[Ieonasj]

I'm having the same issues. I took a break over the weekend from the Sol T's and will try them again today. I am having a hard time getting a response from the retailer I purchased from in regards to a return, so they may be going up here on the classifieds soon. Mint condition.

my bathys also not very big im 46y old and feel earcups on my ears,but not bad, there is another class fit from my hifiman ananda bt or lcd-2c cb audeze-they simply glued for hours. i think price 1300usd for solitaire buying mid or old people from 40 and more years,so all have bigger ears with years . young people with small ears dont buying expensive music toys

 

[WDitters]

my bathys also not very big im 46y old and feel earcups on my ears,but not bad, there is another class fit from my hifiman ananda bt or lcd-2c cb audeze-they simply glued for hours. i think price 1300usd for solitaire buying mid or old people from 40 and more years,so all have bigger ears with years . young people with small ears dont buying expensive music toys

Correct... On average ears grow in length (+9mm) and in width (+3mm) between the age of 21 and 60. This would mean you have another 3.5-4mm to go.

 

[xenithon]

I've been taking my SolT to work with me recently, and it is only there that the "loss of seal" issue has become quite apparent. Moving my head around, even relatively gently, to see what is happening at and around my desk, leads to broken seal and resultant impact on sound. I think it has to do with the size of the pads, as what @Black Squirrel mentioned earlier.

Interestingly when I switched to my Jabra 85h, which I use for work calls, I found them markedly more comfortable, and maintain a strong and solid seal despite having less clamping force (due to larger ear pads).

 

[Ieonasj]

Correct... On average ears grow in length (+9mm) and in width (+3mm) between the age of 21 and 60. This would mean you have another 3.5-4mm to go.

im was happy last 12years with only one my bt anc headphones nokia bh-905 ,on ears,still working...so no feel like groth my ears ,not feeling with ananda couple month,until now with bathys im feel my bigger ears a bit...

 

[F208Frank]

Dumb question but does ldac help people like me who obly use the phone with this wireless headphone?

By the way I definitely feel the coolest guy walking thru the airport with these on in the sense of "my wireless headphone is too awesome"

 

[TheOneInYellow]

Dumb question but does ldac help people like me who obly use the phone with this wireless headphone?

By the way I definitely feel the coolest guy walking thru the airport with these on in the sense of "my wireless headphone is too awesome"

First, let's clear the air regarding what are the top highest Bluetooth resolution wireless protocols.
I strongly urge readers to delve into this succint article, from Make Use Of: LDAC, aptX, LHDC: High-Resolution Bluetooth Audio Codecs Explained.

In summary, LDAC is amongst one of the best spec wise.
However, source, Bluetooth chips (transmitter and receiver), any other decoding tech, and implementation, will vary results too.

As most of the more recent protocols haven't permeated throughout the tech industry, currently LDAC is the most common of the niche high-end codecs.
Qualcomm has a monopoly on Bluetooth codecs, and far more wide spread, so AptX Adaptive is the best overall as it can scale its resolution on the fly. AptX HD is technically higher spec resolution wise than Adaptive, but has fixed resolution scales, so is actually the lesser codec in this instance.
LHDC is technically better than LDAC if only looking at low-latency audio, and thus the ultimate, but one can argue that both are the Kings of Bluetooth wireless protocols.

Sonically?
Completely subjective, and largely depends on gear.
Sure, if T+A complete licencing with Sony for LDAC support, then I can use Solitaire T at its max highest wireless transfer of audio data (or I just buy either FiiO BTR7, Q7, or M17). Will it sound better than any of the AptX family of codecs? Very likely yes, but not by much.
And that's the clincher; all the codecs above are within margins of difference sonically.

There is no true Bluetooth wireless lossless protocols either, so until that day, we make do.

YMMV

(Sorry iOS users, you have no choice but to use a separate device tied to your Apple devices to even gain some of the above codecs away from AptX standard).

 

[Benesyed]

I can't hear a big difference between LDAC and AptX HD I'll admit it. Unless it's stutter when LDAC cuts out haha

 

[C_Lindbergh]

I can't hear a big difference between LDAC and AptX HD I'll admit it. Unless it's stutter when LDAC cuts out haha

Same here, If it wasn't for Samsung I'd honestly have little use of LDAC...Since I plan to get the S23 I do really hope T+A managed to add LDAC tho.

 

[Daniel Johnston]

Sorry iOS users, you have no choice but to use a separate device tied to your Apple devices to even gain some of the above codecs away from AptX standard).

To be fair, AAC is special as it not only compresses the data, but it also does some other DSP things. It requires more processing power at the encoding end. It’s different than how the other codecs work. If you google AAC, you’ll find the article. The apple implementation does use some “special sauce” compare to other implementations.

I’ve found AAC to sound very good even at its lower bit rate. I’ve never found LDAC to sound significantly better even at the higher bit rates. I think it’s the implementation that makes a difference personally. A crappy LDAC implementation at a higher bit rate won’t necessarily sound better than a well implemented Aptx, AAC, etc…

 

[TheOneInYellow]

To be fair, AAC is special as it not only compresses the data, but it also does some other DSP things. It requires more processing power at the encoding end. It’s different than how the other codecs work. If you google AAC, you’ll find the article. The apple implementation does use some “special sauce” compare to other implementations.

I’ve found AAC to sound very good even at its lower bit rate. I’ve never found LDAC to sound significantly better even at the higher bit rates. I think it’s the implementation that makes a difference personally. A crappy LDAC implementation at a higher bit rate won’t necessarily sound better than a well implemented Aptx, AAC, etc…

Oh I am well aware, and as you may note from my post, I leaned into how subjective the differences between codecs are in relation to the technical specifications of each codec (and ignoring other factors, such as quality of the recording being played).
I also covered Bluetooth decoding as a summary in my opening paragraph too!

However, just to be clear, I was not making a subjective point on the part of the post you quoted.
My point, and that quote, still stands in exactly what I meant; if you want access to the other codecs, you must use a third party device.
That's it, and it's up to the end user to define how much they want that access.

In fairness to Apple, their gated platform is also a standard, and in general remarkable on how much engineering they put in for standards across all Apple devices, for the long run.

 

[y2jdmbfan]

I've posted mine in the classified section if anyone is looking. I will include overnight shipping to the continental USA for the asking price.

 

[TheOneInYellow]

I've posted mine in the classified section if anyone is looking. I will include overnight shipping to the continental USA for the asking price.

I think you have made the right decision.

Comfort is key, so despite you enjoying the sound signature and sonic engineering of the Solitaire T, unfortunately you can't enjoy the comfort.

Please do let us know what your other can may be, especially if it's the 5909, which most likely is a better fit for you.

Good luck medude!

 

[newworld666]

To be fair, AAC is special as it not only compresses the data, but it also does some other DSP things. It requires more processing power at the encoding end. It’s different than how the other codecs work. If you google AAC, you’ll find the article. The apple implementation does use some “special sauce” compare to other implementations.

I’ve found AAC to sound very good even at its lower bit rate. I’ve never found LDAC to sound significantly better even at the higher bit rates. I think it’s the implementation that makes a difference personally. A crappy LDAC implementation at a higher bit rate won’t necessarily sound better than a well implemented Aptx, AAC, etc…

It sounds that Apple's arguments sound like MQA for Tidal with their DSP included... it's more or less a 100% marketing to justify they are very far to handle a lossless codec for even a simple CD at 44.1/16 bits (which means to need more or less 4x times more than AAC bandwidth with 1,4Mbps and not 320kps) ... not to say Hires codec 24/96...

I admit that for non critical music listening (while working, reading, playing, sleeping) AAC, MQA are already very very good with most of the hardware... and it is quite impossible to detect the DSP features and lack of bandwidth (I still own and use a iPhone 11 with Jabra Elite 7).
But, hen a good Sony LDAC is available (WM1A) ... with a Qobuz streaming or a Flac file, "my brain" still feel some "real" little improvement over AAC & MQA ... though a good balanced Cable connection is again another little step up in texture (low and high frequencies)..

Actually for planes, hotels, vacations, nights, I use a mixture of offline Qobuz/Flac files (stored on a Z Fold4/1Tb+SSD 4TB) sent by LDAC to :
-> Sony WM1A > Centrance Ampersand > DCA Stealth (very long overseas trip/office)
-> Sony WM1A + IE900/WU Zetian (trains)
-> iFi Go blu/BTR7 + Xelento (in bed)
-> or to a Jabra Elite 7 Pro (AAC only) (underground/street/working)

I really would like to simplify all my travelling stuff (Hardware & Cables) with just my Z Fold 4/1Tb + T&A Solitaire T + Ifi Go Blu + Xelento... but, unfortunately, it is more than 7 months the T+ A Solitaire T was announced with LDAC and still no LDAC .... The ML 5909 doesn't handle balanced connexion which is a "no go" at this price tag for me (My WM1A was modded by Nayparm with only 4.4mm and 2.5mm balanced connectors)...

Solitaire T with a full 18 to 20 hours playing time (LDAC) could be like my endgame BT headphone beside my DCA Stealth and HEDDphone one.... with LDAC

 

[angelom]

I owning 4 (very) expensive DAPs in the past and also buying 2 expensive portable amps and 2 expensive cables, and testing too the original Chord Hugo for 1,5 hours in completely quiet environment.

My experience and my ears telling me for a long time now that is really A LOT of BS in audio and is so common that people want believing things that simply aren't there for the human ear. And multiple blind tests proving this. One problem is that so many people keep repeating false information that making people spending many more money than is necessary.

I'm VERY happy using my iPhone (14 Pro) and MacBook Pro with AAC (256 kbps) with my ST (and other headphones).

 

[newworld666]

I owning 4 very expensive DAPs in the past and also buying 2 expensive portable amps and 2 expensive cables.

My experience and my ears telling me for a long time now that is really A LOT of BS in audio and is so common that people want believing things that simply aren't there for the human ear. And multiple blind tests proving this. One problem is that so many people keep repeating false information that making people spending many more money than is necessary.

I'm VERY happy using my iPhone (14 Pro) and MacBook Pro with AAC with my ST (and other headphones).

Happiness is a very personal perception, but, basically, I think you are confusing 2 things :

1) Real Hardware impacts (Daps, Amps, Headphones, IEMs) on the sound signature, which can be so different, and even easily measured (frequency, distorsion, decay, etc), that there is strictly no doubt that some hardware can have some real perceptible impacts.
Even without instant A/B comparison, often brain needs some minutes to get used to a new conf before starting enjoying the new hardware even if it's a more high end one.
I have no situation were my iphone can do something with a DCA Stealth comparable to my FIIO M17 in enhanced audio mode (by a huge margin)..

2) Codecs, headphones/lines/power cables, players, burning impacts .. which can have a little to no perceptible impacts..
It's a totally other story => for codecs, DSP impacts can be a pleasure for some and really annoying for other.. my old WM1A with it's included Sony's DSP does a fantastic job (AI DSP mode), again results are rather far my iphone in AAC (BT) or even worse with an apple 3.5mm dongle.
On this point, I just prefer no DSP and use a PowerampEQ (android 10+) by myself to adapt the sound frequencies/compression/expansion for my own taste (even over BT).