# Make your iPhone sound a lot better

> A handful of settings in Music, Spotify and Accessibility change what you actually hear, no new gear required.
- Title: Make your iPhone sound a lot better · Engadget | Shortify
- Summary: A handful of settings in Music, Spotify and Accessibility change what you actually hear, no new gear required. Turn up the streaming quality first, then tune…
- Keywords: iphone, audio, apple music, spotify, lossless, technology, Make, sound, lot, better, Engadget
- Source: Engadget — https://engadget.com/2256208/how-to-improve-audio-quality-iphone
- Author: Jack Peachey
- Published: 2026-09-15T20:00:00+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: iphone, audio, apple music, spotify, lossless, technology
## Your iPhone can sound better
Music, video and calls all run through the same audio chain, and the stock settings are merely fine. A few toggles in Settings move it from decent to clean.

> Your iPhone sounds decent out of the box, but some tweaks can drastically improve what you hear.
## Software cannot fix bad hardware
No setting rescues a cheap speaker. But good gear also leaves quality on the table with default settings, so work both sides at once.

> there isn't too much you can do with software to make an ultra-cheap speaker sound amazing
## Raise the streaming quality
In Apple Music, open Settings > Apps > Music > Audio Quality and set levels separately for cellular, Wi-Fi and downloads. High Quality is the sweet spot for data versus sound.
## Spotify hides it in your profile
Tap your profile picture, then Settings and privacy > Media quality. Free accounts stop at High; Premium adds Very high and Lossless. Very high is plenty on Wi-Fi.
## Tune the EQ by ear
Apple Music offers genre presets only, no custom curve. Spotify lets you drag each frequency band under Settings and privacy > Playback > Equalizer.
## Volume leveling is a tradeoff
Apple's Sound Check and Spotify's volume normalization even out track-to-track loudness, and some listeners say it costs quality. Try both states, and skip Spotify's Loud setting.

> Give it a try both on and off to see what you prefer.
## Lossless needs a cable
Bluetooth cannot carry lossless, so even the best AirPods will not get you there. You need wired headphones and a DAC like the budget FiiO KA11 to hear the difference.

> having the best AirPods won't help you here, as Bluetooth doesn't support lossless
## Dig into Accessibility
Settings > Accessibility > Audio & Visual holds the left-right Balance slider and Headphone Accommodations, which boost frequencies or amplify soft sounds. And keep your speaker grilles clean.
## Key takeaway

Turn up the streaming quality first, then tune EQ by ear, and only chase lossless if you have wired headphones and a DAC.