What is Spotify Exclusive Mode? New bit perfect playback mode explained
Spotify Exclusive Mode takes full control of your Windows 11 PC's audio and delivers Bit Perfect tunes with a few other tweaks.
Spotify has launched a new Premium streaming feature that’s only available via the Windows Desktop app. But what is Spotify Exclusive Mode?
Well, the idea is to give users the purest audio mode without interference from the computer, such as resampling, altering volume and mixing in sounds from the system. With the new mode enabled, you’re hearing the songs exactly as they were mastered at 24-bit/44.1 kHz FLAC.
So, for example, with Exclusive Mode, turned on there’ll be no email chimes chiming in when you’re trying to enjoy your Release Radar playlist at the best possible quality. Think of it as Spotify taking ‘exclusive’ control of your computer’s sound. Exclusive Mode is designed to be used with Lossless settings turned on and offers bit-perfect audio to deliver audio at its “purest” quality. The feature can be enabled by going to Settings > Playback > Output > Exclusive Mode.
Here’s how Spotify explains it:
“When Exclusive Mode is turned on in the Audio Output settings, Spotify takes full control of your computer’s audio processing to deliver music exactly as it was mastered with Bit Perfect playback. This is ideal for listeners with a DAC or audio interface who want the purest possible sound without resampling and interference from their computer’s audio mixer.”
Spotify says the feature works best with a proper Digital Analog Converter (DAC) or an audio interface (either built in or external). The firm is also advising users configure the following settings to off get true Bit Perfect playback with Exclusive Mode turned on:
Crossfade – (Off by default)
Automix – (On by default)
Normalise Volume – (On by default)
Equaliser – (Off by default)
Chris Smith
