How to Enable the Optimal Audio Codec for Your Bluetooth Headphones in macOS

[DJ SO]

I have managed to get this working on mojave, late 2013 rMBP, paired with August EP650 headphones.
BUT my PROBLEM is whenever i turn off my headphones and come back later to connect them again, it will revert back to SBC unless i turn off bluetooth on the mac and back on then reconnect the headphones by clicking on the list.
does anyone else have to keep doing this??
i normally prefer to leave my bluetooth on coz half the time i normally have a bluetooth wireless mouse on my desk, so i prefer to just move it to connect without the additional steps of having to turn on bluetooth on the mac. Same to my bluetooth headphones, I just press the on button and it connects to the mac.

 

[sideshowuniqueuser]

Hey guys, one quick question: if I enable AAC codec on my MBP, will my entire mp3 collection in my iTunes library benefit from improved sound quality over Bluetooth or only the .aac/.mp4 files?

Most of my iTunes library has been ripped from my own CD collection into 320 kbps and/or highest possible VBR mp3s...

.aac files, and the AAC bluetooth codec are two completely different things with the same name.

For Bluetooth, AAC has a max data rate of 256 kbps, with up to 44.1kHz/24-bit lossy compressed audio. 44.1kHz/24-bit is, in theory, excellent, if it was lossless. Lossless CD-quality is 44.1kHz/16-bit. The problem is, at only 256 kbps, the compression takes out quite a lot of the sound details. It will still sound fine, but nothing like lossless.

aptX Lossless codec transfers at and adaptive 140 to 1,200 kbps, giving lossless CD-quality (44.1kHz/16-bit).

Other Bluetooth codecs that are better than AAC:
Qualcomm:
aptX - 352 kbps - 48kHz/16-bit LPCM
aptX LL - 352 kbps - 48kHz/16-bit - Low Latency (gaming)
aptX HD - 576 kbps - 48kHz/24-bit LPCM
aptX Adaptive - 279 to 420 kbps - 96kHz/24-bit - Efficient quality
aptX Lossless - 140 to 1.2 Mbps - Lossless CD-quality (44.1kHz/16-bit).
Sony:
LDAC - up to 990 kbps - 32-bit/96kHz - high res audio

Modern high end Android phones have all of the best of these. E.g. Google Pixel 8 has: AAC, AAC+, eAAC+, HE-AAC v2, aptX, aptX HD, aptX Lossless, and LDAC.

iPhone 15 Pro has..... AAC.
M1/2/3 Pro/Max MacBook Pro has.... AAC. (everything else removed since macOS Ventura)
FFS.

Check out this site, and scroll down to where it has 3 soundcloud tracks, one with lossless, one with lossy, and one with the parts that are missing. Note that the site is the old Kickstarter project for Nura's NuraTru Pro earbuds. Nura has since been bought out by Denon, who have since released the Denon Perl Pro earbuds, with epic sound quality.

NOW for my problem:
Since the M1 chip, and then macOS Ventura, Apple have REMOVED the ability to use any Bluetooth codec except for AAC!!!!!

WTAF!!!! What is wrong with you Apple!!!!

Are you seriously telling me, that because none of your own precious AirPods line supports anything better than AAC, that therefore, instead of improving them, you're going to actually remove everything better from macOS, so that no one can use better quality wireless headphones with your Macs, than the ***** headphones you produce?!

 

[robotica]

Yeah seriously dissapointing, I ended up buying a aptx sound output dongle sad times.