Spotify brings Exclusive Mode to Windows for bit-perfect playback — but there are a few trade-offs you should know about

• Spotify has rolled out Exclusive Mode to its Windows desktop app
• When enabled, it gives Spotify control over your PC's audio processing
• It allows you to listen to music as it was mastered, but there are a few caveats

After what feels like a lifetime for audiophiles, Spotify has finally rolled out its much-requested Exclusive Mode feature to the Windows desktop app, meaning you can now take full advantage of bit-perfect audio playback, with support for macOS arriving in the future.

Available to Premium subscribers, Exclusive Mode can now be enabled in your Spotify Audio Output settings on desktop. In short, it gives Spotify complete control over your computer’s audio processing, so that you can listen to your favorite songs and albums exactly as they were mastered.

Three months after users spotted it in beta, a Spotify representative announced the arrival of Exclusive Mode on the platform’s community site, offering more detail on how it works its magic. “Without Exclusive Mode turned on, your computer may alter audio before it reaches your DAC by resampling it, mixing other system sounds in, and changing the volume,” the post reads.

But when Exclusive Mode is turned on, it ups the ante on audio output, which the post describes as being “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”.

With that in mind, there are a few trade-offs you'll have to be willing to make.

For starters, two of Spotify’s key features will be disabled while Exclusive Mode is enabled, those being Automix (Spotify’s DJ-like transitions between songs) and Crossfade. Additionally, Exclusive Mode is also unavailable when you're watching music videos and streaming podcasts, as well as with other visual features such as preview clips and canvas clips. Instead, the audio may play from your computer's default audio device.

In addition, other apps on your PC will be unable to play audio through your device when Exclusive Mode is turned on. You can bypass this if you have multiple audio devices (i.e., wired/ bluetooth headphones, USB DAC, etc), where you can play sound from other apps by switching your computer's default audio output to another device.

Spotify also recommends using Exclusive Mode with a DAC or audio interface if you want to make the most of bit-perfect sound. The streaming service also suggests disabling the Crossfade, Automix, Normalize Volume, and Equalizer features to hear the music as it was originally mastered.

In spite of these compromises, I can see Exclusive Mode sitting very comfortably with Spotify fans who want to prioritize bit-perfect audio. It's been a long time coming for users who exclusively use Spotify on desktop, and the positive reactions on Reddit speak for themselves — and some users are now calling on Apple Music to improve its Windows app.

Enabling Exclusive Mode is simple — see below.

How to enable Exclusive Mode in Spotify for Windows

• Connect your external DAC or audio interface to your PC. If your computer has a built-in headphone or speaker port this means you might already have a compatible built-in DAC
• Launch the Spotify Windows desktop app and go to Settings > Playback
• Go to Output and select your audio device from the dropdown menu — you can then turn on Exclusive Mode

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