When you are looking for the best headphones, it is normal that you find some options among Bluetooth headphones.
While most people believe Bluetooth headphones are the best type of headphones, the truth is that in what concerns to the technology itself, you have other options that you can consider.
Today, we decided to tell you a bit more about the Bluetooth technology as well as its impact on Bluetooth headphones. In addition, we are also going to show you the other options that you have beyond Bluetooth and the ones that you should consider for serious critical listening.
The Different Bluetooth Formats And What They Mean For Sound Quality
#1: SBC:
When you buy Bluetooth headphones, you usually can listen to your favorite songs within a range of 30 feet. However, this range has been increasing and it can now be up to 300 feet.
We can say that SBC was first developed for phone audio. So, as you can imagine, it uses a huge amount of data compression similar to the one used n MP3s.
Since it takes very little power for processing, this is the perfect technology for wireless headphones. As more and more headphones got popular, SBC technology also improved.
Discover the best Bluetooth headphone in 2019.
#2: aptX:
One of the major cons of Bluetooth headphones that include SBC is the fact that they have an additional layer of data compression. And this is where aptX makes things better.
Even though aptX still has some compression, the truth is that this compression is a time-domain one. This means that this technology creates smaller files that can be easily transmitted via Bluetooth and they are significantly better. In fact, many people state that aptX is just CD-like audio.
One of the main advantages of this technology is that it doesn’t have delays making it perfect when you need to sync it with video.
Looking for the best Bluetooth over ear headphone?
#3: A2DP:
The A2DP or Advanced Audio Distribution Profile is hidden in the Bluetooth standard. So, what it does is that it is able to transmit MP3 without undergoing additional compression.
#4: Bluetooth 4.0:
Bluetooth 4.0 is the latest Bluetooth version and it bumped up the bandwidth. This clearly shows that this latest version doesn’t only handle audio streaming well as it can also handle video streaming.
Connectivity Issues You May Find
While a lot of headphones on the market are already Bluetooth headphones, the truth is that some people still have problems connecting them. There are mainly two problems that you may need to solve:
#1: The Distance:
While the Bluetooth range continues to improve, only the best Bluetooth headphones are able to support a range up to 300 feet. However, this is still far from ideal. In case you are aware that you’re going to be near the limits, it is wise to choose Bluetooth headphones that already include the Bluetooth 4.0 version.
A different issue related to distance that you may need to solve is the structural layout. The reality is that it will be a lot easier to set devices 50 feet apart in a large room than setting them 20 feet apart when you have a concrete wall in between.
Make sure to read our MPOW H1 Bluetooth Headphones Over Ear review.
#2: Pairing And Setup:
In order to your Bluetooth headphones to work, you need to establish a connection between the transmitter and the receiver. This is called pairing. Not all Bluetooth headphones are the same or easy to operate. While some brands opt for displaying a screen to serve as an indication, others don’t and this ultimately makes your experience worse.