Apple Music Sound Mix is weird

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Level 1

6 points

Apple Music Sound Mix is weird

Hello,

Beginning a few months ago, certain tracks that I stream from Apple Music are mixed quite differently than the same songs that are downloaded into my music library. This happens on every device including my MB Air (2018 model running Monterey 12.6, iPhone 12 Pro Max running iOS 16 and with my Home Pods that are also running the most up to date software.)

When I say they are mixed differently I mean they are mixed differently. Just as they woudl be if someone in the studio were turning down sliders to bring the voice up louder in the mix or the drums or any other instrument. It is distracting to the point that the song is not listenable.

In the Apple Music app on my devices, I have the equalizer turned off, I have tried sound check off and on, I do not have lossless streaming enabled though I have also tried that as a possible fix. I have restarted multiple times, performed whatever dot releases have come out since the problem started but as of today, yet another song that was fine just a few days ago is now playing in the same way. The drums are way way up in the mix as are the vocals but the guitar is much much lower and the reverb on the guitar is much more prominent. I also have Dolby atmos set to "off" in iTunes but this does not make a difference. When I ask siri to play the track on my Home Pods, the same issue occurs, the mix is all wrong. If I set my iPhone to airplay the downloaded track from my phone, the mix is just as expected.

Again, if I play the exact same song that I have purchased from iTunes Store or that I have ripped from a CD that I own, the song plays as expected, there is no problem with the mix.

What is the issue with Apple music?

MacBook Air 13″, macOS 12.6

Posted on Dec 12, 2022 10:05 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

TammyW_03

Community Specialist

Dec 14, 2022 02:21 PM in response to stephenfe

Hey stephenfe,

You completed great steps with trying to resolve this issue. In your troubleshooting, did you remove the songs that you experience this with and add them back to see if fresh versions help? If not, take a moment to do that now: Delete songs and other items in Music on Mac - Apple Support

In Music on Mac, delete songs, playlists, folders, and other content. You can remove the items from your library or from your computer.

1. In the Music app on your Mac, click Songs in the sidebar on the left.

2. Select the item you want to delete, press the Delete key, then click Delete Song.

3. Do one of the following:

• Remove the item only from your library: Click Keep File.

• Delete the item from your computer: Click Move to Trash. The item is removed the next time you empty the Trash.

Let us know the results.

Take care!

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Answer 2

stephenfe Author

Level 1

6 points

Dec 14, 2022 02:37 PM in response to TammyW_03

If I was not clear,

The song that I have in my library plays fine, sounds as expected, no problems. The issue comes when streaming a song from Apple Music whether the song is playing on my HomePods or any of my devices.

The streaming version is the one that does not sound right, not the song that was purchased/downloaded onto my device(s).

Are you saying that even though the purchased version plays correctly, I should still delete it from my library?

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Answer 3

Lindsay_B.

Community Specialist

Dec 14, 2022 04:55 PM in response to stephenfe

Great question! We're glad to provide some clarification.

Even though the issue is with streaming the songs, removing them from your library and adding them back can still be helpful as it will provide some further isolation. If it doesn't help identify what is the problem, it can help us determine what is not the problem.

Please try that, and then respond back if the issue continues. We will be happy to work through the issue further.

Best!

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Apple Music Sound Mix is weird

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