Explained: Sound quality via smartphones and provides wired connection better sound quality – Times of India

Ever since the headphones stik Disappearing from smartphones, wireless headphones and earphones, especially TWS earphones, has become the preferred option for listening to songs and answering calls.
While wireless headphones and earphones offer ‘no strings attached’, there is one department where they have always lagged behind the wired ones – the sound quality. Arguments about wireless headphones that offer sound quality as good as wired earphones have been there for a while now.
No doubt, wireless headphones have improved with the advent of technology and newer codecs like aptX, LDACetc. However, they are still heavily dependent on the ability of the smartphone to push the maximum bit rate.
For example, even the maximum sound quality from streaming services can push the boundaries of Bluetooth codecs. And as the world slowly moves towards lossless sound quality, Bluetooth earphones are not catching up.
In this case, the wired connection is the only remaining solution. Read on to know how and what are the other ways that can help you increase the sound quality of your smartphone and take advantage of the high quality streaming that most streaming apps offer.
Sound quality via a wired connection
While headphone jacks have disappeared from most modern smartphones, entry- and budget smartphones still come with the standard 3.5mm jack. But there is a limitation.
The sound quality via a wired connection from your smartphone is as good as the USB Type-C headphone adapter it has. Basically, it is the native bitrate support that the smartphone comes with. Most smartphones can deliver up to 24 bit @ 48 kHz, which is much better than what Bluetooth offers. However, it is relatively low compared to what one DAC can push. Usually a standard dongle can deliver up to 24 bit @ 96KHz. Which is more than adequate for high quality sound.
Also in relation to the wireless connection, which with better codecs like LDAC or Qualcomm aptX can deliver up to 16 bit @ 44KHz, the wired connection is still far ahead in terms of sound quality.
However, there is one more thing you need to do besides get the hardware to upgrade the content. You should either get some high-resolution sound or lossless sound or a streaming service that supports lossless sound.