[bburton12]

I'm getting Bluetooth over-the-ear headphones and am looking forward to playing the higher quality FLAC songs over my headphones. I've read that Bluetooth degrades the sound quality however.
 
Will playing FLAC songs over Bluetooth still be better quality than playing regular mp3s over the Bluetooth or will the Bluetooth degrade the quality so much that the change between the two is not noticeable? Because if it's going to be the same quality than I might as well just get mp3s as I probably won't use the cord.
 
Thank you,
Brad

 

[kimvictor]

  I'm getting Bluetooth over-the-ear headphones and am looking forward to playing the higher quality FLAC songs over my headphones. I've read that Bluetooth degrades the sound quality however.
 
Will playing FLAC songs over Bluetooth still be better quality than playing regular mp3s over the Bluetooth or will the Bluetooth degrade the quality so much that the change between the two is not noticeable? Because if it's going to be the same quality than I might as well just get mp3s as I probably won't use the cord.
 
Thank you,
Brad

What codec does your bluetooth over ear use? If it's apt-x, it shouldn't have problem using Flac. Apt-x supports lossless flac transmitting. For other codecs, it would be worthless to use flac, IMO.

 

[bburton12]

The headphones do support aptX & AAC codecs (http://www.amazon.com/Sony-MDRXB950BT-Extra-Bluetooth-Headset/dp/B00MCHE38O/ref=cm_cd_al_qh_dp_i)
 
The problem is that my iphone does not support aptX. So would having it on my headset, but not my iphone make any difference?
 
Also, if I use Bluetooth on my headphones would the quality still be better than (wired) earphones that were about $50?

 

[billybob_jcv]

Wouldn't you need to specifically use AptX-Lossless? Do all AptX devices support AptX-Lossless?

Of course, worrying about this presupposes that you believe lossless audio produces discernable differences from high-quality compressed files. I'm not going to get into that old debate!

 

[bburton12]

It uses the aptX and AAC codecs. I looked it up and it looks like my iPhone supports AAC. Would getting AAC music files instead of mp3s do the trick?
 
Also, would using Bluetooth on my Headphones reduce the sound quality so much that you couldn't tell between BT-enabled headphones and wired earphones?

 

[billybob_jcv]

My point was that if you are using standard AptX (not Aptx-Lossless), then you are using a lossy compression codec, and what is hitting your headphones is no longer lossless sound. Deciding if that amount of lossy compression is audible or significant is a separate question, and to be honest, I don't know the answer - or if there really is an answer. There's always some golden-eared audiophile that will *say* they hear a difference, and the psychoacoustic effects in your own brain from reading those words might have a more significant effect than any actual science. That's why I don't worry about lossless vs 320 Kbps, ALAC vs FLAC, PCM vs DSD, etc, etc. I just buy good quality gear that has the features I want to use and then enjoy the music. If I want to use wireless headphones, then I buy good quality wireless headphones that have a sound signature I like and that have a wireless system that works well (no dropouts, long battery life, no interference issues, etc). I ignore the rest of the minutiae.

 

[kimvictor]

  It uses the aptX and AAC codecs. I looked it up and it looks like my iPhone supports AAC. Would getting AAC music files instead of mp3s do the trick?
 
Also, would using Bluetooth on my Headphones reduce the sound quality so much that you couldn't tell between BT-enabled headphones and wired earphones?

I phone doesn't do aptX, and I'm not sure if AAC supports lossless...
Some BT stuff, like SBH80, sounds better than wired ones IMO. Wireless streaming is awesome nowadays.

 

[RockStar2005]

billy & kim, 
 
AAC is a LOSSY codec/format, so it does NOT support lossless. 
 
However, I take all my Hi-Res music and downsample it to higher grade AAC, which statistically has been proven to sound EXACTLY the same as FLAC/ALAC. Basically, anything over 256 kbps AAC will sound exactly the same as CD-Quality FLAC (to be extra safe, I set them to 320 kbps AAC). It's been proven, and I tried doing an ABX test myself and could NOT tell a difference. The advantage is obviously that 1) the smaller the file, the less power is required to play by your player and 2) The smaller the file, the less room it takes! lol Now my backups however I only downsample to CD-Quality FLAC/ALAC, primarily b/c they are lossless and that if I ever want to do anything with them in the future, any conversions I do won't result in potential artifacts and/or distortions, unlike lossy which very well can. Say a new format comes along 3 years from now that somehow makes your music sound better. If you've got say, your favorite Hi-Res albums stored as FLAC or ALAC, you can convert these, no problem. But if they're lossy, they may not sound as good post-conversion. Basically you're "future-proofing" your songs by at least backing them up as lossless files. Again, there's no point at all in keeping a DSD or 24/192 or 24/96 file as is unless you just have a PLETHORA of space lol......... downsampling them to 16/44.1 (CD-Quality) won't make any AUDIBLE changes to the sound. Your dog might notice a difference lol, but you won't. 
 
Oh, and there's one exception to what I said above........... mp3s. They suck. lol I notice a difference, and others have statistically-speaking too. Tell-tale signs of an mp3 include wishy-washy cymbals, that "hodge-podge" sound that resembles listening to music threw a barely cracked open door or a tiny hole in the wall, muddy bass that seems to just cover everything, etc. A great example of this would be the new Led Zeppelin Remasters in Hi-Res. Listen to a song like the mp3 version of "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You" from their first album, and then listen to the Hi-Res version. Not only does what I just said about signs apply, you also will notice that each instrument & vocals sound both more widespread & distinct/isolated. Guitar fills that were more distant-sounding on the mp3 now on the Hi-Res version have been pulled up to the forefront. And if you happen to have a solid music player (like a portable amp/DAC) & solid headphones, you will notice everything even more clearly!