Some Questions on Using Bluetooth Headphones with a Laptop

[radderfire]

Hi All

I'm thinking about getting some new Bluetooth headphones to use with my laptop.

- Will I get lipsync issues when watching YouTube videos, i.e. will there be a slight delay? This might put me off Bluetooth and I'll stick with wired.

- I've already got some Sony WH-1000XM4s but annoyingly these don't pair with my laptop (Dell Inspiron 7506 2 in 1, a few years old). Would I be right in thinking this will be hard to fix? I guess it's a Bluetooth incompatibility issue. The headphones pair fine with my phone.

Thanks

 

[Begbie]

Just get a usb Bluetooth adapter. Cost a couple of quid.

 

[mrk]

You will get lip sync issues but if you notice it or not is down to each individual person, some notice it clearly, others don't. It is there though.

Note, the only way to get reduced A/V sync with bluetooth audio is to make use of a low latency CODEC like aptX-LL. The WH-1000XM4 does not support this, only SBC, AAC and LDAC. You will also find that Windows defaults to AAC or SBC and you cannot change that because Microsoft just don't care.

The only option to get different CODECs selectable is to use a third party Bluetooth stack:

Alternative A2DP Driver

www.bluetoothgoodies.com

This will give you a nice control panel where you can select what CODEC to use,. as long as your headphone supports it, it will be selectable. Any bluetooth dongle/adapter for PC is compatible.

I would stick with wired in light of this.

 

[sandys]

Bluetooth latency is a bit random, using some Anker Liberty 4 NC with my laptop sometimes it is in sync and sometimes it isn't I guess it depends on the application, I got a bit annoyed with this and bought some buds with an RF dongle, obviously it still has some latency ~20-30ms but that is much less noticeable than the 2-300ms BT can experience on standard codecs.

If you want wireless you could get headphones with BT and RF my Steel Series gamebuds even manage to fit the RF dongle in the charging case which is pretty sweet but these took a lot of tweaking in the janky app to get a sound close to the Liberty NC and the noise cancelling is nowhere near, just passable, but zero latency issues watching content or gaming. A set of over ears would be superior but not so pocketable, which I need.

Rtings does some reviews of headset and test the BT latency, there are a few headset that have real tight control over it but there is a range trade off for the performance.

Persevere with pairing though on the Sonys, updating the BT software and enabiling/disabling etc, uninstalling any thirdparty software that might be installed to help as I had problems pairing one device and it was related to 3rd part software on my phone, once disabled all problems with BT disappeared.

 

[sandys]

RTings suggest the Sony is ~240ms on BT, LDAC marginally quicker than SBC. no dongle will improve it, it is what it is.

Sony WH-1000XM4 Wireless Review

The Sony WH-1000XM4 Wireless are the successor to the Sony WH-1000XM3 Wireless. This generation has some improvements, including a longer continuous battery life...

www.rtings.com