[PS5] Poor audio quality issue from PS4 persists on PS5 app

[user-removed]

I just received my PlayStation 5 today, and after downloading the Spotify app to listen to my music I noticed that the PS5's Spotify app has the exact same problem with the audio quality that the PS4 has had for over 5 years.

For those who aren't aware of what I'm referencing please read the responses from these two forum posts (Post 1 and Post 2).

In short, the lows are very flat, mids are average to below average, and most notably the highs are tinny and sound very distorted. This is especially apparent in songs where vocalists use a lot of "s" sounds with their voice.  Overall, music from the Spotify app on PlayStation sounds tinny and highly compressed when compared to music played from literally any other app on the PS5/4. This has been said many times by multiple users here on this community forum and yet Spotify's developers have done nothing about it since Spotify for PlayStation launched in 2015.

After 5 years the PS5 has now released and we're still having the same issue. This seems like it would be such an easy fix; simply increase the default bitrate or disable Volume Normalization. But who knows, maybe I'm wrong and it's not that simple. Either way hopefully Spotify does something about this soon.

Plan

Premium

Country

U.S.

Device

PlayStation 5

Operating System

2.20

[Alex]

Hi there @user-removed,

Thanks for reaching out about this in the Community!

Sorry to hear that there are issues with the sound quality on your new PS5 as well. 

Have you tried logging in with a different account and checking whether the audio sounds the same.

Also, could you tell us what interface your using to connect to your audio system.

We'll be on the lookout for your reply.

[user-removed]

@Alex

I only have one Spotify account so I can't switch accounts, but I've had Spotify for 6+ years and have used the Spotify app on 3 Windows computers, a Mac, an Android and and 2 iPhones , a Google Chromecast, and an Apple TV, and they all sound exactly how they're supposed to sound, and sound identical when played through my audio setup. The Playstation (4 and 5) app is the only one that sounds different from the rest where there are clear artifacts/distortion in the highs and slightly weaker lows overall. If you're reading this and have a PS4 or PS5, play a song with the Playstation app and then play the exact same song on Spotify with a different system. When you listen to the highs on the Playstation app you can clearly hear sound artifacts.

Again this is probably due to Volume Normalization or lower bitrate. This could probably be fixed by Spotify engineers with a couple tweaks if one of you guys would just take the time to inform them of this issue.

Audio Setup: PS5 --> HDMI to TV --> ARC out to DAC --> 2 Monitors in Stereo (via RCA cables)

[Alex]

Hi again @user-removed,

Thanks for the reply and the info.

Could you try what @ kozzmozz14 has suggested in this thread and check if that makes a difference in your situation? Let us know if that helped in any way.

We've passed your info on to the right team and they'll be looking into it. Since audio quality is dependent on all the devices involved (TV, receivers, speakers) and how they work together so we cannot say when or if there will be a fix specifically for this. 

We'll get back to you as soon as there is any news 🙂  

[user-removed]

Tried all of his solutions and none of them worked. Using an optical cable and changing the audio format does nothing to change the issue.

But, I was listening to different songs on Spotify on my computer and PS5 and I'm confident that the issue on the Playstation app is Volume Normalization, not bitrate. Compared to my PC, music on the PS5 Spotify app sounds extremely compressed and not nearly as dynamic as on my computer. Also looked on Reddit and saw many different PS4 users were having the same problem with audio normalization (quiet parts getting louder, loud parts getting quieter). Everyone who listens to music extensively knows audio normalization is bad for sound quality overall.

Please tell the Spotify developers to turn this setting off, or at least give people on Playstation the option to turn it off in settings. Thanks.

[PapaJS]

Same problem here.
I'm using a solid AV reciever and good speakers, so that couldn't be the problem. Sounds good everywhere else. So I agree that the PS5 Spotify app is the issue here.

[Looukas]

So disappointing to hear that the issue going on since 2015 hasn't been fixed, what's more it remained when launching on a brand new hardware. This makes Spotify on PlayStation more of a marketing gimmick than a real feature. Also disappointing to see that they're trying to brush it off with "troubleshooting" steps like changing your audio setup etc. No, the audio should never sound this bad even on the most basic setup, unless you're using a mono headset to listen, maybe then it's hard to tell the difference. Spotify is a product where audio is literally the main focus and they fail to recognize an obvious issue.

[aneagu]

Hi all,

I’ve been noticing this issue as well lately on my PS4. It is best audible with the song 22 of Taylor Swift: around 0:44, the song sounds pixelated/like an 8-bit game which is really unacceptable sound quality.

I’ve been able to reproduce this issue on the following audio connections on my PS4:

• Built in DAC of the Blue Yeti Microphone connected via USB
• Dragonfly Cobalt USB DAC
• Aux port of my DualShock4 controller
• HDMI output to my tv

I’ve never had this issue on other platforms (windows, android and iOS). Therefore, I’m almost certain that the issue lies within the audio streaming of Spotify on the PS4. Please fix this issue since it makes listening to music in Spotify unbearable at times on the PS4 and that is a pity for such a good streaming service otherwise. 

[EvilJo]

Same with PS5... such a shame

[CarlosE]

Hey folks,

We’re receiving reports about audio quality issues in PlayStation consoles (PS4/PS5).

First, we'd recommend trying a clean reinstall of the app on your device. It's also worth trying the steps mentioned here.

If after that you’re still having trouble with this, could you provide us with the following info:

• PlayStation console/model.
• Exact Spotify version.
• Connected external devices.

Once we have that, we will pass it on to the relevant team, who will look further into it.

Thanks!

[aneagu]

Hi @CarlosE, 

I’ve reinstalled the Spotify app on my PS4 and the issue still persisted; I could not find any saved data to delete so I presume this is what you meant by a clean install. I’ve also tried the steps mentioned in the link but those did not work as well. As I mentioned before: “It is best audible with the song 22 of Taylor Swift: around 0:44, the song sounds pixelated/like an 8-bit game.”

I’m using a PS4 (Model CUH-1116A) running System software 8.03 and Spotify app version 3.62; the app is installed on my system storage. I’ve been able to reproduce the issue with the following devices:

• Built in DAC of the Blue Yeti Microphone connected via USB
• Dragonfly Cobalt USB DAC
• Aux port of my DualShock4 controller
• HDMI output to my tv

I’ve tested the DAC’s and Aux port with two pairs of headphones and the same issue occurred. This was for the following Audio Formats:

• Linear PCM
• Bitstream (Dolby)
• Bitstream (DTS)

Unfortunately I do not have access to an optical receiver so I could not test that connection method. However, I still think it should work properly on all (or at least the majority of) available connections. 

I hope this helps you and that you are able to fix this issue.