SBC (Low Complexity Subband Coding) is the mandatory default codec of Classic Bluetooth audio (the A2DP profile), present since 2003 in essentially every wireless speaker and headphone. It was designed to be cheap to implement rather than excellent, and it is merely adequate — acceptable at higher bitrates but clearly behind modern codecs at the rates Bluetooth often negotiates. For years it was the lowest common denominator that any two Bluetooth devices could fall back to, while AAC, aptX, and LDAC competed above it. The arrival of Bluetooth LE Audio and its mandatory LC3 codec, which sounds better at far lower bitrates, is what finally gives the industry a successor to SBC.
The book · Volume 4 of 7
Audio for Video: A Complete Guide to Sound in Video Products: From PCM and Codecs to Loudness, Accessibility, and Real-Time Voice Processing
SBC is still the codec most Bluetooth headphones fall back to, and its bitpool settings decide whether calls and video sound muffled. This volume covers SBC in detail with LC3, LC3plus, AAC and Opus, so you can plan Bluetooth audio quality and latency across old and new devices. Written by Nikolay Sapunov, CEO at Fora Soft.
Users on SBC Bluetooth headphones complaining about muffled or delayed audio?
Tell us your app and target devices and we will map Bluetooth codec behavior, from SBC to LC3, and recommend latency and quality settings. 250+ video products shipped since 2005.
