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Fairbuds are Fairphone’s proof that we really could make better tiny gadgets (arstechnica.com)

submitted 7 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

206 comments fedilink hide all child comments

But of course we all know that the big manufacturers don't do this not because they can't but because they don't want to. Planned obsolescence is still very much the name of the game, despite all the bullshit they spout about sustainability.

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[–] [email protected] 11 points 7 months ago (2 children)

Isn't the codec for headphones just meant to handle the communication between the headphones and device while the device can handle transcoding from the input codec to the output codec?

Or do you mean the quality of the codecs supported puts an upper limit on sound quality?

[–] [email protected] 19 points 7 months ago

Some more recent bluetooth codecs (such as LDAC or aptX) are better ahead in audio compression, which given bluetooth's limited bandwidth (and given than higher bandwidth usage means also more battery consumption), is something to keep in mind at all stages. In general, bluetooth audio quality is quite a mess of codec negotiations that happen mostly transparently to the user when an earphone connects. When a call is placed and the headset needs to also send audio besides receiving it, further codec changes are negotiated on the spot, prioritizing latency vs quality. Here's a quick (kinda) guide to the most common bluetooth codecs any given audio device might use: https://www.whathifi.com/advice/what-are-the-best-bluetooth-codecs-aptx-aac-ldac-and-more-explained

[–] [email protected] 5 points 7 months ago (1 children)

I’m also confused here. I’d have thought that any format decoding would happen on the phone.

[–] [email protected] 23 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (2 children)

Bluetooth does use compression to get higher quality sound out of the relatively low bandwidth (vs what a wire carrying an analog signal can handle, which is continuous in both time and amplitude domains, so effectively infinite sample rate and bit depth, though it's limited by what the DAC can put out as well as what the recording ADC (and/or mixing software) picked up in the first place).

There's a set of codecs in the Bluetooth standard and devices don't have to support every codec in that list (iirc some are proprietary and need to be licensed, plus more support requires more circuitry or firmware if it's decoded by a programmable decoder). I'm guessing that's what they are talking about but asked in case they did mean they thought not seeing mp3 and flac on the list meant they can't listen to songs encoded in those format.

Edit: closed a bracket

[–] [email protected] 4 points 7 months ago

Nice lesson, thanks.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 7 months ago

Yup, I fiddled with the Bluetooth codecs a bit when I had issues with my headphones, and I got them to sound way better even with other devices using Bluetooth and taking up bandwidth on the chip. This was on Linux, so I'm not sure what options Windows and macOS have for this (I gave up looking on my Mac and now just use wired headphones at work).