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Can anyone recommend a bluetooth headset (i.e. speakers and mic) which does not have this issue, as mentioned in the article: "Low quality. Related to the code
by nobrains 6y ago
Can anyone recommend a bluetooth headset (i.e. speakers and mic) which does not have this issue, as mentioned in the article:
"Low quality. Related to the codec issue, many bluetooth devices will play high-quality audio when the microphone is turned off, but degrade to much lower-quality audio when it’s turned on. You can test this for yourself if you have a bluetooth headset: play music on it, then open your microphone settings to the page where it shows the mic input volume. You’ll probably hear the audio cut out for a second, then return at lower quality. (This happens even with devices you might expect to be high-end, like my Airpods Pro + 2018 Macbook Air.)"
I have need trying to find any, but have failed till now, and do not have unlimited budget to buy and try many options.
- izacus 6y agoYou probably won't find one because the Bluetooth standard doesn't allow it - it demands switch to low quality codecs for two-way communication. This hasn't really changed since BT 2.x. Perhaps using something like Apple proprietary headphones or headsets with non-BT radio receivers would work.
- ztjio 6y ago> Apple proprietary headphones or headsets with non-BT radio receivers would work. That doesn't exist
- izacus 6y agoWhich part exactly? Apple has the W1 thing and there are headsets that use their own radio implementation - https://www.logitechg.com/en-ch/products/gaming-audio/g533-wireless-gaming-headset.981-000634.html#product-tech-specs https://www.logitechg.com/en-ch/products/gaming-audio/g533-w...
- gingerlime 6y agoThis was my biggest disappointment with the AirPod pros. On my phone the sound and mic quality is good. If I try to use it on my MacBook Air on zoom it’s totally crap. Audio only is good-ish (I get some brief disconnects when there’s no sound some time, but the audio quality is good). With the mic it’s absolutely not.
- lightbulbjim 6y agoYou might be able to get around this by using the laptop microphone instead of the one on the AirPods. Option + click the volume icon in the menubar during a call and choose the MacBook microphone. Audio should switch to A2DP and sound much better. This works for me on two different bluetooth headsets, but I've never tried AirPods so YMMV.
- solarkraft 6y agoThis is certainly better than using both laptop mic and speakers, but especially on MacBooks on which the fans are always going wild it can still be awful.
- gingerlime 6y agoYeah I use an external Yeti Nano mic which is awesome. But I think it’s not that much to ask from BT headphones that costed me 280eur to be able to have reasonable sound quality on my Mac... isn’t it? (Reasonable = as good as on my phone)
- izacus 6y agoThey can have that exact quality - just connect them via cable ;)
- maufl 6y agoYou need to look out for headsets that support the Hands Free Profile version 1.6 [0]. This version adds optional support for much better audio quality when using the microphone. I'm currently using the Sony WH-1000XM3. Unfortunately HFP 1.6 seems not yet to be supported on Linux (i.e. Bluez/Pulseaudio) [0]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Bluetooth_profiles#Hands-Free_Profile_(HFP) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Bluetooth_profiles#Han...
- sjy 6y agoHFP 1.6 does not solve the problem. Surprisingly, there is no solution [1]. HFP 1.6 supports "wide band speech with the mSBC codec," but this sounds terrible compared to the CD quality sound you get from the unidirectional A2DP profile. Some OSes automatically toggle from A2DP to HSP during a phone call (eg. the "auto_switch" option of PulseAudio's module-bluetooth-policy), but you can't use both profiles at the same time. [1] https://www.ipetitions.com/petition/duplex-high-quality-audio-for-bluetooth https://www.ipetitions.com/petition/duplex-high-quality-audi... This is why the wireless ModMic [2] talks about Bluetooth codecs but actually requires a custom USB wireless receiver. [2] https://antlionaudio.com/blogs/news/introducing-modmic-wireless https://antlionaudio.com/blogs/news/introducing-modmic-wirel...
- makomk 6y agoYeah. It's possible that Bluetooth LE Audio could improve this, we'll see once they finally get around to releasing the specs. It certainly sounds like it's designed to support bidirectional audio links without the stupid HSP/HFP divide of classic Bluetooth. (There's more mainstream demand for this feature now due to things like voice assistants.)
- nobrains 6y agoWhat about dedicated Bluetooth headsets for phones, like plantronics? Aren't they supposed to work bidirectional with high quality audio? Or do they also use the standard Bluetooth profiles/protocols?
- namelosw 6y agoI would consider myself lucky if I have a stable connection... I have the latest Sennheiser Momentum Wireless and it disconnects itself many times from my Mac which is only less than 1 meter away... I don't even really care about the degradation of sound quality now because the disconnection is so tormenting. I was having an Okayish connection experience with Beats years ago, and I guess it's because it's been tested and may be optimized for Mac. Rumor says Apple would release a headphone in the upcoming WWDC tomorrow. I hope I would eventually have a headphone with a stable connection...
- andor 6y agoThe upcoming "Bluetooth Low Energy Audio" standard should improve call quality. I haven't seen any devices implementing it yet, though. I'm not inclined to buy another pair of Bluetooth headphones with the microphone quality currently available.