[GH-ISSUE #134] 320 kbps AAC option outputs lower quality (~160 kbps) #109

New issue

Open

opened 2026-03-03 00:07:47 +03:00 by kerem · 1 comment

kerem commented

2026-03-03 00:07:47 +03:00

Owner

Originally created by @MarcusElmett on GitHub (Feb 26, 2026).
Original GitHub issue: https://github.com/binimum/tidal-ui/issues/134

Hello,

When selecting the 320 kbps AAC download option, the resulting file does not appear to be true 320 kbps quality.

A spectrogram analysis shows a clear cutoff above 17 kHz, which is typical of ~160 kbps AAC encoding. The high-frequency content is noticeably reduced and does not match what should be expected from proper 320 kbps AAC.

For comparison, standard .m4a AAC files from Apple Music (~256 kbps) preserve the upper spectrum correctly and do not show this limitation.

Could you clarify whether this is a bug or an encoding issue?

Thank you.

Originally created by @MarcusElmett on GitHub (Feb 26, 2026). Original GitHub issue: https://github.com/binimum/tidal-ui/issues/134 Hello, When selecting the 320 kbps AAC download option, the resulting file does not appear to be true 320 kbps quality. A spectrogram analysis shows a clear cutoff above 17 kHz, which is typical of ~160 kbps AAC encoding. The high-frequency content is noticeably reduced and does not match what should be expected from proper 320 kbps AAC. For comparison, standard .m4a AAC files from Apple Music (~256 kbps) preserve the upper spectrum correctly and do not show this limitation. Could you clarify whether this is a bug or an encoding issue? Thank you. <img width="1300" height="898" alt="Image" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/f88a0edc-74f1-4fa4-a937-f8f3b1cd4a9d" /> <img width="480" height="456" alt="Image" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/ae9c74a3-d465-4d46-ab10-8c9d6250a2fc" />

kerem added the

bug

label

2026-03-03 00:07:47 +03:00

kerem commented

2026-03-03 00:07:48 +03:00

Author

Owner

@hazelyou commented on GitHub (Feb 28, 2026):

I noticed this too! I'm wondering if it's a Tidal issue with their 320 kbps AAC. Some people on Reddit were discussing it 6 years ago: https://www.reddit.com/r/TIdaL/comments/hajym3/is_tidal_high_quality_really_cut_at_17_khz/

Is their 320 kbps maybe an upconverted 160 kbps?

@hazelyou commented on GitHub (Feb 28, 2026): I noticed this too! I'm wondering if it's a Tidal issue with their 320 kbps AAC. Some people on Reddit were discussing it 6 years ago: https://www.reddit.com/r/TIdaL/comments/hajym3/is_tidal_high_quality_really_cut_at_17_khz/ Is their 320 kbps maybe an upconverted 160 kbps?