Key Takeaways
- Turn off volume normalization and turn on high quality streaming.
- To maintain sound quality, leave the EQ settings as is.
- A premium account (320kbps streaming quality) and good headphones will improve your Spotify experience.
The streaming era has helped make music more accessible than ever before for both artists and consumers, but the shift from listening to music on analogue gear to listening to music on your phone or laptop tends to change sound quality. So if you’re a Spotify user looking for some tips to instantly improve the quality of your app’s streaming capabilities, we’re here to help.
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Tips to improve Spotify sound quality
Settings and Tips
In the next section we’ll tell you which hardware is best, but if you’re just interested in a quick setup to get the best streaming experience, check out these:
- Make sure volume normalization is turned offThis is the default setting for Spotify. It’s basically a feature that makes sure the music you’re listening to isn’t too loud or too quiet, and keeps it consistent overall. In theory, this sounds like a good thing and may help sensitive listeners, but it prevents you from hearing the music the way it was meant to be heard.
- This may sound obvious, but Turn on the “High Quality Streaming” settingYou can access it through the Music Quality section of the settings.
- While other guides might recommend tweaking your EQ settings (there are some presets, such as the “Small Speaker” setting on AirPods, that can help you in a pinch), in reality, Leave the EQ settings as is. Firstly, it requires some audio knowledge to understand the best settings for a particular song/genre etc. Also, tweaking the EQ can have a detrimental effect on the sound quality (potentially compromising the vision of the original audio engineer).
- Make sure you have Spotify Premium. That’s because it uses 320kbps (not bad, but not as good as Apple or Tidal, which use lossless), which is a big improvement from the free version, which uses 96kbps.
Spotify HiFi, the company’s lossless audio subscription tier, is expected to launch sometime this year, but it’s about three years late, so don’t get your hopes up.
Your Devices (and Headphones) Matter
Hardware Tips and Recommendations
After following the tips above, it’s also important to keep in mind that the hardware you’re using will make a difference in your listening experience: for example, Bluetooth headphones are very convenient but won’t sound as good as wired headphones (this applies to any music listening situation), and the Spotify desktop app running on a PC will sound better than streaming via your smartphone.
For the best sound quality, a good pair of headphones (preferably wired, if you’re an audiophile) is the most important factor, but following the tips in the previous section will also get you some solid sound.