Qualcomm will organize an exclusive technical explanation session on Snapdragon Sound technology at the Snapdragon Summit in 2022, and the author will also conduct an exclusive interview with speaker Mike Canevaro; It focuses on communicating several key features: spatial sound, aptX Lossless sound quality. encoding and support for LE Audio including Auracast.
▲ Snapdragon Sound spatial audio can be a 24-channel virtual audio source
Spatial audio is an audio technology that the music industry and the audiovisual game industry are quite optimistic about. Unlike the traditional multi-channel virtual mode which only simulates the sound transmitted from around the plane, spatial sound can virtual multiple channels in and three-dimensional space Those who are surrounded by sound from all directions, together with headphones with a gyroscope, can also find the source of the sound; Qualcomm Snapdragon Sound further develops the spatial sound technology to Dynamic Spatial Sound with Snapdragon, which can have a 24-channel spatial sound configuration, And the positioning information of the gyroscope can be provided through the DSP of the sound block to provide real-time changes with latency ultra-low. In addition, it also supports mainstream spatial audio specifications including Android 13 native spatial audio, Dolby Atmos and Sony 360 Reality Audio.
▲ Low latency mode can be reduced to 48ms
Another feature for watching videos and gamers is the low latency mode.Snapdragon Sound can further reduce the delay to 48ms for watching video and games.Make video and audio more synchronous, especially for accurate listening positioning when playing games . Another item that is closely related to gamers is that, in addition to the low latency mode on the receiving end, Snapdragon Sound also provides a 48ms low latency mode on the rear voice channel. For players who use group chat software for game communication, they can also use ultra-low-latency real-time communication tactics Call teammates for support.
▲ aptX Lossless can transmit the original sound quality of 16bit 44.1kHz without compromise
The last item is aptX Lossless for music enthusiasts. Although Qualcomm has already supported 24bit 96kHz encoding in aptX Adaptive, Bluetooth audio has been criticized in the past because it inevitably needs compression or low frequency loss, or affect audio continuity However, with the development of Bluetooth technology to provide stable high bandwidth, Qualcomm also introduces aptX Lossless transmission based on aptX Adaptive on the new generation Snapdragon Sound platform.
▲ Because aptX Lossless needs to use bandwidth up to 1.1Mbps, so the environment with more interference will not be able to transmit in lossless mode
As its name suggests, aptX Lossless can achieve the original 16bit 44.1kHz audio encoding transmission without compression via Bluetooth and encoding, which is equivalent to having the same uncompressed signal as wired in Bluetooth headphones and speakers as long as the music platform provides CD level Lossless music transmission to achieve the equivalent of wired sound quality.
▲ aptX Lossless realizes uncompressed wired audio transmission via Bluetooth wireless technology
Of course, aptX Lossless requires a stable and seamless environment that exceeds ordinary Bluetooth coding. Also based on aptX coding technology, aptX 16bit 44.1kHz requires a bandwidth of 480Mbps, while 24bit 96kHz aptX HD ( aptX Adaptive ) requires a bandwidth of 720Mbps, aptX Lossless needs a bandwidth of up to 1.1Mbps, which is even higher than Sony’s LDAC encoding. However, the FastConnect 7800 of Snapdrgaon 8 Gen 2 uses dual Bluetooth chips, which can be strengthened by dual chip multi-antenna beamforming and the connection of the earphones is stable If the interference is severe, it can also be reduced to a lossy transmission based on aptX HD encoding via the aptX Adaptive feature.
▲ Qualcomm has also contributed aptX and aptX HD encoding to Android AOSP following Sony’s previous LDAC model. In the future, Android mobile devices such as MediaTek or other chips can be activated without authorization
A few days ago, Qualcomm contributed two aptX and aptX HD codes to Android AOSP as well The author and Qualcomm confirmed that as long as the device side complies with the AOSP authorization, whether it is a Qualcomm Snapdragon platform mobile phone or other devices, aptX and aptX codecs can be enabled. However, same as Sony’s LDAC open mode, if it is a Bluetooth headset or speaker, it still needs additional authorization to use the suite of aptX codecs. (However, some Bluetooth chips already include the most basic aptX coding authorization)
▲ Qualcomm Adaptive ANC not only has excellent environmental noise reduction, but can also be independently adjusted according to the sealing conditions of earplugs and earmuffs
In addition, as the demand for active noise reduction technology increases, Snapdrgaon Sound also provides Qualcomm Adaptive ANC adaptive active noise reduction technology, which can be sensed by the microphones inside and outside the headset, and can be adjusted independently according to the degree of sealing There are also many commercially available Snapdrgaon audio headphones with this excellent noise reduction technology.
▲ Auracast is an important innovative technology for Bluetooth audio transmission applications, opening a convenient mode of audio broadcasting and sharing
Bluetooth LE Audio is also a long-awaited new technology in the Bluetooth audio industry. It not only introduces more power-saving Bluetooth LE (Bluetooth Low Energy) and more efficient LC3 universal audio coding, but also provides a broadcast function and share new Auracast. , Snapdrgaon Sound Of course, this latest standard technology is also supported; the author also confirmed to Mike Canevaro that in theory, in Aurasound broadcast mode, the low standard encoding of the connected device will be used as the standard, which means in theory, if all the headphones on the scene are receive aptX Lossless Support, you can enjoy shared music without loss, but as long as one of the headphones cannot support aptX Lossless, you can only use common codes such as SBC or AAC for broadcasting.
