Source for Sony wireless headphones

[Lethrinops]

Hi, I currently use either my phone (Samsung S22) or Asus laptop as a source for my Sony bluetooth headphones. Is ipossible to have a better quality source or is the bluetooth connection a limiter on quality?

 

[SenseiKofi]

Hi, I currently use either my phone (Samsung S22) or Asus laptop as a source for my Sony bluetooth headphones. Is ipossible to have a better quality source or is the bluetooth connection a limiter on quality?

Bluetooth is inherently lossy so there's that but fretting over that is a whole black hole in its own right

 

[Messiah]

Bluetooth is a limiting factor but there are a couple of things to check.

1. Quality of what you are listening too - are you using a music service like Spotify etc. If so, have you ensured the audio quality is at the highest setting?

2. Audio codec - given you have an Android phone and Sony headphones, you should be able to use LDAC. I have found this be be better than other Bluetooth codecs. But, that is my preference. You can play around with them and see what you think is best.

 

[Lord Tarquin Portly]

Bluetooth is a limiting factor but there are a couple of things to check.

1. Quality of what you are listening too - are you using a music service like Spotify etc. If so, have you ensured the audio quality is at the highest setting?

2. Audio codec - given you have an Android phone and Sony headphones, you should be able to use LDAC. I have found this be be better than other Bluetooth codecs. But, that is my preference. You can play around with them and see what you think is best.

 

[Lord Tarquin Portly]

As mentioned, LDAC is a very good Bluetooth codec, have you thought about a Sony phone or PMP?
Very happy with my Sony Xperia 5 IV, cameras and screen are excellent, sound quality is also good with codecs such as aptx adaptive and lossless, plus LDAC of course, it also has a proper headphone socket plus micro SD card slot. I'm told that the Samsung's don't have the latest aptx codecs, something my son was moaning about with his new flip 7, apparently they want you to buy Samsung earbuds. Not knocking Samsung phones, they are excellent for useable, features, quality and length of software support. They don't have LDAC though.

 

[Messiah]

LDAC is generally supported by Android and a quick Google suggests the S22 does support it. 😊

 

[Lord Tarquin Portly]

LDAC is generally supported by Android and a quick Google suggests the S22 does support it. 😊

 

[Lord Tarquin Portly]

That's good news, so you should already be using the LDAC codec, you can check in settings when developer mode is enabled if it isn't displayed anywhere else. Don't know if there is a difference between the Snapdragon and Exynos versions.

 

[Lethrinops]

Since I posted I have enabled the LDAC codecs on my S22. It does sound better.

 

[Lord Tarquin Portly]

Great, glad it's worked and that is same improvement.

 

[Rodolfo]

Hi, I currently use either my phone (Samsung S22) or Asus laptop as a source for my Sony bluetooth headphones. Is ipossible to have a better quality source or is the bluetooth connection a limiter on quality?

Welcome to the Forum from a fellow-S22 owner! Here's my belated contribution, for you and others.

LDAC has been available on android since version 9 (my LG V30's peak), which is 6 years/versions old/ago and that coincided roughly with when LDAC was awarded its Hi-Resolution Wireless certification by the Japan Audio Society (JAS). But it is still up to each manufacturer to implement it or not. It has also been available on many non-android devices, such as most all digital audio players (DAPs) that I've known. I have had it on a 2019 Samsung S10e, which I still use as a backup to my S22. (The S10e was the last Samsung to have an audio jack and an SD card slot, which explains in part why it is still my backup phone. Sony's excellent phones are indeed about the only ones that are still equipped with those features.)

The LDAC selection/toggle is readily accessible through the Connections --> Bluetooth -paired-device- setting on the S22 (as it's been on my S10e, and I'd guess most or all android phones since...).

LDAC depends on a strong signal to reproduce at its highest capacity -a bitrate of 990kbps; but, even its lowest 330kbps rate is higher than the highest MP3 rate of 320kbps --nice, but still lo-res and still the highest offered by Spotify Premium, I believe. The best LDAC implementations I know are on DAPs, and some of these offer specific settings for selected LDAC options or features. They're not critical, but probably nice-to-haves for the more demanding or compulsive among us.

Finally, note that while LDAC is a Sony technology, not all Sony head- and earphones support LDAC. I have a still-excellent inexpensive set that do not. (I get my very nice LDAC reproduction through two (JAS-Hi-Res-certified) Anker Soundcore head and earphones, btw.)

Enjoy your new sound! I admit that I was a wired-only snob until I finally opened to LDAC belatedly myself only 2 or 3 years ago.