Better sounding audio is on the way for Spotify subscribers, but you won’t see high-res the same way Apple and Tidal do it.
Subscribers to Spotify have had an interesting couple of years. Costs went up, audiobooks were added, and the promise of lossless music has seemingly faded into the periphery like so many things, even while competitors clamber to offer the feature.
Instead, Spotify rallied around an AI DJ service that could even take a barrage of requests.
If it seemed like Spotify wasn’t competing the way everyone expected, you’d be right. We’ve certainly heard from readers that made the jump from one to the other, though its CEO having investments in weapons technology probably didn’t help much.
But if that doesn’t bother you, however, and the quality of music files has, it seems Spotify is raising that high-res music vibe once again, this time with feeling.
This week, Spotify noted that lossless audio was (finally) ready to launch on the service, hitting the US and UK first, with Australia to come next month.
The addition of Spotify Lossless provides audio quality as high as 24-bit 44.1kHz FLAC, and available on devices that support Spotify Connect. Folks with a Sonos will get Spotify’s lossless additions from next month, as well as people who use an Amazon speaker to listen to Spotify.
More a lossless service than a purely high-res one, the audio quality maxing out at 44.1kHz is more CD quality with a little extra bandwidth, especially given the likes of Tidal and Apple Music can cover up to 24-bit and 192kHz lossless, even if most of what’s there is typically closer to 48kHz and 96kHz.
Depending on the pair of headphones you have, you may not necessarily get the most out of a lossless service. Spotify even notes that “Bluetooth doesn’t provide enough bandwidth to transmit lossless audio, so the signal has to be compressed before being sent”, which is one reason why even high-res Bluetooth headphones tend to max out at certain high-res levels.
However, there are also wired USB-C options that do work with phones, as well as wired USB-C DACs like those from THX and Astell & Kern, effectively turning classic wired headphones into portable high-res listeners to go.
We’re not sure everyone will have those, but regardless, the feature addition will still likely an upgrade for many, particularly those looking to safeguard the quality without resorting to the lossy files music services can sometimes sound like they have. Ultimately, it means the places where you can find high-res music in Australia is about to expand.
Lossless Spotify is rolling out to Spotify Premium subscribers specifically through 50 places around the world, with Australia and New Zealand on the cards in October.
