[Desktop][Mac] Audio Compression Artifacts, Crackling Noise

[aeryen]

Plan

Premium

Country

US / Canada

Device

Macbook Pro M3 (Max)

Operating System

Mac OS Sonoma 14.3.1 (23D60)

Spotify Version:

Spotify for macOS (Apple Silicon)
1.2.32.997.g4c6498b6

My Question or Issue

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1SJY2YkZnCTP_8DZwoshF1wMu1OXPZpKC?usp=drive_link

I have made some new recordings and shared in the link above.

This new dataset contains 3 songs, all of them recorded directly on the device, without using speakers/mics as intermediary. So you can hear the difference in quality a lot better.

Lantern - Mac Spotify, Mac Apple Music, iPhone Spotify

Confesion - Mac Spotify, Mac Apple Music

Changes - Mac Spotify, Mac Apple Music

Format is set to 96,000hz in Mac MIDI settings.
The noise/artifacts is audible in both High Quality and Very High Quality in Spotify Setting.
The same noise does not exist in other apps, webpages or Spotify iOS version playing on my iPhone.

The same noise is audible in both the speaker of the laptop, the AirPod Pro and cabled Earphones. (As well as direct system loopback recording using Blackhole.)

[MihailY]

Hey @aeryen,

Apologies for the late reply and the mix-up. We’ve now moved your post out of the main thread again.

First off, thanks for sending over the recordings and additional details. We really appreciate the effort you’ve taken to report this issue in such detail.

There are a few more things we’d like you to check, in order to narrow down the root cause:

• Is the noise present at any volume level? It might be difficult to hear anything at a low level, but could you up the device volume and then turn down the in-app volume and vice-versa, to see if that makes any difference.
• In case you’re using the Equaliser, reset it to default or try one of the presets from the drop-down.
• Try our web player on the same device (if possible, using different browsers).
• Can you test using your iPhone (or the web player, if it works without issues) to control the playback on your Mac via Connect?

Keep us posted.

[ajolotes]

I have the same problem, a crackling sound that just started happening, after years of using this setup.

Any pointers will be helpful.

[Eni]

Hey there @ajolotes, 

Thanks for reaching out about this here in the Community. 

Could you send us the info @MihailY asked for previously? Also, make sure to add all the troubleshooting steps you've tried so far. That way we can avoid repeating any steps.

Additionally, sending us the exact make/model, operating system and Spotify version of your device would come in handy. 

We'll be waiting for your reply.

[ajolotes]

Hi Eni,

Thank you for your response and requests. I realize this has to do with my audio setup once I mirror my screen, via Apple TV, unto my amp and speakers, no idea why it's happening, but definitely not Spotify's issue.
Thanks!

el ajolote

[aeryen · Accepted solution]

1. When set the in-app volume to 50% and up the system volume, the problem remains.

2. The problem is present when using the default "flat" equalizer, after changing the setting to Acoustic the problem remains.

3. The browser player still has the same issue.

Update: After setting the equalizer to acoustic, then click 'reset', the issue has now disappeared.
My unfounded theory is that, previously I have set the equalizer to acoustic, but somehow the setting was not properly saved and synced. Because when I went back to the setting UI it still shows the equalizer to be 'flat'. However after switching it to something then reset, the setting was properly synced and as a result the problem was resolved. (maybe worth noting that immediately clicking the 'reset' does not fix it. only switching and then reset will make it go away.)

[lehestro]

Weird. I was experiencing terrible audio quality as well. Clipping/distortion. I changed the equalizer from flat to acoustic and back, and now it sounds waaaaay clearer. Thank you! 

Also, wth Spotify? I truly was about to cancel my service. It sounded that bad, while Apple Music sounded great. I was thinking about how to transfer my playlists 'n everything. What a weird bug. I hope it gets addressed in an update., but in the meantime, very happy for this workaround!

Also wanted to note – the volume is waaay louder now too. I had already written the manufacturer of my audio interface to complain about not being able to get any volume, but it was this stupid bug the whole time. It's soooo different now. Sounds great. 

[ajolotes]

Thank you, I appreciate your feedback.

[ps030]

My Question or Issue

Having severe audio quality issues on the Spotify app for MacOS desktop. Every song is crackling and distorted to the point where there's no sense in listening to music. 

Initially was using AirPods Pro and thought Bluetooth connectivity may be the issue. Plugged in wired Bose headphones and the same experience persisted. The Spotify web player through Safari had much better audio quality (even though it should really be worse). No other sound applications are having this issue.

Did a fresh reinstall by deleting all app data under /library, deleting the app itself and all supporting files finder could locate, shutting down the device for several minutes, booting it up and installing the latest app version (see version below). Settings and configurations were adjusted as below. It does look like the "streaming quality" setting was set to "low" by default, and I fear that parameter may be stuck in place, even after changing it?

Please help... 

Spotify Settings

Version: Spotify for macOS (Apple Silicon) 1.2.49.439.gfae492c7

Streaming Quality: Very high

Download Quality: Very high

Auto adjust quality: Off

Normalize volume: Off

Plan

Premium

Country

USA

Device

MacBook Air M1, 2020

Operating System

MacOS Sequoia 15.0.1 (24A348)

Network

Wifi @ 4 ms ping 172 mbps download/ 412 mbps upload (validated through Speedtest)

[ps030]

Somehow the EQ settings were the issue. Even after a fresh reinstall and going through all the troubleshooting steps I came across...  Don't use the 'Dance' preset or anything similar in EQ adjustments.