DMcKibbins t1_jd7fkhl wrote on March 22, 2023 at 11:46 AM

Reply to comment by szakee in Technophobe struggling with new kit by Bob90d

Then it sounds like they’re using DSP when on. The headphones will be limited to a certain bitrate if that’s the case.

Edit: Typo

DMcKibbins t1_jd65a3m wrote on March 22, 2023 at 2:36 AM

Reply to Technophobe struggling with new kit by Bob90d

How do the XM4s work when plugged in? Do they still get processed by the DSP or are the headphones passive?

If the DSP is involved, you’ll need to see what its DAC is capable of. If it can only handle 16/24bit or 44.1kHz/48kHz, you’re not really getting any benefit from using higher quality files.

If the headphone goes into passive mode, the music will probably sound worse than with Bluetooth. Most BT ANC headphones are physically designed with a DSP in mind. That being said, you will get some benefit from using higher quality files since it’s purely analog.

As an example, the AirPods Max use a few DACs when wired, but each DAC is rated at 24bit/48kHz. Since the DSP is still involved, it means that wired will sound as good or better than Bluetooth (up to 48kHz/24bit).

Edit: Added a few words at the end for clarification.