Your Android phone is a very capable device for playing audio. You can play via the built-in speakers, Bluetooth, or the old-school wired connection. Android phones make it easy to listen to your favorite music, but unfortunately, you won’t get the best audio quality out of the box. And it’s even harder if you want to listen to hi-res music, as there are several hurdles you’ll need to surmount.
So if you need better quality audio on your phone, you’ll have to take it upon yourself. Luckily, there are a couple of tricks you can use to improve audio quality. Because how good your audio sounds depends on the weakest point in the link, from the source to the speakers, you have to make sure that all the points in that chain are well-optimized.
The audio chain includes your audio source, the transmission medium (wired or wireless using Bluetooth), and, finally, the headphones, earbuds, or speakers that you use as the output. Optimize the whole chain using the tricks below, and you’ll significantly improve sound quality on Spotify, Apple Music, or any other music streaming service that you prefer.
Play or stream higher-quality audio
The quality of audio has a great influence on the overall listening experience. That’s why the audio source should provide a higher-quality format for better audio. On Android, you can either use a streaming service like Apple Music or Tidal as your audio source or offline files that you’ve purchased from services that sell music.
Regardless of how you prefer to get your music, it’s important to ensure the source provides higher-quality audio, preferably in lossless formats like FLAC, WAV, MQA, and ALAC. High-quality audio includes better detail and clarity, providing a good balance between the highs, lows, and mediums without any one overpowering the others. If you purchase music, make sure you get higher-quality options — avoid lower-resolution formats like MP3.
And if you prefer to pay a fixed monthly fee to listen to your music, then make sure the streaming service supports high-quality formats. That means avoiding services like YouTube Music with low-quality audio and using audiophile Android apps like Spotify and Tidal. And even for music streaming services with higher-quality formats, ensure you set the audio playback and download quality to the maximum.
Get high-quality headphones or earbuds
Besides the audio source, you also need to have better equipment to get better audio on Android. Those cheap headphones or earbuds that you bought from Amazon might be good enough for casual listening, but you’ll need superior ones if you want better sound. This is because cheap headphones and earbuds often use low-quality drivers that can introduce noise and distortion, thereby hurting sound quality. Additionally, lower-quality headphones and earbuds may have poor sound tuning, often placing a huge emphasis on bass or treble, distorting the actual sound profile.
In such a case, you often need to increase the volume to hear the mids clearly, which in turn distorts the sound further. Quality wireless headphones and earbuds support advanced Bluetooth codecs like LDAC and aptX Lossless, which can transmit higher-quality audio than older alternatives such as SBC, resulting in better sound. This is not to say you need the most expensive headphones or earbuds on the market for good sound.
In fact, many top-rated budget headphones will instantly improve your audio quality, especially if you’re coming from cheap ones. If you need ideas for which earbuds and headphones to get, a few solid options include Technics EAH-AZ100, Apple’s Airpods Pro, and the JBL Tour One M3.
Optimize your setup well
Even with high-quality equipment and source, audio quality on your Android phone might still not be at its best because you haven’t optimized your setup. The first thing you should pay attention to is the Bluetooth codec used, if you use Bluetooth headphones. Each codec has a maximum bitrate. For the best sound quality, you should make sure your Android phone is using a Bluetooth codec with a high maximum bitrate.
AptX Lossless, for example, supports a maximum bitrate of 1200 kbps with a bit depth of 24-bit and a 96 kHz sample rate. If you use older codecs like SBC with a limited bitrate of 320 kbps, the sound quality won’t be the best, even with high-quality gear and a quality audio source. Since all codecs are better than SBC, test and pick the one that sounds best on your setup. To change the Bluetooth codec, follow these steps:
- Open the Settings app.
- Navigate to About phone.
- Scroll down to the Device identifiers section.
- Tap on Build number seven times.
- Enter your PIN or password if requested.
- Return to the Settings home page.
- Navigate to System.
- Go to Developer options.
- Choose Bluetooth Audio Codec.
- Select the best option available.
If the Bluetooth Audio Codec option is grayed out, connect your headphones or earbuds. You might not be able to change the Bluetooth audio codec if there’s only one option available. Additionally, we used a Google Pixel phone running Android 16, so some menu and button names may vary if you’re using a different version of Android or a phone from a different manufacturer, though the step-by-step process will be the same. To leave Developer options, toggle “Use developer options” off. Finally, if you want to listen to lossless music, you’ll need to listen over the wire. You’ll also need a high-quality external digital-to-analog converter (DAC) if your phone doesn’t have a HiFi DAC.
Customize your sound profile with an equalizer
Sometimes you might do everything right, but the sound profile of your Android phone, headphones, or earbuds might still not be what you’d like. This is because, by default, these devices have a preset sound profile that has been optimized to try and meet everyone’s needs. Depending on your preference, it might not sound good in your ears because what’s best varies from one person to another. For instance, the sound might have too much bass or treble, which can negatively affect sound quality.
If you aren’t impressed by the sound profile of your headphones or earbuds, you should download their companion app and tweak the equalizer until the sound matches your preference. Examples include Sony Sound Connect, Samsung’s Galaxy Wearable, and Technics Audio Connect apps.
Alternatively, you can use your phone’s built-in equalizer to customize the sound if you’re playing directly through the speakers. However, not all Android phones provide a native system-wide equalizer setting. If yours doesn’t, you can download an app like Poweramp Equalizer and Flat Equalizer, which will do the work.
