Is Spotify Lossless “bit perfect”? Sometimes…

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After hearing about Spotify finally getting ready to start streaming lossless FLAC on their Premium services, I redeemed an offer for two months of Premium service for six bucks. About a week later, lossless streaming came around and I began to experiment with it.

Lossless output from Spotify is not the default setting and will only be available in a supported device. While many devices are supported, many more are not so. Lots of folks will find that they cannot enable “Lossless” and will be limited to “Very High” quality. Some will not be able to select the quality of streams at all and will be locked into the “Automatic” setting.

There are many devices that feature the Spotify app. There are also many devices that support Spotify Connect. I experimented with all of my devices using Spotify to see what each of them would do with it.

Spotify Lossless supports 16/44.1 and 24/44.1 FLAC. Folks concerned with bit perfect output want those numbers unchanged during playback. Some do not care and know applied DSP is going to manipulate the signal anyway and anything over 16/44.1 is a waste of bits. But, some folks like seeing those numbers.

I installed the Spotify app in many devices I have that support it. These include a few iOS devices, an Intel iMac, a Mac mini M1, a Microsoft Surface 5, an Nvidia Shield TV Pro, an Apple TV 4K and an LG C1 TV. A Sony UBP-X800 I have supports Spotify Connect as does a Yamaha RX-V6A. Onkyo discontinued support for a built in Spotify app in their receivers but retained support for Spotify Connect as is the case concrrning my TX-NR777, TX-NR696 and TX-NR6050.

Some of my devices support Spotify Lossless using their own Spotify apps while others do not do so. Some of them support Lossless when using Spotify Connect while others do not do so. Some support Lossless using Google Cast(formerly Chromecast built-in) and/or Airplay. It’s all over the place.

After tinkering with all of those devices, only one supported “bit perfect” Lossless playback using Spotify Connect, Google Cast and Airplay. That device is the Onkyo TX-NR6050. Can I honestly say there was a very noticeable difference in sound quality playing lossy signals from the Spotify app in various devices compared to those that support Lossless? No, I cannot say so. I may continue to post here from time to time with the results of Spotify streaming using different devices. I welcome anybody to post about their experiences with Spotify in their own systems. I’d be interested in results from those who use Audirvana or Roon as I have not yet run Spotify through either of them.

 

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I recently spent some time playing around with Spotify using the Nvidia Shield TV Pro(2019.) The Spotify app can be downloaded from the Google Play Store in the Shield. The app is not fully featured and audio settings are not present in it. But, when playing music using it and bringing up the Spotify app on a Smart device on the same network, the apps will sync and playback and audio adjustments can then be made using the Smart device app.

After some tinkering, I was able to get Spotify Lossless to work in the Shield after a few initial glitches. In the Shield’s own audio output settings, one can select passthrough of bit and sample rate of input signals. Some do not like 16/44.1 signals being resampled to 24/48 and want a “bit perfect” signal making its way to a DAC.

While Spotify Lossless 16/44.1 is supported in the Shield, 24/44.1 is not supported and everything is streamed as 16/44.1. Some will not like it and some will not care at all as long as it is Lossless. The Shield supports Spotify Connect and Google Cast. There is no support for Airplay. One can select HDMI or USB for audio output with the Shield when using both connections.

iOS Spotify app:

iOS Onkyo Controller app:

 

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I’m still enjoying playing around with Spotify and moved onto the LG C1 TV. LG WebOS supports Spotify and one can download the app into their LG TV. Like the Shield app, it is a basic affair and I must go to another device to view streaming info. The C1 supports Spotify Connect and Airplay, but not Google Cast.

While the C1 supports Spotify with its own app and Spotify Connect, Spotify Lossless is not supported when using either of them and “Very High” quality is the limit. Use an iOS or MacOS device to Airplay to the C1 and “bit perfect” Spotify Lossless is streamed as Airplay supports up to 24/48. However, that 16/44.1 or 24/44.1 signal is resampled to 24/48 for output over ARC or eARC.

Folks with LG TVs need to be aware of something when using webOS apps. If eARC is not enabled in Advanced Sound settings and ARC is used, two channel PCM signals from streaming services will be re encoded to DD 2.0 and the AVP/AVR at the receiving end will display it as such. This is no good for those using devices such as the miniDSP Flex HTx connected to their TVs as it supports only PCM signals. Signals sent over Airplay to the C1 are not re encoded to DD 2.0 using ARC. I did notice that the streams come in a bit hotter using Airplay to the C1 compared to using Spotify Connect.

If one is connecting an older AVP/AVR that supports only ARC to a newer LG TV, using Airplay instead of Spotify Connect for Spotify is the better connection as it supports Spotify Lossless and will not be re encoded to DD 2.0 over ARC. This is also the case when using an optical connection for those with even older units that do not support ARC. Though, signals will be resampled to 24/48 for output and annoy those wanting “bit perfect” signals all the way to their AVP/AVR.

iOS Spotify app

iOS Onkyo Controller app:

 

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One of the devices I have that was not on my list is the XBOX Series S. I downloaded the Spotify app from the Microsoft store and gave it a whirl. Like some other devices, the app is not fully featured and I had to use the iOS app to make adjustments to it for playback.

The XBOX Series S supports Spotify Connect but does not support Airplay or Google Cast. Spotify Lossless is supported at 16/44.1 but not 24/44.1. The signal is resampled to 24/48 over HDMI and there are no USB, optical, coaxial, or USB audio output ports available here.

The XBOX Series S supports Microsoft’s “Atmos for Home Theater” audio output setting once the “Dolby Access” app is downloaded from the Microsoft store. When it is selected, non Atmos signals are output as Dolby Surround. My Onkyo recognizes them as Dolby Surround while my TV reports Atmos. Actual Dolby Atmos signals are recognized as such by the Onkyo.

Once downloaded like the Dolby app, Microsoft’s “DTS Sound Unbound” app allows one to select DTS:X for audio output and all signals will be recognized as DTS:X at the receiving end. Stereo uncompressed, 5.1 uncompressed, 7.1 uncompressed, Dolby Digital and DTS Digital Surround are also selectable for audio output.

When playing PCM 2.0 signals from Spotify, it does not matter which audio output setting I select in the XBOX for output as all will result in audio coming from just the Front speakers using a straight decode of each format. Dolby and DTS cross up mixing will be limited when selecting Atmos or DTS:X for output. Some might just select Stereo uncompressed for output when using Spotify.

iOS Spotify app:

XBOX Series S Audio Output Settings:

iOS Onkyo Controller app: