Audio distortion during playback through DAC on Pixel 6

[wtduffy]

Premium plan, Canada

Google Pixel 6 (MP1.0)

Android 12 (SQ3A.220605.009.A1)

Spotify app version 8.7.42.943

There is audio distortion (clicking/popping) during playback through a USB-C DAC on the Pixel 6. This was a known issue across *all* apps, resulting from permissions issues with Android's audio driver (see: https://support.google.com/pixelphone/thread/133794787/what-to-do-about-usb-c-audio-outputs-adaptor-...). This was corrected for many apps which use high quality audio drivers in the June 2022 update (https://support.google.com/pixelphone/thread/166222682/google-pixel-update-june-2022?hl=en), however the problem persists in Spotify, as the app apparently doesn't request permission to use a DAC's driver directly in the same manner as other apps (e.g. Tidal, USB Audio Player Pro). 

I have not been able to solve this issue by re-installing the Spotify app, changing audio quality, changing networks, changing headphones, etc. I believe this is an interface problem which needs to be patched. I hope there will be a fix from Spotify for this soon, since other apps have already adapted to the new Android version. 

[boris-gu]

A similar problem, pixel 6a + awdirect atom 2. It's amazing how much spotify doesn't care about users, because they don't solve a problem that has been known for a long time

[Bogdan_L]

Same here: windows aplication through cambridge magic 100 dac