Bad Sound in WebOS

[StaatsfeindNr1]

Plan

Premium

Country

Germany

Device

Problem on my LG OLEDC9 compared to Samsung Galaxy S10+, iPad Pro '17 and PC

Operating System

iPad OS14, Android 10, LG WebOS V05.00.10

Spotify WebOS V2.0.13

My Issue

Hi, I have the problem, that the music quality from Spotify sounds like a stream with less than 24 kbit/s. The problem occurs in the LG WebOS Spotify app on my LG OLED C9. In Spotify there are no settings to adjust the sound quality.

I found an article where Spotify says that there is music streaming in high quality: https://spotify-everywhere.com/products/lg-oled-smart-tv

Yes, I have a LG OLED TV and Spotify Premium but the sound is awful. The voice is okay, but absolutely no basses. Basses are horribly distorted. Like music in a support waiting loop. I attached two examples where you can hear the same song from the TV's Spotify App and the TV's YouTube App. YouTube sounds like every else device. I am listening music on my Teufel speakers so the TV speakers aren't the problem. I can't upload music files, so I compressed them to a zip. 

I hope there is anybody out there who can help me 🙏🏼. 

Thank you

René

[Jeremy]

Hey @StaatsfeindNr1,

Thank you for your post here in the Community. We're sorry to hear that you experience this. We're happy to help.

We suggest that you:

• Check your TV app store for any updates to the Spotify app.
• Check your TV's software is up-to-date. If you don't know, check with the manufacturer for how to check and update the version software.
• Reinstall the app.
• Try with another internet connection. If you're on Wifi, try with an ethernet cable.

Keep us posted. We're always one reply away.

Cheers!

[p327blk]

I have the same issues on my LG OLEDE55C9PLA. TV software updated, Spotify tv-app updated, reinstalled etc. Just like the threadstarter I tested the sound quality via the YouTube tv-app - great sound. And also experiencing bad quality bass in the Spotify tv-app.

Any update on this from Spotify?

[Elena]

Hi @p327blk!

Thanks for reaching out to us. 

We haven't been receiving any recent reports on this from our users, so we'd like to investigate this a bit further with you.

Can you let us know if you're getting the same quality when using the Connect feature? Also if possible, could you try using Bluetooth to pair your phone and check if the sound remains the same?

It's also a good to check with a different internet connection as we mentioned above.

Let us know how it all goes.

[p327blk]

Hi Elena,

Can you let us know if you're getting the same quality when using the Connect feature?

The connect feature opens the TV app for me, so yes. Whether i use the connect feature from my mobile phone or open the Spotify app directly in the TV, the sound quality output is the same.

Also if possible, could you try using Bluetooth to pair your phone and check if the sound remains the same?

BT pairing only works with the TVs internal speakers so unfortunately not.

It's also a good to check with a different internet connection as we mentioned above.

Interested in how this would affect it since it's working fine through the Chromecast which is connected the same way. None the less I've tried both via ethernet and WiFi with no difference. I have a stable 250mbps connection and no other issues with low quality/not being able to play content so I don't believe this is the problem at all.

However, something I've noticed is that the Spotify TV app plays music much, much louder than all others - Chromecasted content, Netflix TV app, etc. Just now I was trying to troubleshoot more for you by switching between the modes of connection and was worried I'd damaged my speakers when switching over to the TV app and it blasted way, way too loudly. Anyways, due to this ..quirk, I lower the volume on the amplifier. Perhaps the Spotify TV app needs to set the "software" volume in line with other apps? Unfortunately the Spotify app doesn't seem to allow me to change the volume via the TV app so can't test this out.

Hope that helps.

Kind regards,

Bilal

[StaatsfeindNr1]

Repling to @Jeremy
I've tested that already before I wrote the message in the forum^^

@Elena

Via the 3,5mm headphone jack of my TV the bass quality is terrible. Same song over the headphone jack via Youtube sounds good. Same behavior like Bilal has. If I connect my TV via Bluetooth with my hifi the bass in Spotify sounds as good as it should sound. (My TV is the bluetooth sender, my phone isn't connected in any way)

Over the last year I used Spotify just a few times on my TV because of that terrible bass. The few time where I used Spotify on my TV I connected it via bluetooth with my hifi. That works but it is circuitous.

Thanks

René

[Eni]

Hey folks! 

Thanks for all the info you've sent so far. 

@p327blk, could you let us know if the sound quality is better when you lower the app volume? Additionally, we'd like to know if the same happens with the TV's internal speakers when you disconnect your Teufel system /if you connect it with a cable/ If you connect them via Bluetooth?

@StaatsfeindNr1, would you mind letting us know the make and model of your sound system? Also, we'd like to know if the bass sounds distorted when you use the TV's internal speakers.

We'll be on the lookout for your replies.

[StaatsfeindNr1]

I can't answer your question because the TV speakers are just playing voice and no bass. I am using a Teufel Combo BT with two Ultima 20 Speakers and a Teufel US 2106 (100 Watts) Subwoofer.

[p327blk]

Yeah like StaatsfeindrNr1 mentioned, there's barely any bass in TV speakers so that can't be checked. Also, the Spotify TV app does not allow changing volume, the only way to do it is to change on the amplifier.

I have a nad c316BEE amplifier connected to a set of Dali Zensor 7 speakers. Again, this is only ever an issue with the Spotify app that's available on the LG content store and installed on the TV. Spotify Connect via Chromecast is no issue. Netflix via Chromecast and TV app downloaded from LG content store is no issue. HBO same. Twitch same. It's just the Spotify TV app.

[Jeremy]

Hi there @StaatsfeindNr1,

Thank you for getting back in touch with us.

Can you confirm if you tried changing the audio quality setting and using Spotify on another device to see if you can replicate?  

Keep us posted 🙂

[StaatsfeindNr1]

Hi Jeremy,

In the LG WebOS Version of the Spotify App there is no settings menu. You can't change any settings. On my phone and computer I have the audio quality on maximum, of course. As Bilal also mentioned, the problems occures only with the LG WebOS Spotify App. With other apps like YouTube I have no bass problem. Also with Spotify on my phone while playing music on my hifi I have no problems. Just the WebOS Spotify App makes problems...

Have a nice weekend

[p327blk]

+1

[Elena]

Hey folks,

Thanks for keeping us in the loop on this topic!

Based on all of your kindly provided info so far, it sounds like the particular audio systems / TVs are having difficulties handling our Spotify's audio-codec on their end.  Using a 3.55mm audio passthrough should usually result into the same audio quality the phone provides, however it seems there's another point of decoding going on locally on the tv / sound system level.

Sadly, this doesn't sound like something we'll be able to provide a fix for, as it would require a codec change on our end. Improving the way the codec is handled by the other devices is the only way we suspect that this can be resolved. For that, a firmware update on the devices in question would be necessary.

Hope this clears things up. If you have any questions or need anything else, the Community is here for you.

[StaatsfeindNr1]

Hi Elena,

You think that everything is working but except the WebOS Spotify App via 3.5mm headphone jack is a codec problem? I don't believe that only the TV/Spotify/3.5mm wire combination is using another audio codec.

Device	App	(Device) connected via (see below) with my hifi	Bass quality
TV	Spotify	3.5mm wire	bad
		Bluetooth	good
	YouTube	3.5mm wire	good
		Bluetooth	good
	Netflix	3.5mm wire	good
Phone	Spotify	3.5mm wire	good
		Bluetooth	good

Thank you for your answer 

Best regards

René

[p327blk]

René, I suggest you purchase a Chromecast or likewise. I usually use my Chromecast but I would've liked to be able to use the TV app for the sake of convenience of not having to bring my phone, but it doesn't seem like this will be fixed.

[StaatsfeindNr1]

My TV has a Chromecast built-in 🤣🤷🏼‍♂️ What an irony... I guess I have to use Bluetooth further...

[p327blk]

Yeah I think we have the same model.
I just remembered, there's a deal from Stadia right now that might be interesting to you if you like gaming: buy a game and receive the stadia controller + Chromecast ultra with no additional cost. Don't know if of interest to you. I can recommend the game Sekiro if you're a bit of a masochist and like very hard games 😁

[Mart_320nm]

I have just upgraded to Spotify Premium on the 3 month free trial. On my LG OLED65C9 I can confirm the sound quality with Spotify Premium is just awful.

I am playing it into my $2000 Marantz AV processor via the enhanced Audio Return Channel (eARC) HDMI connection. The Marantz is reporting that the Spotify audio is coming in as Dolby. And to me it sounds like very low bitrate Dolby audio!

The LG TV's WebOS Spotify app has no settings for sound quality. I shall be cancelling Spotify and going back to the Spotify free, as see no advantage with Premium in its current state -- with no sound quality settings.

[Gladiatorza]

I can confirm the same issue on an LG CX 65, connected via e-arc to denon 2700h.

The only difference is that the issue occurs on all apps (YouTube, tidal), and not isolated to Spotify.

[robbie8411]

I have same issue. In windows app and in android audio quality is set to very high. I have stereo system with integrated Marantz ampifier with optical inputs. While streaming via webos app from lg b8 tv through optical out the sound quality is considerably worse than while streaming via optical out from chromecast audio. Both streaming devices use the same WiFi.  This suggests lower bitrate from webos app, even though I have spotify premium. 

The most noticeable difference in sound is treble reproduction - from chromecast and cd player it's flawless in well produced songs. While playing the same songs via webos app I notice clipping and compression. Which is a shame, considering how convenient is using TV as an entertainment centre.