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[gm.cnc]

I recently bought a QC35 headphone that has Bluetooth support. While it works perfectly when associated to my Android phone, I get a lot of glitches when associated with my PC and JRiver.  I am using JRiver center 22 in WASAPI mode.

Is there a known fix for this, or is the problem located in the Windows Bluetooth driver?

Thanks in advance

Gilles

[JimH]

Bluetooth has a distance limit of about 30 feet or less.

[gm.cnc]

Thanks, but this occurs when I am in front of the laptop.

Gilles

[JimH]

How did you set up JRiver?

Did you choose the BT device in JRiver's audio settings?

[RoderickGI]

Bluetooth is a fickle thing. It can be anything from whimsical to rock solid, and that usually depends mostly on the version of Bluetooth, the power management used, and the firmware/drivers involved, interference from other electronics, and the Bluetooth Profile used.

The Bose QuietComfort 35 wireless headphones II isn't cheap, so I would expect them to work well. But I can't even find what version of Bluetooth they use, which is rather concerning. Personally, I try to avoid anything with a Bluetooth version prior to 4.1 these days. 4.1 includes a better version of LE (Low Energy) connections than earlier versions, and that makes a huge difference in most applications. Unfortunately, some high end and expensive Bluetooth products still use earlier versions of Bluetooth, which just don't work as well.

On the other hand, Bluetooth is up to version 5 now, and if the QC35 uses Bluetooth 5 but the laptop is only capable of 2.1 (the earliest version that was any good at all), then a 2.1 connection will be made, and it won't be good. So check what version of Bluetooth and which Profiles your laptop supports. If it isn't a recent version, at least 4.1, you may want to update the Bluetooth card in the laptop. It is usually part of the wireless card, which is usually replaceable.

Of course, regardless of whether you change the card, get the latest and best drivers from the Bluetooth functionality on your laptop.

Also check that the laptop is capable of and is connecting using the A2DP Bluetooth Profile. From the QC35 support page:
"Make sure the [sending] device's A2DP Bluetooth protocol is enabled. When pairing/connecting the device, the A2DP stereo audio needs to be active to assure high-quality audio is sent to the headset. If the signal is sent to the headset using the headset profile (hsp) or hands-free profile (hfp), sound quality will be low and/or poor."

Note that your Android phone probably works much better because typically is uses the latest low power Bluetooth technology, which just works better.


If the above can't be fixed or changed, then a larger Device buffer in MC may work. I assume that you have a separate Zone set up for the Headphones, so you should be able to tweak the buffer to improve audio quality, at the cost of some lag probably.

EDIT: The user forum and CNET say that the QC35 and the QC35 II use Bluetooth 4.1. Check your laptop uses at least that.

[gm.cnc]

Thanks for this excellent and detailed reply.

My laptop is a recent HP Elitebook 1040 G3. The HP driver management software keeps up to date. So I have their latest version, and the hardware is recent (less than 2 years). I guess it's a driver configuration problem. I am probably using the headset profile. I will check how to enable the A2DP Bluetooth protocol.

Thanks

Gilles

[gm.cnc]

It's indeed an A2DP device/driver. I solved the problem by adding a new zone. It looks like the buffering has a high impact on the rendering. Strangely a value higher than 100ms (recommended value) led to a fuzzy behavior, with part of the sound being cut or accelerated.

So it works now, but I would not be able to explain why....

Thanks again.

Gilles

[RoderickGI]

You're welcome.

Having a buffer set too large can create poor sound quality, based on my experience and reports on the forum. There always seems to be a sweet spot that gives the best result. Or probably more correctly, the least worst result. No doubt someone on the internet has explained it somewhere.   

Glad you have it working now.