diff --git a/NEWS b/NEWS
index 0b21fefe7..a052efa6f 100644
--- a/NEWS
+++ b/NEWS
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ ver 0.20.6 (not yet released)
 * decoder
   - ffmpeg: re-enable as fallback
   - mpcdec: fix crash (division by zero) after seeking
+  - sidplay: make compatible with libsidplayfp < 1.8
 * workaround for GCC 4.9.4 / libstdc++ bug (build failure)
 
 ver 0.20.5 (2017/02/20)
diff --git a/src/decoder/plugins/SidplayDecoderPlugin.cxx b/src/decoder/plugins/SidplayDecoderPlugin.cxx
index 56dad0217..6674462eb 100644
--- a/src/decoder/plugins/SidplayDecoderPlugin.cxx
+++ b/src/decoder/plugins/SidplayDecoderPlugin.cxx
@@ -50,6 +50,10 @@
 #include <string.h>
 #include <stdio.h>
 
+#ifdef HAVE_SIDPLAYFP
+#define LIBSIDPLAYFP_VERSION GCC_MAKE_VERSION(LIBSIDPLAYFP_VERSION_MAJ, LIBSIDPLAYFP_VERSION_MIN, LIBSIDPLAYFP_VERSION_LEV)
+#endif
+
 #define SUBTUNE_PREFIX "tune_"
 
 static constexpr Domain sidplay_domain("sidplay");
@@ -285,7 +289,11 @@ sidplay_file_decode(DecoderClient &client, Path path_fs)
 #endif
 
 #ifdef HAVE_SIDPLAYFP
+#if LIBSIDPLAYFP_VERSION >= GCC_MAKE_VERSION(1,8,0)
 	const bool stereo = tune.getInfo()->sidChips() >= 2;
+#else
+	const bool stereo = tune.getInfo()->isStereo();
+#endif
 #else
 	const bool stereo = tune.isStereo();
 #endif