I have a few wireless headphones, and I am curious about the technology involved. I am assuming they are receiving a digital signal from the phone, computer, or tablet, and converting it with onboard dac's in the headphones. Is this correct? Curious because I never see any discussion of the dacs used... or are they receiving an analog signal?
in general: yes, the transmission is digital and the headphones do have a built-in DAC and amp. Why they are not talked much about is:
- you cannot change the dac/amp if it's build in
- the sound quality via bluetooth cannot exceed the lossy transmission standard (SBC, LDAC, AAC, AptXHD)
- the headphone/dac/amp form one unit so talking about a single piece makes not much sense you wouldn't know if the dac, amp or transducer is at fault if something sounds weird.
So in general while talking about the bluetooth headphone you are already talking about the DAC/AmpHeadphone combination. Unless you have bluetooth receiver (DAC/Amp) like the A&K XB10, Fiio BTR-1 or the Radsone ES100.
Appreciate the reply, but to address your points one by one:
The Dacs cannot be changed in other outboard dacs either, yet the dac chip or technology is always discussed. In Bluetooth headphones it is never discussed
There are undeniable improvements in using a better dac implementation or technology even though the same lossy transmission standard is used.
It is useful to know what is the weak point in a headphone. For example, I find a Bose QC25 wired sounds better than a qc35 via Bluetooth. Why? Is it an inferior dac in the 35? I also think a qc25 with the Airmod dac/amp sounds a bit better to me than the 35. Why do my Sony 1000XM2’s sound better wired than via their internal dac?
I just mention these things because I am just surprised I never see them discussed here. Are most Bluetooth headphone users aware the digital conversion takes place in their headphones? Even in your linked article, no mention of the digital conversion which takes place in the headphone. It is the fundamental difference in a wired vs. Bluetooth connection: a digital vs analog signal. Just surprised I never see it discussed...
And again, since the dac does not decode the original file but a differently encoded version - we will not know if the dac or the internal amp are causing sound quality issues, we can only guess.
With some BT headphones you can switch the amp on and off while using cables - so that could give a hint at the DACs capabilities if compared to that. But then, this is more of an audio enthusiast forum, where people talk about getting the best sound out of their headphones, with the use of specialized players, separate amps and DACs. My best guess: individual parts of the package in quite inferior sounding BT headphones (so far but they are getting close thx to ldac etc) is not the highest priority. But you already made a start with posting your question here. Keep on going and maybe it takes off.
Base on my understanding, if you are connecting your headphone to your phone via Bluetooth, your phone is just a transmitter which transmit your song in the digital format (1 and 0) to your headphone and your headphone built in DAC and Amp will do the decoding and amplification. You were saying your WH-1000XM2 sounds better than when it used cable. It is possible due to you prefer the sound signature of your DAC/AMP or music player which you connected your headphone too via cable. Wireless headphone would have a lot of limitation because the only thing you can upgrade is getting better version of Bluetooth to get the transmission faster. The built in DAC and AMP would be the limiting factor of the performance unless you use cable which bypassed all the DAC and AMP in the headphone and used the DAC and AMP before the analogue output.
I'm pretty sure that the Sony WH1000XM2's still use their internal DAC/AMP when using them wired (and active). I personally find the difference between wired (LG V20) and wireless (APTx HD) negligible. Perhaps the top-end is slightly more detailed when used wired but - only by a little bit. However I'm also aware that my hearing isn't what it was and perhaps for someone younger they would notice far more of a difference. Tonally both modes are very similar also which makes me believe that when wired, the internal DAC is converting analogue to digital - then applying Sony's DSP magic - then re-converting it back to analogue to the drive units. Also - when using my LG V20 - switching off the 'Hi-fi' mode (which normally makes a massive difference with my other wired headphones) doesn't do squat when using the Sony's wired.
Of course - I could be wrong. I often am. Just ask my wife.
I think the wired connection just stays analogue, bypassing the dac and amp. Why not? What if you have a dac you like?
But these questions are my point. Neither of us know. Why is this not public knowledge on a forum like this? No one knows what is real, and it is never discussed, and not in the specs. I just don’t get it!
I have a few wireless headphones, and I am curious about the technology involved. I am assuming they are receiving a digital signal from the phone, computer, or tablet, and converting it with onboard dac's in the headphones. Is this correct? Curious because I never see any discussion of the dacs used... or are they receiving an analog signal?
Hello. I've just bump into this thread and I thought I could write a question without having to open a new thread.
Recently I've bought a pair of V-MODA Wireless, that allows both wired and wireless mode. V-MODA says that Wireless is a little bit more bass heavy than M-100, so I'm wondering what is making the difference, since both M-100 and Wireless have the same driver. V-MODA says that Wireless have an internal AMP, so maybe is that AMP causing the differences on sound signature?
I notice that when wire mode, Wireless sound exactly the same as M-100 (I also own a pair of M-100).
Do you think that AMP only turn on when wireless mode?
Hello. I've just bump into this thread and I thought I could write a question without having to open a new thread.
Recently I've bought a pair of V-MODA Wireless, that allows both wired and wireless mode. V-MODA says that Wireless is a little bit more bass heavy than M-100, so I'm wondering what is making the difference, since both M-100 and Wireless have the same driver. V-MODA says that Wireless have an internal AMP, so maybe is that AMP causing the differences on sound signature?
I notice that when wire mode, Wireless sound exactly the same as M-100 (I also own a pair of M-100).
Do you think that AMP only turn on when wireless mode?
yes, that is exactly right. Wireless headphones must have an internal am, otherwise no sound would play.
the v-moda works in passive mode when cables are used. You are using the amp connected by the cables.Only when in wireless mode the internal dac and amp are used and hence there is a different sound signature, as the amp is tuned by v-mods to create a specific sound signature.
yes, that is exactly right. Wireless headphones must have an internal am, otherwise no sound would play.
the v-moda works in passive mode when cables are used. You are using the amp connected by the cables.Only when in wireless mode the internal dac and amp are used and hence there is a different sound signature, as the amp is tuned by v-mods to create a specific sound signature.
It might sound weird, but I prefer the sound signature of wireless mode than wired mode. I feel the sound more ''bassy'' than wired mode. Probably a bit congested, but not a big deal. Wired mode sounds to me more spacious and clear but more tight than I like.
It might sound weird, but I prefer the sound signature of wireless mode than wired mode. I feel the sound more ''bassy'' than wired mode. Probably a bit congested, but not a big deal. Wired mode sounds to me more spacious and clear but more tight than I like.
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