Hey everyone. Here is the test of most used aptX Adaptive USB dongles I mentioned before.
Testing conditions:
Transmitters are connected to USB 2.0 through 1m long USB 2.0 extension cable.
Distance between headphones and transmitter ~1m
Latency test is just simple
Audio Video Sync Test video
Noisy environment (3 phones around, wi-fi AP, BT temp sensor, everything is ON)
Sound test is combination of 24bit/96\48kHz FLACs and WAVs multiple genres.
ANC cannot be implicitly disabled for both headphones, only set it to "neutral", but I doubt ANC is completely OFF for that setting.
Sennheiser MOMENTUM 4 (FW: 2.13.18 - added support for 96kHz/24bit for aptX Adaptive)
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KB8P (FW: 2.29.0)
- loud enough
aptX Adaptive (very good performance)
- HQ mode - No issues (very good latency, ~40ms)
- LL mode - No issues (I would say identical latency to HQ mode)
aptX HD - No issues
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Sennheiser BTD 600 (FW: 1.20.0)
- no codec/mode selection possible
- louder than KB8P, 70% volume = 92% on KB8P
aptX Adaptive - No issues (a bit higher latency than KB8P, but acceptable for watching YouTube, ~120ms)
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Creative BT-W5 (FW: 1.2.230511.1220, Driver: 2.2.6.1)
- Creative App version 1.15.8.0
- loudest, 60% volume = 92% on KB8P
aptX Adaptive
- HQ mode - No issues (latency ~230ms)
- LL mode - No issues (latency ~30ms)
Result - None of the tested dongles had issues with headphones. No pops and cracks, no sound artifacts, nothing. Clean sound all day. Distance wise I went to opposite side of house, ~10m away from dongle, 3 thick concrete walls and full closet of clothes in signal way, no drops at all. I was very surprised.
If you are searching for best performing combination I'll recommend Creative BT-W5 because it's 96kHz/24bit on BT, latest windows app has no glitches, switching modes doesn't require dongle restart and it's pretty much instant with very short audio drop. KB8P is on second place since we don't know audio rates on BT for BTD 600 and KB8P so pick KB8P because you can switch between modes and force specific codec.
From sound quality perspective I can't tell difference even though I have sensitive hearing and I can hear even small artifacts on the background. It's subjective.
Bang & Olufsen Beoplay H95 (FW: 6.0.1)
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KB8P (FW: 2.29.0)
- loud enough
aptX Adaptive
- HQ mode - No issues (very good latency, ~50ms)
- LL mode - No issues (I would say identical latency to HQ mode)
aptX HD - No issues
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Sennheiser BTD 600 (FW: 1.20.0)
- no codec/mode selection possible
- louder than KB8P, 70% volume = 92% on KB8P
aptX Adaptive - Significant pops/cracks when audio stream start. Occasional pops/cracks during playback (latency ~100ms)
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Creative BT-W5 (FW: 1.2.230511.1220, Driver: 2.2.6.1)
- Creative App version 1.15.8.0
- loudest, 60% volume = 92% on KB8P
aptX Adaptive
- HQ mode - very rare pops/cracks (latency ~220ms)
- LL mode - more pops/cracks compared to HQ mode (latency ~30ms)
Result - The only usable dongle for these headphones with no issues is KB8P. I cannot recommend the other ones for these headphones.
Overall - As you can see this is pretty much "roulette", right combination of headphones and dongle. First I thought it's issue with transmitters or my setup, but as it turns out, it's the aptX Adaptive implementation in H95 which is real bummer because other codecs (AAC, SBC, aptX, aptX HD) have no issues. Just aptX Adaptive, the one with best specs, the one I wanna use. I'm curious if this is valid reason for RMA. Sennheiser clearly done something for this case because theirs latest FW update narrowed few things for aptX Adaptive and added support for 24/96 where H95 is without update for more than year. To me it looks like H95 is dead for developers but I give it a shot with customer support AGAIN!
I couldn't test consoles or TVs because I don't have one, but hopefully this will be helpful for someone.
If there is anyone with H95 who can test BTD600 or Creative BT-W5 with windows desktop PC or laptop, I would be very happy to see result. Whether it's me the unlucky one or it's common.
Interesting findings:
1. H95 pops and cracks significantly reduced when I upgraded my audio interface from Steinberg UR12 to Motu M2. I don't know how it's related, if it's at all. Maybe electronic inside of UR12 interfered somehow. Can't explain.
2. Sennheiser Smart Control app see the BT-W5 as W4x
Probably it's just naming miss-match between USB and BT, but fun fact. I googled W4x and didn't find anything