Alternative A2DP Driver

Alternative A2DP Driver is a device driver that replaces Windows 10/11 inbox Bluetooth A2DP driver and allows you to fine-tune CODED parameters.

Who is this software for?

If your headphones support aptX HD or LDAC

aptX HD and LDAC can provide higher-quality audio than other CODECs such as SBC, AAC, and aptX. If your headphones support the aptX HD (many Qualcomm chip-based headphones do) or LDAC (most mid/high-end Sony headphones do), and your Bluetooth radio condition is reasonably good, there is no reason not to use it.

Please see the FAQ on how to get stable, high-quality streaming.

If you are suffering from stuttering/choppy noise

A2DP transmits data with error detection and re-transmission. So, if the Bluetooth radio's signal quality is poor (due to the lack of adequate antenna, interference with other radio signals, etc.) and causes a lot of re-transmission, it will start dropping streaming data packets (or the packet is not delivered on time). This is one of the reasons why you hear stuttering/choppy noise.

If that is the case, reducing the bitrate (the amount of the data transmitted) and creating more time to re-transmit may be able to eliminate packet loss. This will slightly reduce audio quality but significantly reduces the annoying noises.

Please see the FAQ for the step-by-step instructions.

If you want to increase the bitrate of the audio stream

If your headphones are working fine with the Windows inbox driver, you may want to increase the bitrate and enjoy the better sound quality.

To do so, you have two knobs. One is simply to increase the bitpool parameter. The other knob is using Dual Channel mode instead of using Joint Stereo, which is used by the Windows inbox driver.

Please see the FAQ for the step-by-step instructions.

If you want to eliminate sound quality loss by the downsampling

Windows inbox A2DP driver supports only 44.1 kHz sampling frequency for SBC CODEC. But, many contents are encoded at 48 kHz, including many video contents. As a result, when those contents are played, they are forced to downsampling to 44.1 kHz.

Alternative A2DP Driver supports all sampling frequencies that your headphones can handle. So, if the media player app you are using allows it, it can dynamically switch the sampling frequency based on the source media and eliminate the audio quality loss by the downsampling.

Please see the FAQ for the step-by-step instructions.