How to make Sony WH-1000XM3 sound the same in wired and bluetooth mode on Windows 10 PC?

Question

My Windows 10 desktop setup has the Realtek audio driver. From many years I have set the equalizer to rock since the default sound of Windows isn't great. Usually any wired headphone or 2.1 speaker sounds great with this.

A while back I plugged in the TP-Link bluetooth USB dongle which lets me connect bluetooth earphones to the PC easily. The dongle works perfectly. A few days back we bought a Sony WH-1000XM3. It sounds great on Android phones and the Sony Connect app lets you try the additional features. This app isn't available for desktop OSes.

Now I realized that the 'rock' equalizer of Realtek works only when the headset is connected by wire to the PC. Removing the wire and listening through bluetooth doesn't make the audio sound as open. It sounds as if 'rock' is OFF—muffled.

I installed Equalizer APO and Peace GUI after searching online for solutions. After that the equalizer from Realtek disappeared. So I tried some settings in Peace (can't understand most of them) but it still doesn't make any difference. Weather I choose all devices or just the two versions of the bluetooth headset—stereo and hands-free AG audio—it still sounds bassy and muffled compared to when I connect the wires.

How can I make the bluetooth sound as great as the wired mode?

Solution

1. Windows doesn't support LDAC codec, your phones might do. You can't do anything about this.

2. I couldn't find any information if Windows supports aptX HD, so I'd assume it doesn't.

3. Original aptX codec is supported in recent versions of Windows - if your dongle supports it. This app claims to be able to detect which codec is in use.

Comments

[Ярослав Рахматуллин]

Have you tried the included software? The included equalizer is not too shabby imo. Also, there are two different modes for connecting the headset. One is mic+headphones and the other is stereo-sound-only. The audible difference is substantial between those two modes. The stereo mode sound much more hi-fi.

[gronostaj]

I think the goal was to make it sound equally good on all devices, not equally bad.