LDAC is sold as a 990 kbps codec, yet only 1 of 6 Android phones tested defaulted to that rate, and the Pixel 3 review units were stuck at 330 kbps (SoundGuys, LDAC guide updated 2025). The gap between label and link runs down the whole codec ladder: SBC’s recommended high-quality preset is 328 kb/s at 44.1 kHz (Bluetooth SIG, A2DP 1.4 specification 2022), and LE Audio headphones are only required to support LC3 at 32 and 48 kbps. Meanwhile, the one independent benchmark that includes LC3 found it trailing Opus at 16 kbps but leading at 64 kbps (Logitech, OpenACE ICASSP 2025). We aggregated data from Bluetooth specifications and white papers, Sony, Qualcomm, Android documentation and source code, independent bench measurements, and a peer-reviewed codec benchmark. For shipments and market size, see our Bluetooth audio market statistics; for AI-based codecs, see neural audio codec bitrate and quality statistics.
TL;DR
- Only 1 of 6 Android phones tested defaulted to LDAC 990 kbps; 660 kbps was the most common Best Effort setting (SoundGuys, LDAC guide 2025).
- With 44.1 kHz music, LDAC’s three modes actually ran at 303, 606 and 909 kbps (Archimago’s Musings, Bluetooth fidelity Part I 2023).
- Android’s open-source Bluetooth stack defaults LDAC to adaptive bitrate unless the user picks a mode (Google, AOSP system/bt source).
- LDAC offers 330, 660 and 990 kbps modes, and its developer says Bluetooth’s practical limit is about 1 Mbps (Sony, LDAC pages, vendor’s own claim).
- aptX runs at 384 kbps at 48 kHz and aptX HD at 570 kbps, per the vendor (Qualcomm, aptX specifications page).
- Stereo LC3 at 2x80 kbps scored significantly better than SBC at 345 kbps in an industry listening test (Bluetooth SIG, LC3 characterization white paper 2023).
- At 16 kbps, LC3 scored 3.51 ViSQOL against 3.98 for Opus; at 64 kbps LC3 led with 4.39 (Logitech, OpenACE ICASSP 2025).
- LC3plus High Resolution is optimal at 125 to 250 kbps per channel, per its developer (Fraunhofer IIS, Audio Blog 2022).
- AirPods Pro (2nd generation) offer 20-bit, 48 kHz lossless audio only when connected to Apple Vision Pro (Apple Newsroom, September 12, 2023).
- The Hi-Res AUDIO WIRELESS logo added Opus HD to its certified codec list on July 15, 2026 (Japan Audio Society, news release 2026).
1. Nominal Bitrates: What the Spec Sheets Promise
On paper, the ladder runs from 32 kbps to nearly 1 Mbps. LDAC’s 990 kbps top mode is about three times SBC’s 328 kb/s high-quality preset (990 / 328 = 3.02), the comparison the developer itself makes on its LDAC page. The catch is that every figure here is a ceiling two devices negotiate, not a promise about what reaches your ears.
One term needs unpacking. A “bitpool” is SBC’s quality setting: the number of bits the encoder may spend on each block of audio, so a higher bitpool means a higher bitrate. Sony also states that Bluetooth’s practical bandwidth limit is “approximately 1 Mbps” (Sony, LDAC information page, vendor’s own claim), which puts the 990 kbps mode right at the edge of what the link can carry and explains why every codec in this table is lossy.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| SBC recommended joint-stereo bitrate at 44.1 kHz, Middle Quality preset vs High Quality preset | 229 kb/s vs 328 kb/s (bitpool 35 vs 53) | Bluetooth SIG, A2DP 1.4 specification (2022) |
| Maximum SBC bitrate the A2DP profile allows, mono vs two-channel | 320 kb/s vs 512 kb/s | Bluetooth SIG, A2DP 1.4 specification (2022) |
| LC3 presets every LE Audio unicast sink must support (16_2, 24_2) vs highest listed preset (48_6) | 32 kbps and 48 kbps vs 124 kbps per stream | Bluetooth SIG, Basic Audio Profile 1.0.1 (2022) |
| aptX at 48 kHz vs aptX HD vs aptX Adaptive range | 384 kbps vs 570 kbps vs 276 to 420 kbps | Qualcomm, aptX codec specifications page (vendor’s own claim) |
| LDAC selectable bitrates | 330, 660 and 990 kbps | Sony, LDAC product page (vendor’s own claim) |
Most recent available data: the A2DP 1.4 and Basic Audio Profile 1.0.1 documents were both adopted on June 21, 2022, and their preset tables (Table 4.7 and Table 3.5) are still the reference for SBC and LC3 settings. A 512 kb/s SBC ceiling exists on paper, but the recommended high-quality presets stop at 328 and 345 kb/s, and those presets, not the ceiling, are what headphones are built around.
2. Negotiated vs Nominal: What Phones Actually Pick
The number on the box is rarely the number on the link. Of six Android phones tested, only the LG V30+ defaulted to LDAC 990 kbps, while the Pixel 3 and 3 XL review units were stuck at 330 kbps (SoundGuys, LDAC guide). The default is a design choice: Android’s open-source Bluetooth code sets LDAC to adaptive bitrate (ABR, a mode that steps the bitrate down when the link struggles) whenever the user has not chosen a mode in developer settings (AOSP, a2dp_vendor_ldac_encoder.cc).
Sample rate quietly trims the numbers too. The 330/660/990 labels apply to 48 kHz streams; with 44.1 kHz music, the same modes ran at 303, 606 and 909 kbps in an independent test (Archimago’s Musings, Part I, August 19, 2023). The ratio checks out: 330 x 44.1 / 48 = 303.2 kbps.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Default LDAC quality mode in Android’s open-source Bluetooth stack when the user has not chosen one | Adaptive bitrate (ABR) | Google, AOSP system/bt source, Android 11 branch |
| Encoding interval of the LDAC encoder timer in the same Android code | 20 ms | Google, AOSP system/bt source, Android 11 branch |
| LDAC default rate across 6 phones tested: phones at 990 kbps, most common setting, Pixel 3 and 3 XL | 1 of 6 (LG V30+); 660 kbps; stuck at 330 kbps | SoundGuys, LDAC guide (updated October 1, 2025) |
| Rates actually used with 44.1 kHz music: LDAC low / mid / high modes, and aptX HD | 303 / 606 / 909 kbps, and 529 kbps | Archimago’s Musings, Bluetooth fidelity Part I (2023) |
| How LDAC Best Effort mode behaves, per its developer | Switches automatically among 330, 660 and 990 kbps | Sony, LDAC product page (vendor’s own claim) |
Most recent available data: the six-phone LDAC default test used 2017 and 2018 handsets (the article was first published in 2018 and refreshed in 2025), and the ABR default above comes from the Android 11 branch of that code. Newer phones may behave differently, but no newer published survey of default LDAC rates was found.
3. Measured Fidelity: LDAC, aptX and SBC on the Bench
Lab measurements show that bitrate tiers are not cosmetic, and that the bottom LDAC tier is a trap. At 330 kbps, LDAC’s noise peaked at -35 dB at 15 kHz, against about -116 dB for the 990 kbps mode up to 15 kHz (SoundGuys, LDAC guide 2025). The same reviewer concluded that, for a stable connection, aptX and even SBC beat LDAC at 330 kbps.
THD+N (total harmonic distortion plus noise) measures how much unwanted signal a codec adds to a pure test tone; the more negative the dB figure, the cleaner the output. The gains at the top are real but small: going from LDAC 606 kbps to above 900 kbps bought only about 3 dB. An independent tester ranked the codecs, best to worst, as LDAC 909/990, then LDAC 606/660 with aptX HD, then aptX with LDAC 303/330, then SBC, and wrote that none of these lossy codecs should be called high resolution audio (Archimago’s Musings, Part I 2023). Individual headphones also vary more than many codec differences, as our headphone unit-to-unit variation statistics show.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Upper frequency limit by LDAC mode in Hi-Res mode, 990 / 660 / 330 kbps | About 47 kHz / steep roll-off at 30 kHz / filter just before 18 kHz | SoundGuys, LDAC guide (updated October 1, 2025) |
| Noise floor, LDAC 990 kbps up to 15 kHz vs LDAC 330 kbps peak at 15 kHz | About -116 dB vs -35 dB | SoundGuys, LDAC guide (updated October 1, 2025) |
| Frequency roll-off of LDAC at 303 kbps (44.1 kHz) | Around 16.5 kHz | Archimago’s Musings, Bluetooth fidelity Part I (2023) |
| Improvement in 1 kHz THD+N, LDAC above 900 kbps vs LDAC 606 kbps | About 3 dB | Archimago’s Musings, Bluetooth fidelity Part I (2023) |
| SBC THD+N and TD+N (distortion plus noise with several tones) vs aptX noise floor | Mid -60 dB range vs around -100 dBFS | Archimago’s Musings, Bluetooth fidelity Part I (2023) |
| THD+N claimed for aptX Adaptive at 420 kbps vs 276 kbps | -100 dB vs -90 dB | Qualcomm, aptX codec specifications page (vendor’s own claim) |
Qualcomm’s THD+N figures come from its aptX specifications page and were not independently reproduced in the sources reviewed here. Bench results such as the mid -60 dB measured for SBC include a real phone and a real Bluetooth receiver and amplifier in the chain, so they are not directly comparable with codec-only vendor figures.
4. AAC on iPhone vs Android: Same Codec, Different Results
AAC is the clearest case of one codec name hiding very different encoders. iPhones run AAC at 256 kbps, and the iPhone 11 and iPhone 14 Pro both beat -70 dB THD+N, which the tester judged at least equivalent to LDAC above 900 kbps on Android (Archimago’s Musings, Part II, August 26, 2023). An Android 10 phone, by contrast, produced more distortion with AAC than with SBC.
Older measurements on four phones, in the table below, show the same split, with a wider spread between phones than SBC produced on the same handsets. The takeaway: on Android, AAC quality depends on the phone’s encoder, not on the headphones.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| AAC upper frequency limit by phone: Huawei P20 Pro / LG V30 / Samsung Galaxy Note 8 / iPhone 7 | 14.2 / 16 / 17 / 18.9 kHz | SoundGuys, AAC guide (updated June 17, 2025) |
| AAC noise around a 1 kHz test tone, iPhone 7 vs Huawei P20 Pro | Peaks at -91 dBFS vs highs of -42 dB | SoundGuys, AAC guide (updated June 17, 2025) |
| THD+N / TD+N with AAC on iPhone 11 and iPhone 14 Pro | Better than -70 dB / better than -65 dB | Archimago’s Musings, Bluetooth fidelity Part II (2023) |
| AAC THD+N and TD+N, Windows 11 PC vs macOS Ventura laptop, and the macOS cutoff | Around -55 dB vs -60 dB or better; macOS cuts off at 15.4 kHz | Archimago’s Musings, Bluetooth fidelity Part II (2023) |
Most recent available data: the AAC frequency-limit phones (iPhone 7, Galaxy Note 8, LG V30, Huawei P20 Pro) date from 2016 to 2018, even though the article was updated in 2025. Apple does not publish its Bluetooth AAC bitrate on a consumer page; the 256 kbps figure is the independent tester’s statement, consistent with his measurements.
5. LC3 and LE Audio: Efficiency Claims vs Independent Tests
LC3 is the mandatory codec of LE Audio, and its headline claim is efficiency. In the codec’s characterization tests, stereo LC3 at 2x80 kbps scored significantly better than SBC at 345 kbps, which the white paper sums up as similar quality at roughly 50 percent lower bitrate (Bluetooth SIG, LC3 characterization white paper, 2023). The tests followed ITU-R BS.1116, a listening method built to detect small impairments, with 24 expert listeners in the 10 ms tests and laboratory work performed by SenseLab, the test laboratory division of FORCE Technology. They were commissioned by the body that owns the codec, so they count as industry evidence.
The independent check covers a lower bitrate range. The OpenACE benchmark found LC3 and LC3plus behind Opus and EVS at 16 kbps, but on top at 64 kbps (Logitech, OpenACE, ICASSP 2025). ViSQOL and POLQA are objective models that predict a listener’s quality rating on a 1 to 5 scale. For music streaming, which sits above 64 kbps, the industry tests remain the main evidence; for low-bitrate voice links such as hearing aids (see our hearing aid streaming and battery statistics), the low end of the curve matters more.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| LC3 vs SBC in music listening tests: mono 80 kbps vs 198 kbps, and stereo 2x80 kbps vs 345 kbps | LC3 significantly better in both | Bluetooth SIG, LC3 characterization white paper (2023) |
| Processing load of LC3 compared with SBC, decoder vs encoder | 2 to 3 times vs 3 to 4 times more complex | Bluetooth SIG, LC3 characterization white paper (2023) |
| LC3plus High Resolution: optimal range vs adaptive floor, per audio channel | 125 to 250 kbps vs down to 64 kbps | Fraunhofer IIS, Audio Blog, November 10, 2022 (developer’s own claim) |
| ViSQOL score at 16 kbps: LC3 / LC3plus / EVS / Opus | 3.51 / 3.11 / 3.92 / 3.98 | Logitech, OpenACE benchmark (ICASSP 2025) |
| POLQA score at 16 kbps: LC3 vs EVS | 2.98 vs 4.34 | Logitech, OpenACE benchmark (ICASSP 2025) |
| ViSQOL score at 32 kbps: LC3 / LC3plus / Opus | 4.00 / 4.00 / 4.05 | Logitech, OpenACE benchmark (ICASSP 2025) |
| ViSQOL score at 64 kbps: LC3 and LC3plus / Opus / EVS | 4.39 / 4.37 / 4.19 | Logitech, OpenACE benchmark (ICASSP 2025) |
The benchmark’s authors note that their subjective MUSHRA listening test did not reproduce the 0.4-point ViSQOL gap between LC3 and LC3plus at 16 kbps, suggesting ViSQOL may overweight low-pass filtering. Fraunhofer, which developed LC3plus, also claims competing solutions need at least twice the bitrate; no independent test reviewed here confirms that figure.
6. Codec Support Across Devices
Support decides which of the numbers above you can actually get. Android’s public Bluetooth API names 7 codec types: SBC, AAC, aptX, aptX HD, LDAC and LC3 since API level 33, plus Opus since API level 34 (Android Developers, BluetoothCodecConfig reference). Apple’s only lossless wireless option for AirPods Pro (2nd generation), by contrast, works exclusively with Apple Vision Pro.
LE Audio also changes the microphone side. Android’s documentation notes that Classic Bluetooth lowers audio quality when the headset microphone is in use, while with LE Audio input and output sampling can reach 32 kHz. That matters for anyone routing a headset mic into calls or live voice tools such as a voice changer for Discord.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Android release that integrated the LDAC codec into the Bluetooth stack | Android 8.0 (API level 26) | Google, Android 8.0 features and APIs page |
| Android release with built-in LE Audio support | Android 13 (API level 33) | Google, Android Developers LE Audio overview |
| Headset microphone sampling rate reachable over LE Audio | Up to 32 kHz (input and output) | Google, Android Developers LE Audio overview |
| Codec types named in Android’s public BluetoothCodecConfig API | 7 (Opus added in API level 34; constants deprecated in API level 35) | Google, Android API reference |
| Share of Android smartphones compatible with LDAC (developer’s research, as of September 2022) | Approximately 80% | Sony, LDAC information page (vendor’s own claim) |
| Products using aptX, assuming aptX in 100% of Android smartphones sold 2010 to 2019 | Up to 11 billion | Qualcomm, aptX page citing SensiAn Research, May 2019 (vendor-commissioned) |
| AirPods Pro (2nd generation) lossless audio format, and the condition | 20-bit, 48 kHz; only when connected to Apple Vision Pro | Apple Newsroom, September 12, 2023 (vendor’s own claim) |
| Dates codecs were added to the Hi-Res AUDIO WIRELESS logo list: aptX Adaptive vs Opus HD | October 26, 2023 vs July 15, 2026 | Japan Audio Society, news releases (2023, 2026) |
The Japan Audio Society’s July 15, 2026 notice says Opus HD supports Bluetooth Low Energy. Most recent available data: the 80% LDAC figure dates from September 2022 and the 11 billion aptX figure from a 2019 model, so both are older than three years and rest on the vendors’ own assumptions.
Summary: Bluetooth Codec Real-World Bitrate by the Numbers
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Phones (out of 6 tested) that defaulted to LDAC 990 kbps | 1 | SoundGuys, LDAC guide (2025) |
| LDAC rates with 44.1 kHz music, low / mid / high | 303 / 606 / 909 kbps | Archimago’s Musings, Part I (2023) |
| Default LDAC mode in Android’s open-source stack | Adaptive bitrate (ABR) | Google, AOSP system/bt source |
| LDAC selectable bitrates | 330, 660, 990 kbps | Sony, LDAC product page (vendor’s own claim) |
| SBC recommended High Quality joint stereo at 44.1 kHz vs two-channel cap | 328 kb/s vs 512 kb/s | Bluetooth SIG, A2DP 1.4 specification (2022) |
| aptX at 48 kHz vs aptX HD | 384 vs 570 kbps | Qualcomm, aptX page (vendor’s own claim) |
| LC3 presets mandatory for LE Audio unicast sinks | 32 and 48 kbps | Bluetooth SIG, Basic Audio Profile 1.0.1 (2022) |
| AAC upper frequency limit, Huawei P20 Pro vs iPhone 7 | 14.2 vs 18.9 kHz | SoundGuys, AAC guide (2025) |
| Stereo LC3 at 2x80 kbps vs SBC at 345 kbps | LC3 significantly better | Bluetooth SIG, LC3 white paper (2023) |
| ViSQOL at 16 kbps, LC3 vs Opus | 3.51 vs 3.98 | Logitech, OpenACE (ICASSP 2025) |
| ViSQOL at 64 kbps, LC3 vs Opus | 4.39 vs 4.37 | Logitech, OpenACE (ICASSP 2025) |
| LC3plus High Resolution optimal bitrate per channel | 125 to 250 kbps | Fraunhofer IIS (developer’s own claim) |
| Android LDAC compatibility (September 2022) | About 80% | Sony, LDAC information page (vendor’s own claim) |
| Android release with built-in LE Audio | Android 13 (API level 33) | Google, Android Developers |
| AirPods Pro (2nd generation) lossless format | 20-bit, 48 kHz, Vision Pro only | Apple Newsroom (2023) |
| Date Opus HD joined the Hi-Res AUDIO WIRELESS certified codec list | July 15, 2026 | Japan Audio Society, news release (2026) |
Methodology and Sources
- Bluetooth SIG: A2DP 1.4 specification and Basic Audio Profile 1.0.1, both adopted June 21, 2022, and Performance Characterization of the Low Complexity Communication Codec, white paper v1 (2023): SBC presets and caps, LC3 presets, LC3 vs SBC listening tests and complexity.
- Sony, LDAC product page and LDAC information page: vendor’s own bitrate, bandwidth and compatibility claims.
- Qualcomm, aptX codec specifications page: vendor’s own bitrate, THD+N and product-count claims.
- SoundGuys (Robert Triggs), LDAC guide, updated October 1, 2025 and AAC guide, updated June 17, 2025: LDAC defaults, frequency and noise measurements, AAC by phone.
- Archimago’s Musings, Part I: SBC, aptX, AAC, LDAC on Android 10 (August 19, 2023) and Part II: AAC encoder quality (August 26, 2023): independent bench measurements.
- Coldenhoff, Granqvist and Cernak (Logitech Europe), OpenACE: An Open Benchmark for Evaluating Audio Coding Performance, ICASSP 2025: ViSQOL and POLQA scores for LC3, LC3plus, EVS and Opus.
- Fraunhofer IIS, LC3plus certified for the Hi-Res Audio Wireless logo (November 10, 2022): developer’s own LC3plus bitrate claims.
- Google, AOSP LDAC encoder source, Android 11 branch, plus Android Developers pages: Android 8.0 features, LE Audio overview and BluetoothCodecConfig.
- Apple Newsroom, AirPods Pro (2nd generation) with USB-C (September 12, 2023): lossless audio with Vision Pro.
- Japan Audio Society, news releases of October 26, 2023 and July 15, 2026: codecs added to the Hi-Res AUDIO WIRELESS logo list.
- Data watch: the aptX page lists aptX at 384 kbps at 48 kHz but 325 kbps at 44.1 kHz; scaling 384 by 44.1/48 gives 352.8 kbps, so the 325 figure may be a typo. Its aptX HD figure (570 kbps) also differs from the 529 kbps an independent tester reported at 44.1 kHz, which scales to about 576 kbps at 48 kHz (529 x 48 / 44.1 = 575.8). The LDAC default-rate test used 2017 and 2018 phones, the AAC phone test used 2016 to 2018 phones, and no newer published survey of negotiated bitrates was found. The LC3 vs SBC listening tests were commissioned by the codec’s owner, and the only independent LC3 benchmark found (OpenACE) covers 16 to 64 kbps, below typical music-streaming presets. Android’s LE Audio documentation already references version 1.0.3 of the Basic Audio Profile; the LC3 presets here are from 1.0.1. The independent SBC result assumes 328 kbps because the test phone did not expose the SBC rate.
Last updated: November 7, 2026. We update this roundup quarterly, and the next refresh is expected when the Japan Audio Society next updates its Hi-Res AUDIO WIRELESS certified codec list.