I’m playing Forza Horizon 5 when I get an Xbox party chat invite from my friend who wants to race in multiplayer. As soon as I join the chat, the audio quality of my Bluetooth headphones drops. The sound gets muffled, and I can no longer hear what direction the sound effects are coming from – what’s going on?

This drop in audio quality happens because of how Bluetooth Classic Audio is designed. There are two modes of operation, or profiles: the Advanced Audio Distribution Profile (A2DP), and the Hands-Free Profile (HFP). A2DP provides high quality audio but doesn’t allow the microphone to be used. HFP allows the microphone to be used but plays back audio in mono with lower fidelity than A2DP. With mono audio, there is only one channel of audio that is played in both ears, compared to stereo where there is a separate channel for each ear.

This means that when using a Bluetooth Classic Audio device’s microphone, you can’t hear high-fidelity stereo playback from that device at the same time. Without stereo audio, you don't hear the spatial effects that provide immersive sound in games, movies and music, and you can't use features like Spatial Audio calling in apps like Microsoft Teams.

Voice limitations with Bluetooth Classic Audio

Why does this limitation exist? It’s right in the name – Bluetooth Classic Audio – while it is a tried-and-true technology, it was designed over two decades ago. When the state-of-the-art was flip phones and bulky earpieces, the design decisions made at the time for HFP were hardly seen as limitations.

HFP has improved over time. For example, the original audio compression algorithm was rudimentary and only supported an 8kHz sample rate. This means that nearly all treble frequencies were missing, leading to muffled audio that sounded a little worse than an AM radio. Windows 11 and most modern Bluetooth headsets now support improved audio compression and double the sample rate for HFP, which is called “wideband” voice.

Even with these improvements to HFP, some early design decisions persisted, most notably the lack of stereo support. So even with wideband voice, the audio quality is still closer to an AM radio than it is to the CD quality audio that Bluetooth provides when not using the microphone.

Introducing super wideband stereo for LE Audio voice

LE Audio is a modern Bluetooth audio streaming architecture that’s built on top of the battery-friendly Bluetooth Low Energy radio. It replaces A2DP and HFP with flexible new profiles that use a single profile for both media playback and voice. For headphones and earbuds, the Telephony and Media Profile (TMAP) is used, and for assistive hearing devices like hearing aids and cochlear implants, the Hearing Access Profile (HAP) is used.

LE Audio uses improved audio compression and TMAP requires headphones and earbuds to support even higher “super wideband” audio fidelity at a 32kHz sample rate while using voice. The new compression algorithm provides higher quality audio, and the higher sample rate covers nearly the entire audible audio range. Goodbye, muffled audio!

Today, we’re excited to announce a new feature in Windows 11 that allows Bluetooth Low Energy (LE) Audio devices to play in high quality stereo while using the microphone, for a drastically improved audio experience in games and calls! Until now, LE Audio on Windows 11 was limited to playing super wideband audio in mono while using voice.

Immersive game chat

When using an LE Audio device with a Windows 11 PC that supports super wideband stereo, the switch into game chat no longer causes an abrupt drop in audio quality. In the Forza Horizon 5 example mentioned at the top of this blog post, the game audio will now stay in stereo and stream at super wideband quality, which is a significant improvement over Bluetooth Classic!

It’s easiest to listen yourself – put on a pair of headphones and listen to the following video comparing wideband mono over Bluetooth Classic Audio to super wideband stereo over Bluetooth LE Audio:

Audio stays crisp and clear while in game chat, and you hear the engine sound effects fading between your left and right ears as the cars zoom around the screen.

This simulated demo video uses additional audio and video compression for online streaming, and is intended to illustrate the compression algorithms used for Bluetooth Classic Audio and Bluetooth LE Audio. It may not perfectly represent the audio quality that is heard from a real PC or audio device.

Super wideband stereo is quite literally a game changer, but we won’t be stopping there. We’re continuing to work with our PC and silicon partners, and with Bluetooth LE Audio device makers, to push the boundaries of audio quality further. In a future update to Windows, we plan to bring CD-quality audio playback to game chat and voice calls, just like when not using the microphone!

Spatial Audio in Teams calls

In addition to gaming, this feature improves calls in apps like Microsoft Teams. Teams Spatial Audio is already available for wired headsets, but it depends on stereo audio, so it hasn’t previously been available over Bluetooth.

Think about when you’re in a crowded environment like a restaurant. Other people nearby might be having their own conversations, but you’re able to easily tune them out and focus on your conversation. This is because the brain is good at ignoring sounds that aren’t coming from where you want to listen – a phenomenon called the Cocktail party effect.

Spatial Audio in Teams adds these spatial cues so the voice of each person comes from where their video is located on your screen, just like when sitting around a real table. It makes calls sound more natural and helps you focus on who you want to hear, even if two people speak at the same time.

Thanks to super wideband stereo support, Spatial Audio will be available over Bluetooth LE Audio for the first time! Look for the Spatial Audio toggle under audio settings in Teams while using an LE Audio headset or assistive hearing device with your compatible Windows 11 PC.

To learn more about Spatial Audio in Microsoft Teams and watch a demo video about it, visit the announcement blog post at Follow conversations with ease using Spatial Audio in Microsoft Teams.

How do I get it?

First, you’ll need a Bluetooth headset, earbuds, or assistive hearing device that supports Bluetooth LE Audio, along with a Windows 11 PC that supports LE Audio. Many new PCs and Bluetooth audio devices support LE Audio, but not all PCs that support Bluetooth LE technology also support LE Audio.

For more information about LE Audio support on Windows 11, visit Check if a Windows 11 device supports Bluetooth Low Energy Audio or consult the manufacturer of your PC or Bluetooth audio device.

To use super wideband stereo during game chat and voice calls, you’ll also need to be running the latest updates to Windows 11, version 24H2, and have an updated Bluetooth audio driver from your PC’s manufacturer. Starting later this year, some existing PC models will receive driver updates from the manufacturer to support the feature. We also expect that most new mobile PCs that launch starting in late 2025 will have support from the factory.

Resources for developers

For developers of Windows PCs and Bluetooth hardware, see Super wideband stereo for voice scenarios. For developers of communication applications wanting to detect support for super wideband stereo audio, see Detect audio format capabilities for communications scenarios.

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