Why can I not use uhd audio upscaling or change audio codecs?

[The Stryker]

I'm trying to get the best sound quality for a HiFi Bluetooth set of buds on my Galaxy Note 8 (Verizon), so I've been trying to mess with the Bluetooth codecs, choosing aptx, LDAC or "all codecs" in the developer's options menu, but the only change I made that will stick/remain after closing the settings GUI is the "optimized audio quality bandwidth" setting- bitrate, bit sample size, AVRCP all revert back to default- the worst choices in each setting(1.4 for the latter)- when I make changes to use with my compatible HiFi Bluetooth earbuds. I've looked into the forums and people didn't seem to have much issue toying with audio codecs & their relevant settings via the developer menu, but I just can't catch a break here!

So now I'm just trying to get the UHD upscaling toggle to turn on when I play hardware based/local mp3's on Google Play Music Premium, however, the toggle for UHD upscaling remains grey/non-functional- I have Oreo updated my Google play music app, which is set to the highest quality audio output in every setting offered & like I said, the audio optimized bandwidth setting remains on when u go back in the developer menu, but basically, I cannot fool around with any technical aspects of the phone's Bluetooth codecs/bitrate/sample size, so all I'm going for right now is to get the basic/general UHD upscaling turned on- easily reached on all note 8 phones via the non-developer, regular, advanced sound settings menu, but my phone won't even let me change it to "on", whether it's set in a custom sound mode, preset EQ, sound adapt or enhanced entertainment mode... It's VERY frustrating to me given I've got all the right gear, all technically supposed to be able to make improvements to the audio settings between the HiFi buds & my note 8 running Oreo (Android 8), but I'm not even trying for the fancy codec stuff at this point- just basic uhd audio upscaling & it simply will not work! Please help! Thanks

 

[Rod Ruppenthal]

You can only toggle UHQ when headphones are connected. Would assume same would be for Bluetooth ones.

 

[The Stryker]

Thanks for the help Rod! I have been attempting all the changes I detailed above in my original post only when that set of Bluetooth, HiFi earbuds are connected to/paired with the phone. However if I'm catching your drift, it seems like the UHD toggle option can be turned on when using wired headphones too? If that is the case, do you know if it works with the OEM headphones which came with my Note 8, or do I require wired headphones with added features? If you can help further that's awesome but it not, I thank you for the suggestion & will LYK if it works out with my wired set I got w my phone. Thanks again!

 

[Rod Ruppenthal]

They definitely work with note 8 headphones.

 

[jsigmo]

I noticed that in my limited experience, it seemed like the UHD upscaling was only enabled when using wired headphones actually plugged into the jack. It may be that there is no benefit to enabling it when going bluetooth because the phone cannot transmit the higher resolution data over bluetooth, anyhow.

At least that's what I surmised after trying to turn the upscaling on while using a pair of bluetooth headphones. These particular phones sound quite harsh, obviously with a lot of distortion in the high frequencies, but they were inexpensive. So I thought setting the upscaling to "on" might relieve some of that fatiguing character to their sound

I'm not an expert on this, but it also occurred to me that better bluetooth headphones might accommodate the higher resolution communication, or higher resolution playback (better DAC in the 'phones), and thus, the UHD upscaling might be enabled only when using higher end Bluetooth headsets that support it.

But that's just speculation. I've only tried the one inexpensive pair of bluetooth headphones, so it may be that none of them support, or would benefit from, the UHD upsampling in the phone. So it would always be greyed out when using bluetooth.

Perhaps better headphones would do that upsampling themselves, at that end, thus reducing the data rate required of the bluetooth link.

Beats me, but it's greyed out for me, too, when using the cheap bluetooth headphones I have, but it works when using phones plugged into the physical jack.

 

[Kirito041997]

I'm trying to get the best sound quality for a HiFi Bluetooth set of buds on my Galaxy Note 8 (Verizon), so I've been trying to mess with the Bluetooth codecs, choosing aptx, LDAC or "all codecs" in the developer's options menu, but the only change I made that will stick/remain after closing the settings GUI is the "optimized audio quality bandwidth" setting- bitrate, bit sample size, AVRCP all revert back to default- the worst choices in each setting(1.4 for the latter)- when I make changes to use with my compatible HiFi Bluetooth earbuds. I've looked into the forums and people didn't seem to have much issue toying with audio codecs & their relevant settings via the developer menu, but I just can't catch a break here!

So now I'm just trying to get the UHD upscaling toggle to turn on when I play hardware based/local mp3's on Google Play Music Premium, however, the toggle for UHD upscaling remains grey/non-functional- I have Oreo updated my Google play music app, which is set to the highest quality audio output in every setting offered & like I said, the audio optimized bandwidth setting remains on when u go back in the developer menu, but basically, I cannot fool around with any technical aspects of the phone's Bluetooth codecs/bitrate/sample size, so all I'm going for right now is to get the basic/general UHD upscaling turned on- easily reached on all note 8 phones via the non-developer, regular, advanced sound settings menu, but my phone won't even let me change it to "on", whether it's set in a custom sound mode, preset EQ, sound adapt or enhanced entertainment mode... It's VERY frustrating to me given I've got all the right gear, all technically supposed to be able to make improvements to the audio settings between the HiFi buds & my note 8 running Oreo (Android 8), but I'm not even trying for the fancy codec stuff at this point- just basic uhd audio upscaling & it simply will not work! Please help! Thanks

The Bluetooth audio codec will change as soon as you connect the device, provided the device supports the selected codec.

Would you mind mentioning which Bluetooth device you were trying to connect?

As for UHQ upscaling, it's a feature that's for wired devices only. It won't work over Bluetooth. It supports any wired device.

 

[Kirito041997]

According to me, select the "All codecs" option and the phone should automatically select the highest codec supported by the connected device.

 

[The Stryker]

The Bluetooth audio codec will change as soon as you connect the device, provided the device supports the selected codec.

Would you mind mentioning which Bluetooth device you were trying to connect?

As for UHQ upscaling, it's a feature that's for wired devices only. It won't work over Bluetooth. It supports any wired device.

Thanks for the interest in helping!

It turned out you were exactly correct- The HiFi earbuds were from a company called MPOW & were supposed to have the APTx codec (amongst others), however a few days after making the initial post, I noticed there was uneven playback between the right/left earbuds which wasn't a software/driver issue, so I exchanged them via the warranty for a working pair & now as you'd stated, my Samsung Galaxy Note 8 will automatically choose a higher definition codec if set on "all codecs" & I can now also switch through the available choices manually.

I tried to use the UHD upscaling toggle with wired Seinheiissen earbuds I own & again, as you'd stated, I was able to toggle UHD audio on & off with that set of wired buds.

So it seems based upon your reply & my subsequent experience that I'd received a faulty pair of earbuds, which once remidied by the seller, has my audio output acting as it should. Thanks so much for the helpful tips & your reply!