Spotify's new exclusive mode bypasses Windows audio processing
If you don't want Windows to interfere with Spotify's audio playback, you can activate a new "Exclusive Mode". However, it also has disadvantages.
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A new feature for the desktop app from Spotify prevents Windows from interfering with the music streaming service's audio playback. If Exclusive Mode is activated, playback runs exclusively through the audio interface. According to Spotify, this can lead to more precise sound quality.
Usually, Windows interferes with the playback of all audio sources: sounds can be remixed or otherwise adjusted before they reach the digital-to-analog converter or audio interface. In exclusive mode, Spotify bypasses the Windows audio mixer and sends the signal directly to the audio device.
According to Spotify, this ensures “bit-perfect playback” but should primarily be noticeable to people with a keen ear and high-quality equipment. Exclusive Mode is intended for playing lossless audio files. Since autumn last year, Spotify users have been able to listen to music in FLAC codec at a quality of 24-bit/44.1 kHz.
No sound from other sources
However, exclusive mode is only of limited use for everyday use: as long as it is activated, the device cannot play sounds from other sources. This means listening to music while playing video games is not possible, and audio notifications for incoming emails are also not played. If you stop music playback and want to watch a YouTube video, you have to manually end exclusive mode in the Spotify app.
However, it is possible to run an audio device in exclusive mode and use another for normal Windows playback. To achieve this, you need to change the playback device in Windows. Podcasts, music videos, and audiobooks do not support exclusive mode on Spotify.
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Exclusive mode is available to Spotify Premium subscribers. The function can already be activated in Germany. To achieve this, go to the settings in the Spotify desktop app and scroll to “Playback.” Under “Audio output,” first select the desired device before setting the switch for “Activate exclusive mode for this device.”
(Image:Â Spotify)
Spotify's exclusive mode uses WASAPI's (Windows Audio Session API) exclusive mode to control the audio pipeline. A Mac version of the feature is currently still under development, according to Spotify.
(dahe)
