aptX Lossless sounds brilliant on paper. Lossless CD-quality audio wirelessly – what's not to love? In practice, though, the codec is pretty picky about who it wants to play with. If you've got something like an iFi Zen Blue 3 or Sennheiser BTD 700 and aptX Lossless won't kick in, you're not alone. And you haven't broken anything.
Why doesn't aptX Lossless work?
aptX Lossless is a Qualcomm codec that requires explicit aptX Lossless support from both devices. This is where things tend to go sideways.
Plenty of devices support aptX, aptX HD, or aptX Adaptive – but aptX Lossless is a different beast. It's an extension built on top of aptX Adaptive that requires a recent Qualcomm chip and the right firmware on both ends. So just having "aptX Adaptive" support doesn't automatically mean aptX Lossless support.
In practice:
- iFi Zen Blue 3 supports aptX Adaptive but not necessarily aptX Lossless. Worth checking iFi's own specs – they don't exactly shout about Lossless support.
- Sennheiser BTD 700 is a USB Bluetooth dongle that supports aptX Adaptive. Same deal – aptX Lossless is a different story.
- Many Android phones support aptX Adaptive but not Lossless. It depends entirely on which Qualcomm chip the manufacturer chose and what's enabled in the firmware.
So in short: your headphones are perfectly capable. The other device just doesn't speak the same language.
How to figure out what's going on
- Check the other device's specs – Look for an explicit mention of "aptX Lossless" on the manufacturer's website. Just "aptX Adaptive" isn't enough.
- Update firmwares – Both your headphones and the other device. Sometimes aptX Lossless support arrives via a firmware update.
- Remove the pairing and reconnect – The codec is negotiated during pairing. If you've updated firmware, the old pairing might still be using the old codec.
- Try directly with a phone – If you've got a recent Android phone with a Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chip or newer, try aptX Lossless directly with that. This way you'll know whether the codec works on your headphones at all.
- Check your phone's developer settings – On Android, you can go to Developer Settings > Bluetooth Audio Codec to see which codec is currently in use.
If nothing helps
If you're sure both devices support aptX Lossless and it still won't work, drop us a message at info@valco.fi. Let us know what devices you're using and what you've already tried, and we'll sort it out.
Worth keeping in mind, by the way, that aptX Adaptive also delivers seriously good audio. The difference to Lossless is honestly pretty small – the kind of thing you'd only notice in a quiet room, with good source material, while actively concentrating. So if your other device supports aptX Adaptive, things aren't bad at all. It's a bit like comparing 95% dark chocolate to 100% – both are miles better than what you'd grab at a petrol station.
