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Connections & formats

LDAC

Also called Sony LDAC

LDAC is Sony’s high-bitrate Bluetooth codec, sending up to 990 kilobits per second, about three times what standard codecs manage. At its top setting it carries close to CD-quality audio, though it is still lossy and drops to lower rates when the connection is poor.

05001,0001,500kbpsSBC328AAC256aptX352aptX Adaptive280–420aptX HD576LDAC330 / 660 / 990aptX Lossless~1,100FLAC (CD)~700–1,000CD PCM1,411
LDAC runs at 330, 660 or 990 kbps depending on its mode, against 328 kbps for SBC, 352 for aptX and 1,411 for uncompressed CD-quality PCM. Phones often default to the 660 or 330 kbps mode, where its lead over aptX shrinks.

LDAC is built into Android, so most Android phones support it, while iPhones do not. Headphones from Sony, Technics, Edifier and many Chi-Fi brands include it. The 990 kbps mode is only stable at short range; phones often default to the 660 or 330 kbps setting, where the advantage over aptX shrinks.

Listening tests suggest the top rate is hard to tell from Lossless on most material, and that the codec matters less than the headphone it feeds. It accepts input up to 24-bit/96 kHz, though whether that brings an audible benefit over a lossy Bluetooth link is doubtful.

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