Spotify Shouldn’t Sound Like Crap
Spotify vs Apple Music is a debate we won’t be hearing soon. Recently, however , Apple Music users have been claiming that their service sounds better than Spotify , that Apple songs are sharper and clearer than the competing streaming service, especially when using high-quality headphones or speakers. While Apple Music users may be right, there is an easy way for Spotify users to improve their sound quality right now.
Spotify and Apple Music offer different sound quality options.
Comparing the audio quality of Apple Music and Spotify in general is a bit tricky. Spotify offers users of the free version a maximum bit rate of 160 kbps (kilobits per second), while the premium version offers double the bit rate of 320 kbps. Apple Music, on the other hand, does not have a free tier, but offers many different audio qualities. The service’s standard playback is 256 kbps, which is less than Spotify’s maximum. However, Apple Music also supports lossless playback, allowing you to choose between 24-bit 48kHz CD-quality playback or, if you have the right hardware, 24-bit 192kHz playback. Spotify has plans to introduce its own lossless playback option, but at the moment its quality on paper isn’t exactly what Apple Music has.
However, 320kbps is still high enough quality for great sound, even when switching between the two platforms. So why are more and more users complaining about the quality of Spotify ?
Audio normalization ruins Spotify’s quality
The error lies in a setting called “audio normalization” and it has a purpose other than making your music sound worse. Spotify uses audio normalization to offer you a more consistent listening experience for songs. It tries to equalize the volume of all your music so you don’t have to constantly fiddle with the volume. If one song tends to be quiet, you tend to turn up the volume; if the next song is loud, it will likely sound louder than you would like.
Well, that’s all well and good (no one likes to be scared off by a particularly loud song), but there’s still one unforeseen consequence: your songs don’t sound as good, especially the ones that usually sound louder. Whatever Spotify’s intentions, the app still limits the volume of songs, which affects the dynamic range of the music. This is especially noticeable when listening to good headphones or speakers.
However, it’s easy to disable audio normalization. On your mobile device, open the app’s settings and select Playback . Find “Enable Audio Normalization” (iOS) or “Volume Normalization” (Android), then turn off the toggle. On the desktop app, open the settings in the app, then disable “Normalize Volume” in the options.
If you’re a Premium subscriber or using the desktop app, you’ll see “Volume Level” options below the audio normalization option: “Loud” which adjusts the audio level for noisy environments, “Normal” which assumes you’re in average audio environments, and “Quiet”, which adjusts the volume for a quiet environment. Spotify claims it doesn’t affect sound quality when the volume level is set to “Normal” or “Quiet” only when “Loud” is on, but I’m not sure. Any additional filter will affect the overall sound and I’m not interested in that when I’m looking for the highest possible sound quality.
Even as a free subscriber, I hear a difference when this setting is turned off.
Other settings to check
If you are still unhappy with the sound quality of Spotify, check if the equalizer is enabled in the same playback menu. An equalizer can be useful for boosting or cutting certain audio elements, but it often gets in the way of the desired sound. I would recommend turning it off unless you have a specific goal.
In the Sound Quality section, make sure that the sound quality is as high as possible, which means “Very high” for Premium and “High” for free use. This goes for both “Wi-Fi streaming”, “Cellular streaming” and “downloading” to ensure the best sound quality no matter the situation. Please note that improving the quality of cellular streaming will require more cellular data. Finally, disable “Automatic Quality Adjustment” on this settings page to prevent Spotify from lowering audio quality when it detects low internet speed.