[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

[PSPoor]

Same copypasta from Spotify this won't change

[PapaJS]

Hi!
Just leaving my info here:

Model: PS5 Disc Edition latest firmware as of 2021-05-02.
Spotify: Latest update as of 2021-05-02.
Connections: PS5 to TV via HDMI then optical cable from TV to a Denon AVR-2809 home theater system.
Sometimes I use my wireless Razer ManO'War headset, but it doesn't really make a difference. Spotify sounds bad either way. 

I don't have the possibility to provide exact versions at the moment, but I know they're up to date as of yesterday at least.

[user-removed]

What I feel is the issue here is some of the recordings are loaded in poor/old quality. When on my phone or PC, I have volume equalization and equalizers that enhance the sound. The PlayStation and Xbox versions of Spotify has to play the music in their original format, which may not be in hd and the consoles may be attempting to simulate hd. Maybe this is causing abnormal sound qualities? I constantly have to play with the volumes when playing older music verses newer or remastered music.

PS4 Pro, to tv, to multiple sources (optical sound bar and blue tooth surround speakers)

[Elena]

Hey folks!

Thanks for leaving your info. Our team is looking into this and we'd like to ask for a bit more info to be able to get to the bottom of this.

Can you send us audio recordings of the bad quality sound that you get from your console? We'd appreciate it if you could record the sound directly from the PS4/5 and from the speaker it's connected to.

Thank you for your cooperation on this!

[aneagu]

Good evening @Elena,

Glad to hear you are looking into it. Attached to this message, you can find a link to my recordings (@here). In short, I recorded using the Blue Yeti as an USB DAC for both my PC (as reference) and PS4. Moreover, I recorded the HDMI output to my monitor and the speakers of my TV playing it. There is a readme with more details. If you need more/specific recordings or have trouble accessing it, please let me know.

I'm looking forward to hearing from you and I hope you are finally able to solve this issue.

[Alex]

Hey @aneagu,

Thanks for going through this troubleshooting and the video.

We've passed it on to the team who are investigating this.

Cheers.

[paul_swld]

The PS5 is using the PS4 Spotify app in backwards compatibility btw

[Julianfelix93]

Spotify, we are still waiting for a fix. It takes way too long now. Just give us the option to select the streaming quality. 

This is the bad quality straight from the PS5 app through my home cinema system. It also sound bad with headphones connected to the controller. So no excuses that the problem is my home cinema system. You hear the compression loud en clear:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1HzrICfAwoM28S0O_IXelBfb43_3E4cPg/view?usp=sharing

The good quality version. Spotify app on my laptop through my AUX cable to the home cinema system:

 https://drive.google.com/file/d/1HzrICfAwoM28S0O_IXelBfb43_3E4cPg/view?usp=sharing

I am working for the dutch website Tweakers.net and we are planning an article next month, about the bad quality of Spotify on the PS4/PS5 and that the problem isn't solved for years now. And that a lot of users are complaining about it. Hopefully there will be are fix soon. 

[BramboXO]

@Julianfelix93 agreed. Spotify, this is again taking too long. Step up for once and give us the option to select the streaming quality. Be transparent.

Looking forward to the article Julian, this needs more publicity.

[aneagu]

Dear moderators (@Alex),

Again months have passed with no new information from your side.

I really don't understand why it is so difficult to fix this; you have enough experience with practically all possible platforms. Do you need more examples? Tell us then. Is it harder to fix than anticipated? Inform your users.

I am amazed that this is not a top priority issue as it's literally the core of your product that is malfunctioning. I am not complaining about audio formats or streaming rates. I am talking about unacceptable audio playback with clear audio artefacts and poor overall music quality compared to your other platforms.

I am starting to lose my patience, and I am sure many others as well (if they did not lose it already). I hope that you start taking your customers more seriously.