Wireless headphones are a flexible alternative for those who are tired of extra cabling. They are usually connected with Bluetooth, whose limitations mean that smooth connection takes place with a certain waiver of sound quality. Anyone who wants to enjoy lossless music is thus still limited to cable, regardless of whether it is local files or streamed services.
Qualcomm is now presenting its solution to the problem. This is a further development of the previous audio coding technology Aptx Adaptive, which has been further optimized. Nya Aptx Lossless is part of the Snapdragon Sound platform and will offer lossless audio playback over Bluetooth CD quality, ie 16-bit over 44.1 kHz.
With Aptx Lossless, the bandwidth is increased up to 1 Mbps, which among other things beats Sony’s sound coding technology LDAC’s bandwidth of 990 kbps. Some compression occurs, but according to Qualcomm, Aptx Lossless can reproduce the sound completely losslessly as long as the signal strength of the Bluetooth connection is suitable for it. The technology automatically detects if lossless material is being played and then adjusts the bandwidth. To avoid interruptions or noise in poor connection conditions or disturbances, dynamic scaling down to a minimum of 140 kpbs is also found.
Like Qualcomm’s previous versions of Aptx, both the headphones and the device to which they are connected require support for the technology. Currently, support for Aptx is most common on Android devices, as Apple has instead chosen to focus on AAC audio compression technology. The first products are expected to be available to consumers in early 2022.
Will wireless headphones be an option for you when CD quality is possible?
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