The internet took to arms yesterday amid reports that SoundCloud had changed the audio quality of music played back on its platform. According to reports, SoundCloud had changed from the already paltry 128kbps MP3 format to a 64kbps Opus format.
SoundCloud responded to the report, initially from Pigeons & Planes, stating:
“These reports are inaccurate. SoundCloud has not altered its approach to audio quality. We have been using the Opus codec (among others) since 2016, and we regularly test different combinations of encoding and streaming to offer listeners a quality experience on any device. Furthermore, we store all content from creators at its originally uploaded quality level so we can continually adapt to advances in encoding and playback.”
Still, SoundCloud regularly ranks lowest in audio quality among comparable streaming platforms such as Apple Music, Tidal, or Spotify. Thankfully, if the platform stores uploaded content at its original quality as it claims, that doesn’t have to be the case forever.
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