For real quality improvement which is 48kHz stereo + mic, you'll also need GMAP(Gaming Audio Profile) support both on BLE adapter and headset.
I've tried multiple combinations with my WH-1000XM6 and WF-1000XM5, but nothing works stable on Windows. Linux requires hand-patching bluez and friends which also failed for me. Android does not support GMAP and just when using LE, a lot of messengers unable to detect it properly(Google Meet works, Telegram and Viber does not).
I've finally gave up on that idea. Just thinking about fact we cannot use duplex wireless audio in 2025 pisses me off so much tbh.
Worse yet, I got a new Bose headset with USB C audio support - and the microphone doesn't work at all on either the USB or Bluetooth while USB C is playing audio!
My WH-1000XM5 set broke, and it was going to cost more to repair it than buy than simply buying a new pair. So I decided to check out the cheaper end of the market, and bought a pair of Edifier W830NB.
They are pretty decent (notable downgrade in most aspects, you do get what you pay for, but good enough for my daily needs). But I was very happy to discover that when plugged in via USB-C, the microphone works over usb with full quality, that's one thing my WH-1000XM5s couldn't do, nor the newer XM6s
It's been difficult for me to find headphones with LE support. And also I've seen some of them announced support, just to remove it later because the firmware was behaving so bad.
Haven't checked in a while, so I don't know if is there something reasonable now that doesn't cost like $500 or so.
Classic and LE are completely different protocols, from physical layer and up. It must be that it doesn't make a lot of sense for manufacturers to invest substantial effort in it.
> Classic and LE are completely different protocols, from physical layer and up.
Which makes sense when you know it started life[1] as a separate protocol called Wibree by Nokia, which was specifically designed[2] to be usable by Bluetooth RF gear:
A major tenet of their design was that “it can be deployed with minor effort into devices already having Bluetooth, e.g. cellphones” with the added requirement that a “common RF section with Bluetooth must be possible”.
Yes, very frustrating...
I was on the lookout for new headphones that "just work" and LE Audio / LC3 support was a must for me.
One of the more frustrating tech shopping experiences I've had so far.
Landed on the JBL Tour One M3, they sound okay and support LE Audio.
They have some interface problems (Auto-Pause and automatic speech detection is way to sensitive for me) but you can tweak it so it does "just work" (mostly).
> Landed on the JBL Tour One M3, they sound okay and support LE Audio.
I recently got the Tour One M2 and was pretty disappointed with the audio quality (both normal bluetooth and LE audio). Noticeably worse than my previous wired headphones, which were also cheaper. The touch controls are also terrible, and I dont like that noise cancelling is on by default with seemingly no way to change the default setting.
The WF-1000XM5 beta Bluetooth is pretty good in the latest firmware update. Even though it is listed as beta I use it all the time. And they are pretty decently priced at the moment
But support (on both ends) is quite rare, experimental, and needs to be explicitly enabled.