Music streaming services have become the go-to platform for music enthusiasts worldwide. Spotify and Apple Music are two of the biggest names in this industry, offering access to a vast library of music. While both have their unique features, the most crucial factor to consider is which one provides the best audio quality.
Gone are the days when people had to settle for the terrible sound quality of the iconic white iPod earbuds. Now, most people have audio products that provide decent sound quality. Whether you own AirPods or a high-fidelity setup worth thousands of dollars, you want to get the best quality out of the music you stream.
After testing Spotify and Apple Music side-by-side for over a year, it’s evident that there’s a clear winner when it comes to audio quality. Apple Music’s crystal-clear audio offerings outshine Spotify’s less-than-stellar sound quality.
Spotify: The Most Popular Streaming Service
Spotify is the most popular music streaming service worldwide, revolutionizing the industry with its recommendation algorithm. The Swedish company has invested heavily in podcasts and is now synonymous with the music business.
Spotify’s AI DJ is one of its most popular products, providing users with a never-ending radio station based on their interests. Spotify is available on almost every platform, including Android, iOS, MacOS, Windows, PlayStation, Xbox, Roku, Google TV, and more.
However, when it comes to sound quality, Spotify lags behind its competitors. Its audio quality tops out at 320kbits/s on mobile, using a lossy Ogg Vorbis codec, which is similar to CD quality. The desktop version uses an AAC codec that tops out at 256kbits/s, delivering noticeably low quality on decent playback equipment.
Apple Music: Dominating Digital Music
Apple Music emerged as Spotify’s biggest competitor in the streaming era. While most Apple services are exclusive to Apple devices, Apple Music is available on Android, Windows, iOS, and MacOS.
Apple Music’s features are well-rounded, offering extensive algorithmically generated and curated playlists for music discovery. Additionally, it has exclusive radio stations hosted by world-famous DJs like Zane Lowe and Ebro. The Karaoke feature on iOS strips lyrics out of songs, letting you become the lead vocalist.
Audio quality is where Apple Music shines. It has a vast library of lossless tracks that top out at 24-bit, 192kHz signal, surpassing the playback capabilities of Apple’s own AirPods devices. An Apple Music subscription also includes Dolby Atmos mixes for surround sound on many songs. Apple’s codecs sound better than Spotify’s, with a much richer sound and better instrument separation, even when listening to songs that aren’t delivered in a lossless format.
Apple Music Beats Spotify for Sound Quality
When it comes to sound quality, Apple Music is the clear winner. It trounces Spotify with its immense library of lossless, Hi-Res, spatial, and Dolby Atmos tracks. Even when you crank Spotify’s quality settings to the limit, you only get the equivalent of 320kbit/s on mobile and 256kbit/s on the desktop app over a lossy Ogg Vorbis codec. While Spotify has a lot going for it, audiophile-grade audio isn’t one of them.
Lossless streaming is included by default on Apple Music. Enabling it in the app’s settings provides access to the highest quality available. The quality of the file submitted to the platform when the song was uploaded determines the streaming quality. Most tracks stream with at least 16 bits of depth over Apple’s ALAC lossless codec, comparable to CD quality. Lossless tracks in the Apple Music library reach 24 bits of depth, which is close to the upper limit of what top-of-the-line Bluetooth headphones can handle.
Spotify’s Lack of Lossless Streaming
Spotify’s lack of lossless streaming is getting more outdated than ever. As the most popular music streamer, you would expect Spotify to provide high-quality audio. However, its lossy offerings pale in comparison to its competitors.
Spotify has been promising to launch a Hi-Fi subscription tier since February 2021, but it hasn’t been delivered yet. The proposed Hi-Fi tier, called “Supremium,” has been in development for years, but there has been no news of its launch. Even if the Hi-Fi tier launches, it will have a hard time competing with Apple Music’s sound quality.
Final Thoughts
In conclusion, Apple Music is the clear winner in terms of sound quality. Spotify has a lot of features and a vast music library, but it falls short when it comes to audio quality. While Spotify’s Hi-Fi tier is still in development, it’s hard to predict whether it will ever launch. For now, if you want the best sound quality, Apple Music is the way to go.
