[Verizon Galaxy Note 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] allquixotic:
Anyone else having Bluetooth issues? Specifically:

Brief dropouts and clicks. They may not be very noticeable to casual listeners or those without decent headphones, but they're jarringly obvious to me as a semi-audiophile.

Sudden, LOUD static noises that are so short and so loud that it sounds like a gunshot. I was chilling at work today and heard this happen, and nearly fell out of my chair. I threw my headphones across my desk in panic.

I am really frustrated because the amount of troubleshooting I've done on this suggests that the issue is endemic to Android itself, and they simply refuse to fix it.

I first noticed the problem with Android 4.4.0 on the Moto Droid Maxx. The issue did not exist on that phone running Jelly Bean. Then, when I upgraded to the Galaxy S5, first on 4.4.2 and then 4.4.4, the issue persisted. Now it's still here bothering me to no end on the Note 4. That's THREE separate devices spanning three generations (or two, if you count the S5 and the Note 4 as the same generation), and two manufacturers, all having the same problems!

Other important/relevant observations:

1. This DOES NOT occur when using the exact same bluetooth headsets with other computing devices. I have an old Dell Latitude laptop and a first-gen Microsoft Surface Pro, both of which NEVER produce clicks, pops, or loud noises on Bluetooth, regardless of distance. I usually keep my phone less than 3 feet from my headphones while listening to music.

2. This IS NOT isolated to a single bluetooth device. I have the Meelectronics Air-Fi Matrix2 (Bluetooth 4.0), the original Meelectronics Air-Fi Matrix (Bluetooth 3.0), and my car's Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR.

3. This IS NOT related to voice calls. It only occurs when the "Media" subsystem of Android is in use, so, apps besides the Phone playing sound.

So, we can create a nice pretty table as follows (and yes, I have tried every possible combination of these):

BT Device Phone/Computer BT Protocol Problems?
Meelec Matrix2 Surface Pro 4.0 None
Meelec Matrix Surface Pro 3.0 None
Car (Honda) Surface Pro 2.1 + EDR None
Meelec Matrix2 Custom Desktop 4.0 None
Meelec Matrix Custom Desktop 3.0 None
Meelec Matrix2 Latitude E6410 4.0 None
Meelec Matrix2 Droid Maxx w/4.2.x 4.0 None
Meelec Matrix Droid Maxx w/4.2.x 3.0 None
Car (Honda) Droid Maxx w/4.2.x 2.1 + EDR None
Meelec Matrix2 Droid Maxx w/4.4.x 4.0 Yes
Meelec Matrix Droid Maxx w/4.4.x 3.0 Yes
Car (Honda) Droid Maxx w/4.4.x 2.1 + EDR Yes
Meelec Matrix2 Galaxy S5 w/4.4.x 4.0 Yes
Meelec Matrix Galaxy S5 w/4.4.x 3.0 Yes
Car (Honda) Galaxy S5 w/4.4.x 2.1 + EDR Yes
Meelec Matrix2 Note 4 w/4.4.x 4.0 Yes
Meelec Matrix Note 4 w/4.4.x 3.0 Yes
Car (Honda) Note 4 w/4.4.x 2.1 + EDR Yes

Has anyone used, for more than a couple of hours, a pair of Bluetooth stereo headphones or headset (not the little thing you stick in your ear, but actual headphones for music) with an app like Spotify, Google Play Music, or a local media player, and NOT experienced this problem, with the Note 4? If so, please let me know what Bluetooth device you have -- be as specific as possible. I'm fed up with this problem being so widespread and yet ignored by the manufacturers and Google. Maybe there are other Bluetooth client chipsets out there other than the ones I'm using that'll work better.

Thanks!