LC3 provides higher audio quality and better Packet loss concealment than SBC, G.722 and Opus, according to subjective testing by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group and ETSI.[3][4][5] The conclusion regarding Opus is disputed as the test only included speech audio, but the comparison was made to version 1.1.4 of the reference Opus encoder, using complexity level 0 at 32 kbps and relying on CELT (general audio) instead of the FEC-capable SILK (speech); the test also did not take into account the newer version 1.2 of the Opus encoder released in 2017, where significant improvements were made to low bitrate streams.[5]
LC3plus High Resolution mode is a codec defined by ETSI and is not compatible with the LC3 defined by Bluetooth SIG.[16]: 3 It's included in the 2019 DECT standard.[17]
On November 9, 2022, the Japan Audio Society (JAS) released a statement certifying LC3plus with the "Hi-Res AUDIO WIRELESS" logo.[18] LC3plus is the 4th codec to receive this, alongside SCL6 (formerly known as MQair), LDAC and LHDC codecs.
The ETSI implementation of LC3plus is source-available software, subject to a ETSI Intellectual Property Rights Policy and the usual patent restrictions.[19]
Fraunhofer defines a way to use LC3plus over A2DP.
