How to get Spotify's best audio quality

Some people complain that the quality of music streaming isn't good enough but then don't realise they can adjust settings to improve their audio output. While your speakers or headphones play a huge part in how you hear music through Spotify, options in the app and on your device are important too.

If you've never explored Spotify's audio settings, or it's been a while since you have, take some time to customize them. Spotify Premium users, in particular, have several ways to make their music sound even better.

The most logical place to start is with the audio quality selector itself, since that directly controls what Spotify sends to your device. To find it on iPhone or Android, open the Spotify app, tap your profile picture at the top-left and choose Settings and privacy . Next, select Media Quality .

On desktop, click the three-dot button at the top-left and choose Edit > Preferences , then scroll down to the Audio quality section. On mobile, you can set the quality independently for both Wi-Fi and Cellular , but on desktop there's only one selector. You can't change the quality in Spotify's web player, so use the desktop app for best results.

All Spotify users can choose from Low , Normal and High , with Premium subscribers also having access to Very high and Lossless . You'll see the bitrate and approximate amount of data usage per hour for each. Automatic adjusts based on your connection strength; for the best quality, disable the separate Auto-adjust toggle so Spotify doesn't modify it as you listen.

Further down the page, you'll see a Download quality section that offers the same options for offline files. If you've previously downloaded music and have since changed the quality, tap Download here to re-download everything to match the new setting. If you have limited mobile data but ample space on your phone, downloading music at High or Very high quality is a great plan. Then, you can shuffle your downloaded Liked Songs to enjoy high-quality CarPlay audio while driving .

Lossless delivers CD-quality audio using compression that doesn't delete any information. However, your listening setup could render this quality irrelevant. Bluetooth can't carry true lossless signals, so there's no point in selecting this quality while you're using earbuds or Bluetooth speakers.

On your phone, you'll need wired headphones to enjoy lossless music. In theory, your phone's built-in speakers can play lossless audio, but you won't be able to appreciate it that way. Any pair of USB-C earbuds can carry a lossless signal, though using a more powerful DAC (digital-to-analog converter) provides a better experience. Wired speakers connected to your computer will support lossless audio, and Spotify also works on other devices that support high-definition sound. If you have a Wi-Fi-enabled speaker that works with Spotify Connect, it should support lossless playback since Wi-Fi isn't subject to the same bandwidth limitations as Bluetooth.