conserve , you ’ll get stuttering and dropouts . Allowed to localize its own speed , LDAC will typically run at 660Kbps .
AptX Adaptive ’s ability to smoothly descale instead of stepping in such large increase , as well as its lower overall focal ratio requirement , means it will be able to connect at its top tone more of the time while presenting a less noticeable transition when it needs to storm its speed downward . However , there ’s no mode to force aptX adaptative to utilize any specific bit pace — as its name suggests , it ’s always adaptive .
no matter of their minimum , maximum , and incremental bit pace , one thing continues to plague the world of Bluetooth codecs : there ’s no agency to see your current morsel charge per unit .
On paper , LDAC ’s 990Kbps second rate is intelligibly the proficient of the three , with almost double the amount of data convey per 2d than aptX HD and almost 50 % more than aptX Adaptive . If you could achieve that bit rate ( and wield it ) , LDAC will be superior .
Winner under ideal weather condition : LDAC;winner under varying shape : aptX Adaptive
Latency
Latency is the clip it takes for you to listen a sound after it has been created by your gimmick . For unconstipated euphony listening , rotational latency does n’t count much , but if you ’re gaming or watching any variety of video with duologue , you want that time to be as short as possible . The universal consensus within the gaming residential district is thatanything lower than 32 millisecondsis tight enough to be like to using a wired headset .
Several factors can affect Bluetooth audio latency , but codecs are an important ingredient . AptX HD has a reported reaction time of anywhere between 200ms and 300ms . LDAC can exhibit similarly long lag times .
AptX Adaptive , on the other hand , can adjust its performance based on the kind of audio recording you ’re pour . If it detects that you ’re back , urinate a phone call , or doing anything else that might command humiliated latency over high resolution , it can engage as low as 80ms .
That ’s enough to take in it a winnings in the latency category , but it might get even sound . Qualcomm tell that if you ’re using a phone and wireless headphone that have both been certify under itsSnapdragon Soundprogram , reaction time as low as 40ms — the same functioning as its aptX Low Latency codec — could be possible .
Winner : aptX Adaptive
Power consumption
One thing we ’ll in all probability never get enough of when it comes to wireless phone and earbuds is battery lifespan . No one like to reload , so the less frequently we postulate to do it , the better .
For LDAC , this poses a challenge . run LDAC on a set of earbuds or headphones can entail a measurable simplification in playtime . On Anker Soundcore’sLiberty 4 earbuds , engaging the LDAC codec drops their playtime from nine hr per billing to just six hours .
The aptX family of codecs has always been more effective than its rivals , and that go for both aptX HD and aptX Adaptive . Low power consumption is n’t a key lineament of Adaptive , but Qualcomm say it uses less power to render the same performance as aptX HD . maker that incorporate aptX technologies do n’t ordinarily cite lower barrage fire lifespan when aptX codecs are used instead of SBC or AAC .
Winner : aptX Adaptive
Conclusion
For Google Pixel , Samsung Galaxy , and any other Android French telephone that do n’t employ Qualcomm chips , it ’s an easy answer : LDAC is the best codec of the three .
For speech sound that are aptX Adaptive capable , it becomes a question of priorities . If you rate legal timbre above battery life , above rotational latency , and perhaps even above the ability to employ your earpiece in situations where Bluetooth connections may be dicey , go with LDAC . But for most other scenario , aptX Adaptive will leaven more flexible , with eminent consistency .
