Sony boosts Music Unlimited to 320Kbps

Sony has increased the sound quality of the songs available via its Music Unlimited service.

(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)

In a bid to compete with rival Spotify, Sony has announced it is increasing the quality of its Unlimited Music streaming catalog to 320Kbps.

Spotify has offered 320Kbps streams since 2009 in "high bit rate" mode, while Sony has reportedly offered only a lower 48Kbps stream until now.

Announced at CES 2013, users will be able to utilize the new "high-quality" option on Windows and Mac OS, Android, Sony Android Walkman, and PlayStation 3.

Sony says its catalog of 18 million songs is in the process of being updated to the higher 320Kbps quality.

"It will take a while to update the whole catalog to this spec, but new songs will have that option immediately," Sony Network Entertainment chief operating officer Shawn Layden told CNET at CES.

Meanwhile, the company says the high-quality mode would be added to other devices compatible with the Music Unlimited service -- namely iOS -- later this year.

Sony recently announced that users with a PlayStation Plus account would be able to add Music Unlimited for an extra $12 a year while normal subscriptions are priced at $4.99 (home use) and $9.99 (Premium with mobile) per month.