Desktop: Exclusive Mode now available

[MattSuda]

Exclusive Mode is now available in the Spotify Windows desktop app for Premium users. This feature is important for listeners who want Bit Perfect playback from their audio device, and it pairs great with Lossless turned on for the purest audio quality up to 24-bit/44.1 kHz FLAC.

Without Exclusive Mode turned on, your computer may alter audio before it reaches your DAC by resampling it, mixing other system sounds in, and changing the volume. When Exclusive Mode is turned on in the Audio Output settings, Spotify takes full control of your computer's audio processing to deliver music exactly as it was mastered with Bit Perfect playback. This is ideal for listeners with a DAC or audio interface who want the purest possible sound without resampling and interference from their computer's audio mixer. 

With the new Audio Output settings, you can also switch the Spotify desktop app output to a different audio device than your computer's default. This does not require Exclusive Mode to be turned on.

Notes:

● While Spotify has exclusive access to your audio device, other apps will be unable to play sound through that device. If you have multiple audio devices, you can continue playing sound with other apps by switching your computer's default audio output to another device.

● Exclusive Mode is unavailable on music videos, podcasts, preview clips, and canvas clips. When playing this content, the audio may play from your computer's default audio device instead. You may get a popup to disable Exclusive Mode in settings.

● Exclusive Mode works best with a DAC or audio interface. Your audio device needs to support the 44.1 kHz sample rate for Exclusive Mode to work. If your computer has a built-in headphone or speaker port, you might already have a compatible built-in DAC, so try selecting that. The Output dropdown menu may show devices that are not compatible with Exclusive Mode. If you experience an issue or get a popup message that content is unplayable, you can go into settings and switch the Output back to System Default.

Playback Settings:

For true Bit Perfect playback, you may also want to disable these settings. With Exclusive Mode turned on and these settings disabled, you'll hear the audio exactly as it was mastered.

Turn these settings Off in Settings ➜ Playback:

● Crossfade - (Off by default)

● Automix - (On by default)

● Normalize Volume - (On by default)

● Equalizer - (Off by default)

How to turn on Exclusive Mode:

1: Connect your external audio device (DAC or audio interface) to your computer. If your computer has a built-in headphone or speaker port, you might already have a compatible built-in DAC.
2: Open the Spotify Windows desktop app and go to Settings

3: Scroll down to Playback

4: Under Output, select your audio device from the dropdown menu
5: Turn on Exclusive Mode

You can also turn on the setting to Force Volume for your chosen audio device. This always keeps the Spotify volume at maximum for controlling volume on an external device.

How to turn off Exclusive Mode (back to default settings):

1: Go to Settings and scroll down to Playback

2: Under Output, turn off Exclusive Mode

3: Under Output, select System Default from the device dropdown menu

How to have Spotify output to a different audio device (other than the default):

You can switch the Spotify desktop app output to a different audio device than your computer's default. This does not require Exclusive Mode or Force Volume to be turned on.

Your computer's master volume slider will not control the audio from Spotify when the selected audio device is not your computer's default. You will need to control the volume from either your computer's per-app volume mixer, the Spotify desktop app, or from your DAC or amplifier.

1: Go to Settings and scroll down to Playback

2: Under Output, select your audio device from the dropdown menu

3: To go back to the default setting: Under Output, select System Default from the dropdown menu

Troubleshooting: You can get more help with using Exclusive Mode in the support articles

➜ Spotify Support Article: Exclusive Mode

➜ Spotify Support Article: Lossless Audio Quality

FAQ:

This section will answer your frequently asked questions and will be updated with the latest answers.

Is Exclusive Mode available in the Mac desktop app?

Exclusive Mode will be coming to the Mac desktop app in a future release. Right now Exclusive Mode is only available in the Windows desktop app.

Will Exclusive Mode stay on between sessions?

Yes, your settings are saved. Exclusive Mode will remain enabled as long as your audio device is connected when you next open Spotify.

Why can't I see the Output setting or the Exclusive Mode settings toggle?

To see the Output setting in the Windows desktop app, make sure the app is updated to version 1.2.84 or higher.

The Exclusive Mode settings toggle only appears when you select a compatible audio device in the Output menu. It won't appear for:

● Bluetooth headphones or speakers

● Your computer's built-in speakers

● Virtual audio devices (like Zoom audio)

Why can't I hear other apps?

While exclusive mode is on, Spotify has exclusive control of your selected audio device. Other apps will need to use a different output, or you can turn off Exclusive Mode to share the device.

Do I control volume in Spotify or on my device?

With Exclusive Mode turned on, you will need to control the volume from the Spotify desktop app or from your DAC or amplifier. You can use either. Some listeners prefer to keep Spotify at maximum volume and control output from their DAC or amplifier. You can also turn on the setting to Force Volume for your chosen audio device. This always keeps the Spotify volume at maximum for controlling volume on an external device.

Feedback: Where can I give my feedback about Exclusive Mode in the desktop app?

The best way to share your feedback is to comment here in this thread.

[Oh4ccidentalMeow]

Huge thanks to the Spotify team for this! 🙌

WASAPI exclusive mode is a genuinely significant engineering win — bypassing the Windows audio mixer means bit-perfect signal path, no resampling artifacts, and your DAC finally gets the signal it deserves. For audiophiles and anyone running dedicated external hardware, this is not a small thing. This is the thing.

That said, I'd love to see this momentum carry over to Linux. With more and more users migrating away from Windows 11 — fed up with forced updates, telemetry, and shrinking control over their own systems — Linux is no longer a niche platform. People are actively choosing it as their primary OS precisely because they care about what happens to their data and their hardware.

Those same people tend to care deeply about audio quality too. An exclusive ALSA mode for Linux would complete the picture: direct hardware access, zero mixing overhead, bit-perfect playback — just like WASAPI exclusive delivers on Windows.

I've already raised this idea in the community here.

If this resonates with you, please vote it up. Let's get Linux the audio quality it deserves! 🎵

[smooth28la]

I'm excited about this feature.  It used to be only on Tidal now I can use Spotify exclusively!

However, the feature is NOT available on my Windows desktop version yet.  Do I need to install the one from Windows stores or the stand-alone installer?

[jakesnek]

This doesn't seem to work at all currently, at least not on my PC. Setting it to a device in my audio interface, it will refuse to play any audio and keeps throwing a popup to disable it (even though I am playing normal music)

[Darkil]

The volume control does not work when “Exclusive mode” is enabled.

P.S.: The maximum volume option is disabled

[pieterv1]

For the comment about volume control not working: that's the whole point of this feature... If you're going to change the volume in software, the digital audio stream is being altered so you're losing bit-perfect playback per definition. Volume should be adjusted further down the signal chain - using the hardware volume control of your DAC or (pre)amplifier for example.

Nice to see a Mac solution is in the works. I suppose bit-perfect playback is already working on iOS devices? 

I hope Android will follow soon, as it should be supported starting with Android 14. 

[pcchip]

in reply to Oh4ccidentalMeow  

on Linux, if you modify the pipewire config to allow 44100, then the Spotify client will cause pipewire to switch to 44.1khz and avoid resampling.  It's funny, Spotify has been better on Linux than Windows since lossless came out 🙂

Yes, ALSA would be even better, but I've been happy with this setup for months. When I want the absolute highest quality, I use Strawberry pulling from other streaming services with higher sample rate than 44.1

[Darkil]

Then why is this feature there? I mean, what's the point of the volume control toggle in Spotify?

Maybe I'm missing something.

[Darkil]

I mean that:

"With Exclusive Mode turned on, you will need to control the volume from the Spotify desktop app or from your DAC or amplifier. You can use either. Some listeners prefer to keep Spotify at maximum volume and control output from their DAC or amplifier. You can also turn on the setting to Force Volume for your chosen audio device. This always keeps the Spotify volume at maximum for controlling volume on an external device."

[pcchip]

the point of max volume is to keep it bit-perfect all the way through the chain

[richbs]

Fantastic to get such an enthusiast-friendly feature to go with lossless. Well done, nice surprise. 

[Pasht3t]

Can we get this losless feature in Ukraine?

[Darkil]

That's a good question. Ukraine is also a country with sufficient purchasing power, but for some reason, they didn't include Lossless in the Premium plan and didn't even create a separate Platinum plan as a fallback option.

[gareth8]

Not working at all for me. Every single song is: "Spotify can't play this right now. If you have the file on your computer you can import it."

[nadav182]

Dear Spotify community,

The fact that it takes over the output device for other application makes me less inclined to use this feature. Why must it be so? Is there no way to configure Windows to be transparent instead?

Thanks!

[SDF31]

Thank you very much for this functionnality which give lossless stream totaly usefull! 😍

[lowr1der007]

For a headphone enthusiast with an external DAC/AMP this is a great feature, cherry on the parfait, Thank you!!! 

[Thutmose]

Sounds good when it works, but it seems to cause problems on my system (windows 11 pro 26200.8037, external DAC used for Spotify and NVIDIA High Definition Audo device for everything else).  It starts stuttering until I turn the feature off then it's fine and I can turn it back on again.  Happens every time my monitor goes into standby mode and then turns back on (odd repro, but it's consistent).

[AkumaKurono]

It's been forever but finally! As a headphone audiophile enthusiast having this on windows with wasapi and lossless definitely has cemented forever staying with Spotify. Please add bit perfect protocol to Android users. My Pixel 10 Pro running my Quidelix 5K DAC needs it. Let's move forward to the objective progressive future of 2026

[bmfan221]

Plan

Premium

Country

Japan

Device

Windows PC + Schiit Audio Jotunheim 3 (Mesh DAC + Forkbeard)

Operating System

Windows 11

Spotify Version

1.2.85.519.g549a528b

Issue

When I use Exclusive Mode, the beginning of some tracks is cut off. This happens mainly on tracks that start immediately with no pregap or silence at the beginning.

Important detail:

This issue happens even when the Windows shared audio format is already set to 44.1 kHz. So the problem does not seem to be caused only by switching from 48 kHz shared mode to 44.1 kHz exclusive mode.

What I confirmed:

• With Exclusive Mode enabled, my DAC correctly switches to 44.1 kHz
• With Exclusive Mode disabled, my DAC returns to the Windows shared sample rate
• The cut-off at the beginning of tracks still happens even if Windows shared mode is manually set to 44.1 kHz before playback
• Because of this, the issue seems more related to Exclusive Mode initialization, output startup, or buffering than to sample-rate switching itself

Spotify settings used:

• Lossless ON
• Exclusive Mode ON
• Normalize Volume OFF
• EQ OFF
• Crossfade OFF
• Automix OFF

Steps to reproduce:

1. Select the DAC as Spotify output
2. Enable Lossless and Exclusive Mode
3. Play a track that starts immediately with no silence at the beginning (Reproduces consistently on: [Album name] UNDERTALE Soundtrack [Track Number] 100 [Track name] MEGALOVANIA)
4. The first moment of the track is cut off
5. This still happens even if Windows shared audio format is already set to 44.1 kHz

Expected behavior:

Exclusive Mode should play the full track from the very beginning, even for tracks with no pregap.

Actual behavior:

The first part of the track is cut off.

Additional hardware info:

My DAC is a Schiit Jotunheim 3 with Mesh DAC + Forkbeard. Using the Forkbeard app, I can confirm that Spotify Exclusive Mode does switch the DAC to 44.1 kHz correctly.

[smooth28la]

Is Exclusive Mode = Spotify Connection via dedicated Streamer     

Same quality sound quality wise?