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Why does the headphone's audio quality change when I switch between my laptop’s built-in microphone and my Bluetooth headphones’ microphone?
As previously asked at https://superuser.com/q/1927257/, I noticed that switching between my laptop's built-in microphone and my headphones' microphone causes the headphones' audio quality to change. What could be causing this?
Example in MS Teams used via Chrome on Windows:
Setup details:
I use Windows 11 24H2 Pro with a MSI GS76 Stealth 11UH laptop with:
- Bose QC35 II headphones
- Bluetooth BT 5.2
- Built-in Audio: Nahimic 3 / Hi-Res Audio
Driver screenshots
2 answers
When using the bluetooth headset only for audio, it will use a codec optimized for audio, e.g. AAC. When you start to use it also as a mic it will switch to another codec optimized for calls, e.g. CVSD or mSBC. This comes at the cost of audio bandwidth.
On my KDE Linux desktop you can actually see this.
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A Cause
I see that you are using your headset for audio output. Therefore, when you simultaneously utilise it for audio input, its connection becomes saturated, causing it to decrease its audio quality to maintain a connection. Alternative possibilities exist, but I've no reason to believe that they are applicable here, when this problem is so common.
Potential Solutions
A superior Bluetooth controller (usually, one that supports a later standard, like 5.2, is sufficient) on both ends should remediate this.
The easiest way to verify is with another set of headphones, then another computer, in every combination of the two possible. Solely then should you consider purchasing a separate PCIe BT card, or new set of headphones.
Similarly, a wired microphone would also remediate this.
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