Why Am I Not Getting High Quality YouTube Audio?

If you notice that your downloaded audio isn’t as high quality as expected, there are a few important things to know about how YouTube delivers audio and how 4K Video Downloader Plus and 4K YouTube to MP3 work with it.

How Do 4K Download Apps Handle Audio Quality?

4K Video Downloader Plus and 4K YouTube to MP3 don’t convert or upscale audio files. These apps directly download the audio streams provided by the source website (such as YouTube or YouTube Music). The quality of your downloaded audio depends entirely on what the platform itself makes available.

What Is the Highest Audio Quality Available from YouTube?

• For regular YouTube videos (non-Premium users):
  The highest audio quality available is typically 128 kbps AAC. This is the standard bitrate provided for both streaming and downloads of regular YouTube content.

• For YouTube Music Free (web and app):
  The maximum audio quality is also 128 kbps AAC.

• For YouTube Music Premium:
  The highest quality audio stream currently offered is 256 kbps AAC. However, this is only available to YouTube Music Premium subscribers and only when you’re logged into your Premium account within 4K Video Downloader Plus or 4K YouTube to MP3.

Why Can’t I Download 256kbps Audio from YouTube Videos?

Even with a YouTube Premium subscription, 256 kbps audio is not available for standard YouTube videos; it’s exclusive to YouTube Music Premium. Because of that, our apps cannot extract 256 kbps audio from regular YouTube videos, even for Premium users.

How Can I Get the Best Audio Quality?

• Use YouTube Music Premium. In order to access 256 kbps audio downloads, you must have an active YouTube Music Premium subscription.

• Log in to YouTube within 4K Download software. Make sure you are logged in to your YouTube Music Premium account within 4K Video Downloader Plus or 4K YouTube to MP3. It unlocks the option to download at the highest quality available.

• Understand platform limitations. If you’re downloading from standard YouTube (not YouTube Music), you will only get the maximum quality that YouTube provides for those videos, which is usually 128 kbps AAC.

For a detailed explanation and to learn more about common myths regarding YouTube audio quality, check out our blog post.