Iphone 17 music thru Bluetooth sounds worse than 14 PRO

[Retox85]

Long story short, I've upgraded from 14 pro to 17 regular. Music wise I guess I can hear more things than most, so when I connected my 17 to the car I could tell right away that the music sounds "off" compared to the 14 pro. It didn't sound bad, just less "alive" and crisp if that makes any sense. Anyhow, I heard the difference.

Recently, I had more time than usual on my hands and I decided to test it.

I still had my 14 pro thankfully, so I connected it to my wireless Bluetooth Sony's and played a song. Then I quickly connected to 17 with the same headphones and played the same song, I could clearly hear the difference, 14 pro sounded amazing and 17 sounded a lot less "alive", I could actually tell the difference. I did the same test in the car, and yep, 14 pro sounds better. I wasn't imagining it.

Both devices ran ios 26.2 . So it's definitely an issue with N1 chip + Bluetooth 6.0 on the 17 somehow... too bad there's no way to check which Bluetooth codec both phones use.

I tried most remedy's google suggested and nothing helps.

I'd appreciate any suggestions at all, will definitely try them.

Thank you

 

[hg.wells]

Check they both are using the same settings.

If you’re using Music - Settings > Apps > Music

Realistically there shouldn’t be any differences in what you hear.

 

[Retox85]

Check they both are using the same settings.

If you’re using Music - Settings > Apps > Music

Realistically there shouldn’t be any differences in what you hear.

Im using youtube music premium, same settings and the difference is there.

 

[jetsam]

Both devices ran ios 26.2 . So it's definitely an issue with N1 chip + Bluetooth 6.0 on the 17 somehow... too bad there's no way to check which Bluetooth codec both phones use.

My guess (and yours, too, I surmise) is that the 14 is using the AAC codec, and the 17 is using the SBC codec.

Does Youtube Music have the "Stats for Nerds" option like Youtube and Youtube TV? If so, that should tell you the codec in use.

 

[Retox85]

I checked and both devices show it as opus, but 14 pro sounds better

 

[Retox85]

My guess (and yours, too, I surmise) is that the 14 is using the AAC codec, and the 17 is using the SBC codec.

Does Youtube Music have the "Stats for Nerds" option like Youtube and Youtube TV? If so, that should tell you the codec in use.

I checked and both devices show it as "opus", but 14 pro sounds better

 

[jetsam]

Got an Apple store near you? You might try bringing in your 17 and your wireless Sony's, and asking to compare Bluetooth performance against another 17. If the store 17 sounds better than yours, a warranty replacement is probably in order.

 

[Retox85]

Got an Apple store near you? You might try bringing in your 17 and your wireless Sony's, and asking to compare Bluetooth performance against another 17. If the store 17 sounds better than yours, a warranty replacement is probably in order.

I'm afraid it wouldn't be that noticeable to a regular eared person