Can Bluetooth version affect TWS sound quality?

[Bjørgersson]

Hello everybody,

I've been recently thinking of replacing my halfway artifact Galaxy S9 with a Galaxy S24, and since the latter doesn't have a 3.5 mm jack connector, I've also been thinking of buying a set of Galaxy earbuds. I have one of my friends' Buds2 Pro to test for the weekend, and could I be any happier I have borrowed them... The sound quality is surprisingly poor - to me at least -, it's much worse than what I expected.

The low-range is decent, which shouldn't be surprising considering the genres popular nowadays, I think they're perfect for that purpose. The mid-range is actually significantly clearer compared to the wired AKG in-ear headset that came with my S9, although it really lacks space, and I mean really - it feels like a little music stick poking my ears after having been completely embraced and buried in music for years. I'm sorry for the dumb analogy, I don't think I could explain it any better as English is not my first language. Finally, the high-range is what hurts my ears the most, all high sounds are way too clinky, clicky and clacky.
I mainly listen to death metal - melodic, symphonic, technical - and a bit of black metal and psychedelic stuff every now and then, and I don't want to sound like an audiophile or a snob, but I might be a bit of a music addict - I love and I need to hear all the instruments properly.

After a few hours of listening, I thought that the Bluetooth version (S9 5.0, S24 5.3) may affect how these buds sound, although I doubt that it could affect the amount of outlet they have. Still, hoping that there are many helpful users with much more experience with TWS earbuds, I wanted to ask whether it is worth for me to keep considering them, or I should rather look for a decent wired headset with USB-C connector for the same price. I understand that the manufacturers have to squeeze batteries and Bluetooth antennas besides the speakers into these tiny buds, so they may never sound as good as their wired counterparts where all the space are for the speakers.

Any help, advice and opinions, or bud recommendations are welcome - thank you in advance!

 

[Dr. Dro]

Lower quality? No, it's not going to happen. it's fully digital data. If the Bluetooth version is too old, the phones simply won't pair. Any eventual differences in sound quality will arise from the source itself (software configuration), since the DAC stage is done within the earphones themselves.

 

[JWNoctis]

Bluetooth audio codec (SBC vs. LDAC vs. AAC vs. aptX vs. maybe others) does supposedly matter a bit. FWIW I could not hear much difference myself.

I think audio reproduction quality for Bluetooth audio mostly depended on source quality, and the quality of the device itself. If you find the highs intolerable, you can try a good pair of earbuds with balanced armature drivers, connected to a good Bluetooth DAC.

 

[wNotyarD]

Bluetooth audio codec (SBC vs. LDAC vs. AAC vs. aptX vs. maybe others) does supposedly matter a bit. FWIW I could not hear much difference myself.

I think audio reproduction quality for Bluetooth audio mostly depended on source quality, and the quality of the device itself. If you find the highs intolerable, you can try a good pair of earbuds with balanced armature drivers, connected to a good Bluetooth DAC.

The Buds 2 Pro should default to SSC (Samsung Seamless Codec) on any compatible device, which I don't know if the S9 is. And yes, it would be a pretty important part of how the Buds respond.

 

[Dr. Dro]

Bluetooth audio codec (SBC vs. LDAC vs. AAC vs. aptX vs. maybe others) does supposedly matter a bit. FWIW I could not hear much difference myself.

I think audio reproduction quality for Bluetooth audio mostly depended on source quality, and the quality of the device itself. If you find the highs intolerable, you can try a good pair of earbuds with balanced armature drivers, connected to a good Bluetooth DAC.

The Galaxy S9 should be compatible with aptX, aptX HD (although there are reports this has been removed, it's at least on the spec sheet though) SBC, LDAC and AAC, I don't think it'll be missing anything in the quality front

These are the supported codecs on the S10+, should be able to check in the same place on the S9 (tap build number 5 times in about phone to enable dev mode, and navigate there)

 

[wNotyarD]

The Galaxy S9 should be compatible with aptX, aptX HD (although there are reports this has been removed, it's at least on the spec sheet though) SBC, LDAC and AAC, I don't think it'll be missing anything in the quality front

These are the supported codecs on the S10+, should be able to check in the same place on the S9 (tap build number 5 times in about phone to enable dev mode, and navigate there)

View attachment 363367

Issue at hand, at least with any Samsung TWS, is they don't use aptX. So either they are able to use SSC on a compatible device or they fall back to SBC.

Here's how my B2P's show up on my S23U:

 

[Bjørgersson]

Lower quality? No, it's not going to happen. it's fully digital data. If the Bluetooth version is too old, the phones simply won't pair. Any eventual differences in sound quality will arise from the source itself (software configuration), since the DAC stage is done within the earphones themselves.

I thought that it might be related to their bandwith limits, but both seem to have a bandwith of 2 Mbps.

The Buds 2 Pro should default to SSC (Samsung Seamless Codec) on any compatible device, which I don't know if the S9 is. And yes, it would be a pretty important part of how the Buds respond.

Issue at hand, at least with any Samsung TWS, is they don't use aptX. So either they are able to use SSC on a compatible device or they fall back to SBC.

Here's how my B2P's show up on my S23U:
View attachment 363373
View attachment 363375

No SSC or aptX HD, unfortunately.

 

[Vya Domus]

Don't know what TWS is but all wireless headphones I ever used sounded fine, indistinguishable from wired, I used an S8 and iPhone 12/14.

Lower quality? No, it's not going to happen. it's fully digital data.

That doesn't mean the quality can't be bad, the bitrate can still be low and affect quality, just like with video.

 

[wNotyarD]

I thought that it might be related to their bandwith limits, but both seem to have a bandwith of 2 Mbps.



No SSC or aptX HD, unfortunately.
View attachment 363404View attachment 363405

Is Scalable Codec available when the Buds are connected? If yes, try it

 

[Bjørgersson]

Is Scalable Codec available when the Buds are connected? If yes, try it

So much so that it automatically switches to Scalable Codec as soon as the buds are connected.

edit: I've played around with these settings but couldn't hear any difference with either.

 

[TheLostSwede]

Review of the earbuds you're testing. Sadly they test everything using SBC, so their reviews doesn't use ideal conditions, but at least everything is comparable, since that's the lowest common denominator. They seem to be decent, but not great.

Samsung Galaxy Buds2 Pro Review

The Samsung Galaxy Buds2 Pro True Wireless are the upgraded variant of the Samsung Galaxy Buds2 Truly Wireless. Samsung hasn't changed much regarding the Buds2's...

www.rtings.com

It does seem like your phone might be a limiting factor, but having a bad fit/seal with "modern" type earbuds is also a limiting factor.
I bought some cheap earbuds after posting a news post about them here and one ear fits perfect and the other one I end up struggling to get a good fit on, which means one earbud sounds fine and the other one does not.
I got a pair of Sony WF-1000XM4 after that and the ear tips that come with them were not great, but luckily I had some other Sony ear tips that worked and with those I get a good seal and good sound, as well as good ANC.
Some equaliser tuning might also be needed to get the most out of these type of earbuds, as neither pair sounds good with default settings to me.

As for codecs, yes they matter, but as long as you're not using SBC, you should at least have decent sounding audio, but keep in mind that not all manufacturers use the codecs in the same way and there are some reviews showing that even SBC and AAC differs significantly between different devices (phones) and headphones/earbuds.
And no, audio is never 2Mbps, LDAC does at most support 990 kbps, which is the best commonly available/accessible codec, although the latest (out of three implementations) of aptX Adaptive can apparently reach 1.2 Mbps, but then you're limited to 16-bit 44.1 kHz, whereas LDAC claims to offer support for up to 32-bit 96 kHz.

Understanding Bluetooth codecs

Want to know more about wireless audio? Take our crash course in Bluetooth codecs, bitrate, standards, and uses from SBC to LDAC and more.

www.soundguys.com

Let’s measure the Bluetooth Codecs: which performs the best

For years we've assumed that Bluetooth audio codecs such as aptX and AAC and LDAC sound better than the standard SBC. But do they? Here were actually measure them and present the results.

addictedtoaudio.com.au

 

[Bjørgersson]

Review of the earbuds you're testing. Sadly they test everything using SBC, so their reviews doesn't use ideal conditions, but at least everything is comparable, since that's the lowest common denominator. They seem to be decent, but not great.

Samsung Galaxy Buds2 Pro Review

The Samsung Galaxy Buds2 Pro True Wireless are the upgraded variant of the Samsung Galaxy Buds2 Truly Wireless. Samsung hasn't changed much regarding the Buds2's...

www.rtings.com

It does seem like your phone might be a limiting factor, but having a bad fit/seal with "modern" type earbuds is also a limiting factor.
I bought some cheap earbuds after posting a news post about them here and one ear fits perfect and the other one I end up struggling to get a good fit on, which means one earbud sounds fine and the other one does not.
I got a pair of Sony WF-1000XM4 after that and the ear tips that come with them were not great, but luckily I had some other Sony ear tips that worked and with those I get a good seal and good sound, as well as good ANC.
Some equaliser tuning might also be needed to get the most out of these type of earbuds, as neither pair sounds good with default settings to me.

As for codecs, yes they matter, but as long as you're not using SBC, you should at least have decent sounding audio, but keep in mind that not all manufacturers use the codecs in the same way and there are some reviews showing that even SBC and AAC differs significantly between different devices (phones) and headphones/earbuds.
And no, audio is never 2Mbps, LDAC does at most support 990 kbps and no other codec appears to go higher.

Understanding Bluetooth codecs

Want to know more about wireless audio? Take our crash course in Bluetooth codecs, bitrate, standards, and uses from SBC to LDAC and more.

www.soundguys.com

Let’s measure the Bluetooth Codecs: which performs the best

For years we've assumed that Bluetooth audio codecs such as aptX and AAC and LDAC sound better than the standard SBC. But do they? Here were actually measure them and present the results.

addictedtoaudio.com.au

Tack så mycket! I feel like they fit very well, almost as well as the AKGs, so I don't think that could be the problem. It might just be how they sound, which I think is a big shame, especially considering their price.
As for the codecs, I've just realised that the MP3 files I have are all 320 kbps, which is far from the 2 Mbps bandwidth, so you're absolutely right, that cannot be the issue here. I'll read your review anyway, just to be sure and to learn a few things.

I might borrow them again when I have the S24 to see if it was the S9. If not, I'll let go of the idea of going wireless.

 

[TheLostSwede]

I might borrow them again when I have the S24 to see if it was the S9. If not, I'll let go of the idea of going wireless.

You can obviously get a USB-C DAC and continue to use wired headphones.
Do note that there's a huge difference in quality of the sound even there.
I bought a very cheap one, but with an L-shaped USB connector and very compact footprint, which sounds fine, but I was also given a high-end portable DAC by a friend and it sounds so much better, it's just not that practical as it's a "long" metal bar that takes up a lot of space.

 

[Bjørgersson]

You can obviously get a USB-C DAC and continue to use wired headphones.
Do note that there's a huge difference in quality of the sound even there.
I bought a very cheap one, but with an L-shaped USB connector and very compact footprint, which sounds fine, but I was also given a high-end portable DAC by a friend and it sounds so much better, it's just not that practical as it's a "long" metal bar that takes up a lot of space.

Cables don't bother me, so I'd rather avoid the hassle of getting a USB DAC and spending even more money.

 

[TheLostSwede]

Cables don't bother me, so I'd rather avoid the hassle of getting a USB DAC and spending even more money.

Without a 3.5 mm jack, how are you going to do that without a DAC, at least if you want to keep your current headphones.

 

[Bjørgersson]

Without a 3.5 mm jack, how are you going to do that without a DAC, at least if you want to keep your current headphones.

I mentioned in my original post that I would look for a new one with a USB-C connector, or I could also buy a jack-C converter. Time will tell.

 

[Dr. Dro]

If cables don't bother you, buy the (genuine) Apple USB-C to 3.5mm headphone jack adapter at any Apple Store. Very inexpensive, and I've been using with my PC - and I tested, they work on the Galaxy S10+ too (though this is the last phone to actually have a native jack) - for what they cost, I can't recommend these enough. They'll work on any USB-C device that supports audio out, not just the iPhone 15/16.

 

[iNinja9K]

I’ve had a similar experience with the Buds2 Pro. I tested them out myself, and while they’re okay for some genres, they just don’t hold up for the kind of detailed sound you’re into. For metal and intricate music, I’d say go for a wired USB-C headset if you want better sound quality. Wired headphones usually offer better fidelity, and you can find some great options that don’t cost a fortune.

 

[TheLostSwede]

I mentioned in my original post that I would look for a new one with a USB-C connector, or I could also buy a jack-C converter. Time will tell.

Jack-C converter as you call it, is a DAC.
The cheap one I got looks like this.

You also have options like this one from Ugreen, but do check the specs, as they're not all the same.

Also, on the topic of DACs, all TWS headphones have a DAC in them and that will also affect the quality of the sound.

Another thing, try using an audio player on Android called Salt Player, it has a bunch of settings that could improve the audio. Obviously not going to work for streaming audio and what not, but it's a really advanced player otherwise.

 

[1freedude]

I use a bluetooth dongle that receives audio from the phone. It accepts a 3.5mm plug. Battery powered, but can be used while charging. I bought it from Best Buy, but when I went to look for a link, I cannot find it. I used it primarily for audiobooks, but also hooked up to my big system via 3.5mm to RCA plugs. When I listened to books, it sat in my left shirt pocket. If someone wanted to talk to me, I just jammed my palm onto the pocket to pause the story. Very clean sound.

Consider looking for something like that. That way, you can listen to the headphones/earbuds you want to.

Just did a search and found it unavailable.

Amazon.com

I started using it around 2015, and wore it out in about five years. Bought another one without hesitation.