[JML]

I'd love to get some recommendations on quality aptX Low Latency earbuds or IEMS to use with a TV. My new LG C2 TV has aptX Bluetooth 5.0 output available, but would like find out if there are earbuds or IEMs to use instead of my bulky Shure AONIC 50 wireless headphones. I know I may have to get a separate aptX LL Bluetooth transmitter to avoid audio sync problems, so if you have suggestions on that hardware please let me know. LG customer service says the TV doesn't have any latency option changes for Bluetooth, and that an external transmitter would have to be set up via the optical cable and use the remote to change output to optical instead of the HDMI eARC output to my soundbar.

I guess an alternative would be to buy the Apple AirPods Pro 2 or Max to use with my Apple 4K TV, but I'd rather not, because of the cost and it won't be fully functional for Blu-ray playback, which goes to the TV directly and not through the Apple TV. The Spatial Audio feature only works from the Apple TV (or another Apple device).

What's interesting is that of all the major headphone manufacturers, only Sennheiser offered transmitter/headphone units for TV use, via 2.4gHz and not Bluetooth. But they're several years old at this point, with an open version discontinued. The other similar setups are for gaming, using 2.4gHz signals and USB connections to the source (TV USB ports are for input, not output).

 

[JML]

aptX LL earbuds appear to no longer exist. I'm going to try the Avantree Orbit Bluetooth 5.0 transmitter via optical input and aptX LL output, and use my Shure AONIC 50 headphones in aptX LL mode. aptX LL has been dropped by the latest chips and headsets in favor of aptX Adaptive, which has greater latency than LL and poorer sound than HD, from what I can tell.

There are some other similar transmitters available on Amazon but the manufacturers don't have an independent presence in the US market.

 

[geardoc]

I've been using the Shure Aonic 50 the past couple of years most days to watch tv. Had to replace the earpads when they wore out, but otherwise I'm happy with them.

What's else is new in low latency?

I've been searching for aptx LL stuff on this page: https://www.aptx.com/aptx-low-latency
There's these earbuds but I can't find anyplace that sells them: https://www.aptx.com/products/hp-elite-wireless-earbuds

 

[JML]

When I searched the internet for information and options, it seems that aptX LL has disappeared and been replaced with chips having the less effective Adaptive (with more latency than LL and poorer sound than HD). For low latency uses (not LL) there are 2.4ghz transmitters and headphones for gaming that cannot be used with a TV (and some now-old 2.4ghz Sennheisers intended for TV use), but LL is probably gone for good from new Bluetooth products. And I was surprised that Apple's Spatial Audio seems to have unacknowledged latency problems, with a good number of reports of latency increasing when in use via AirPods Max and Pro gen 2 (this makes sense given the constant circular routing of signals between the source and the transducer). The irony is that TV makers such as LG that include Bluetooth support have ignored LL and not provided any way to deal with the sync issues.

(By the way, try out the Dekoni fabric ear pads for the Aonic 50. Cooler than the pleather OEM pads. The Shure Aonic 50 is a rare beast that supports so many aptX codecs and LDAC.)

 

[geardoc]

Thanks. I"ll have to try the Dekoni suede pads next time. I replaced the oem pleather with the Dekoni leather pads. The leather feel of these is very nice, luxurious, as they say. But after a long period of listening, they get a bit warm and clammy.

I guess the market is too small for manufacturers to bother with LL. Also, Qualcomm still charges a license fee for their low latency despite the other aptx codecs being free and/or open source.

 

[Chris Kaoss]

Try something like th LG DT90Q.
Use them with my LG TV and it sounds great.
For use with wired IEMs or Full Size Headphone, i use the FiiO BTR5.

No disturbing latency till now.

Also tried Taotronic TT-BA09 bluetooth transceiver with my BTR5, which connects via toslink to TV and has a aptx-LL transmitter build in.
Works nice also.

Edit
Tv is a LG OLED55C27.
It's doing great with calibrating audio delay automatically.

 

[Tybot]

I use an Ear Studio ES100 to listen to TV when my family is asleep. Nice to use any range of IEMs with it. Highly regarded units. Hope it works for you as I'm not up on all the current technology and abbreviations.

https://earstudio.store/products/es100