How To Improve Skype Sound Quality

Everton | Oct 14, 2008 | Comments


I’ve been using Skype quite a lot recently after not using it for a year or two.  The sound quality has improved a bit over the years, but at times it can still be quite shocking.  Recently one of the member’s of my team who’s Brazilian had to return to Brazil for a few days and we didn’t tell anyone where he really was, he was just ‘working from home’!  Unfortunately he was using Skype to dial into conference calls and most of the time he sounded like a Darlek.

I have managed to improve my Skype sound quality a bit by following Martin’s instructions and deleting the shared.xml file which contains host cache information which is basically a list of Skype super-nodes and host pairs that are needed to run Skype properly.  Sometimes the info stored in this file isn’t optimal for the internet connection, which will degrade voice quality.  Martin sums this up as:

Imaging being routed over half the world to call a friend who is living two blocks away from your location.

To delete the shared.xml file just go to (close Skype first)Documents and Settings \Username \Application Data \Skype folder and delete the pesky file and restart Skype.


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About the Author: Everton is based in London and has worked in the internet and mobile space for over ten years now, and before that worked in corporate strategy and consulting. He has a degree in Economics from Cambridge University.He also writes for Windows 7 News, Windows 8 News and One Tip A Day.

  • J.A. Watson
    The "supernode" system is one of the weakest points in Skype.  If you continue to use it, you are likely to notice that the "presence reporting" is unreliable, to be charitable (totally random and useless to be more accurate).  This is apparently also a relic of the "supernode" system.  If you want consistent sound quality and accurate presence information, try one of the major Skype competitors - Gizmo5, SightSpeed, or ooVoo.
  • There’s also some more general guidance on improving Skype call quality on the Skype website – and I’m happy to help users on an individual basis if they find things aren’t working smoothly :)
  • Voice quality had been a major concern of mine since I started using Skype, this is about time they reveal it themselves :)
  • @Peter

    Thanks for the tips - will have a look.
  • I just started using skype so thanks for the tips.
  • Skype sound quality is already quite good, so any information such as this is a bonus.  Skype provides sound that is quite clear, in a similar fashion to the voice communication program Ventrilo, which is used quite often by online communities.
  • Thanks for the tips. I tried Skype about a year ago, but the connection kept breaking-up so it wasn't any use for important calls. Might be time to give it another go

    Cheers, Jon
  • jdakiss
    Skype is a must have for anybody trying to maximize returns on the internet thru business tranactions
    http://www.timesharerentalandresales.com
  • As far as I'm concerned Skype is one of the best VOIP with the best sound quality and that included is an added bonus, thanks for the tips
  • Tissa
    why not try Google Talk? Extermely simple for conversation. superior sound quality. But no picture or other facilities which will definitely reduce sound quality
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