Spotify is the most popular streaming service, also thanks to its sophisticated app and the stable Spotify Connect function. This is now being expanded to include a feature that competitors such as Tidal have been offering for a long time: lossless data transmission, also known as hi-fi quality.
The term HiRes is also occasionally used; Spotify specifies a technical maximum resolution of 44 kHz sampling frequency and 24-bit dynamic range, which is higher than CD quality. Theoretically, because it is not yet clear how many music titles are available in native 24-bit quality on Spotify. For quality-conscious music listeners, however, it is very good news that automatic data reduction has been removed from the signal path.
The higher quality level does not cost any extra, but the costs for the necessary premium subscription have recently been increased (currently 12.99 euros per month for the single subscription in Germany).
Who benefits from Spotify Lossless?
The new Spotify HiRes streaming is available for all premium users who supply their audio components via Spotify Connect or a lossless output option on the smart device with the Spotify app (such as USB-C).
The service is not yet available in all countries, but should be available in the 50 most important countries, including Switzerland, in the course of October. It is currently (as of September 2025) already active in Australia, Denmark, Germany, Japan, Austria, the Netherlands, Sweden, Portugal, the Czech Republic, the USA and the UK.
According to Spotify, users are informed that the service is now available via a notification in the app.
How do I switch to lossless quality as a Spotify user?
While playing a stream via Spotify Connect, go to your own account icon, select the “Settings” area and then “Media Quality”/”Sound Quality”. Above the previous highest level “Very good” there is an option “Lossless” if available. Then just activate this quality level and you’re done!
The process may have to be run through individually for each output device and the connection type (mobile data or WLAN); there is no general switchover for all devices in an account.
Which audio components support the new quality level
All hardware platforms on which the Spotify app runs and which offer a corresponding lossless output option are supported. This is the case for Android, iOS, MacOS and Windows devices, provided they have analog outputs, a USB-C interface or similar.
The transmission to external audio components is based on the established Spotify Connect standard, so it is worth a try for any audio component with Spotify Connect. Whether it works in practice depends on the individual network connection and computing/decoding power of the hardware. For the manufacturers Sony, Bose, Samsung, Sennheiser and Cambridge Audio, this has already been tested and is guaranteed from the start.
Cambridge Audio points out in a press release that all network players from generation 2 with a market launch in 2014 or later are fully compatible. This also applies to classics such as the very first CXN and the Azur 851N as well as, of course, all more modern devices such as the Evo One, MXN/AXN, Evo 150(SE) tested by us and the high-end streamers such as Edge NQ, CXN100 and EXN100.
Other popular manufacturers, such as Sonos and Amazon, are currently conducting a test phase and will soon provide corresponding updates or a final statement regarding compatibility.
