Engadget: YouTube Music Audio Quality Guide for Premium Subscribers
While the new setting improves clarity, it remains below the lossless standards offered by competitors such as Apple Music and Tidal.
Engadget has published a guide detailing how users can maximise the audio quality of YouTube Music, noting that the service currently defaults to a 128 kbps bitrate. This standard setting is considered insufficient for high-fidelity listening, although it remains adequate for conserving mobile data.
Users seeking improved sound clarity can upgrade to a 256 kbps setting, which Engadget describes as noticeably cleaner, particularly when used with good headphones or speakers. However, this higher bitrate consumes more data, making it most suitable for users with strong internet connections and generous data plans.
Access to the 256 kbps option requires a paid subscription. YouTube Music Premium starts at $12 monthly, while the broader YouTube Premium tier begins at $16 monthly. Without one of these subscriptions, users are capped at the default Normal bitrate.
The setting is available on both Android and iOS platforms, with Engadget noting that while the streaming settings are located in slightly different places on each operating system, the options themselves are identical.
A key limitation is that downloaded music does not automatically upgrade when the setting is changed. Users must manually remove their old downloads and re-download the tracks to apply the higher quality, a process that can be done individually or all at once via the settings menu.
Despite the upgrade, YouTube Music does not offer lossless audio, even for Premium subscribers. This places the platform behind rivals such as Amazon Music, Apple Music, Spotify, and Tidal, which provide lossless standards. YouTube Music retains a competitive advantage through its library of unofficial uploads, live performances, remixes, and rare tracks.
