Is Spotify sound quality better than CD?

Spotify is a popular music streaming service that offers a variety of subscription plans. The standard plan offers music in 320 kbps (kilobits per second), which is considered to be CD quality. However, Spotify also offers a higher-quality plan called Spotify HiFi, which offers music in 16-bit/44.1kHz lossless audio format. This is the same format as CDs, so in theory, Spotify HiFi should offer the same sound quality as CDs.

However, there are a few factors that can affect the sound quality of Spotify, even on the HiFi plan. These factors include:

• Your internet connection speed: If your internet connection is slow, it can cause the music to buffer, which can degrade the sound quality.
• Your audio equipment: If you are using poor-quality audio equipment, it can also degrade the sound quality.
• Your listening environment: If you are listening to music in a noisy environment, it can also degrade the sound quality.

So, while Spotify HiFi can offer the same sound quality as CDs in theory, the actual sound quality you experience may vary depending on your internet connection, audio equipment, and listening environment.

Here is a table comparing the sound quality of different streaming services:

As you can see, Spotify HiFi offers the same sound quality as CDs, while Tidal HiFi and Tidal Master offer higher sound quality. However, it is important to note that the actual sound quality you experience may vary depending on your internet connection, audio equipment, and listening environment.