I've played around with my MDR-1abt for few weeks with different bluetooth master devices, Mi4i that does not support aptX and Samsung S4 that with aptX. Below are my observation when tested with FLAC sound track, but not sure is it true,
1. 1abt with SBC codec is too bassy, I have to cover part of the bass port by using mesh/cloth with adhesive to reduce the bass amplitude. Lack of high frequency content, but it is very comfortable after I block half of the bass port. i can listen to it for more than 2 hours.
2. 1abt with aptX has significantly more high frequency content and less bass compare to SBC codec, it sounds closer to wired connection. However, I can hear a lot of distortion at high frequency that does not appear in wired and SBC. To me, the high frequency distortion is very irritating! And I will feel a bit tire after listen to few songs (probably 4-5 songs). End up I switch back to SBC codec now.
My question, how is the performance of 1abt with LDAC compare to direct wire? I believe the DSEE is disabled in direct wire condition, so the bass will be less dynamic. Is it worth to buy a master device with LDAC codec?