Spotify: Adjust audio quality – how to enjoy the best possible sound

HOW DO I CONFIGURE AND USE SPOTIFY ON PC AND SMARTPHONE?

July 28, 2024 at 19:00

With Spotify you can adjust the audio quality as you wish. There is a big difference between Spotify Free and Spotify Premium.

1. How to change the audio quality in the Spotify app

2. What exactly does “Very High” mean on Spotify?

3. Note the difference (Free versus Premium)

The music streaming company from Sweden offers several levels of audio quality. Of course, you only want the best for your ears.

For the best possible sound in the Spotify app, you can select the “Very High” level in the settings, but there is much more to it than just the name of the quality.

How to change the audio quality in the Spotify app

You can change the audio quality in just a few steps. Remember that your Spotify smartphone app is not linked to the Spotify desktop app, so we recommend that you make the change in both apps.

What exactly does “Very High” mean on Spotify?

Spotify plays all audio content in AAC (Advanced Audio Coding) format. The lowest level is “Low” and corresponds to approximately 24 kbit/s (kilobits per second). “Very High” is the highest level and corresponds to approximately 320 kbit/s.

This gives you good quality and allows you to enjoy music to the fullest. The difference is particularly noticeable between 24 kbit/s and 320 kbit/s, but AAC is not a lossless format. The music streaming service Tidal, for example, uses a lossless format called FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec).

So you have to consider “very high” in the area of ​​the AAC format. Within this audio codec, the designation is appropriate and 320 kbit/s is a good value. However, compared to Tidal’s highest level “Max” (9216 kbit/s) in the FLAC format, this cannot really keep up.

In reality, however, you will only notice this extreme difference if you use special hardware. For example, in the combination of an audio interface with high-quality studio headphones, connected via a copper-plated 3.5 mm jack plug. If you listen via Bluetooth headphones such as the Apple AirPods Pro 2, the difference is not audible.

Note the difference (Free versus Premium)

You can adjust the audio quality with both Spotify Free and Spotify Premium. However, there is a difference: While Spotify Free has the maximum level of “High” (160 kbit/s), Spotify Premium has an extra level of “Very High” (320 kbit/s).

So you should consider whether Spotify Premium is worth it for you or not. It definitely makes a difference in quality. Depending on which headphones or speakers you use, the difference can be more or less audible.

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