diff --git a/src/Main.cxx b/src/Main.cxx
index 461272263..619531d33 100644
--- a/src/Main.cxx
+++ b/src/Main.cxx
@@ -118,13 +118,7 @@ static constexpr size_t MEGABYTE = 1024 * KILOBYTE;
 
 static constexpr size_t DEFAULT_BUFFER_SIZE = 4 * MEGABYTE;
 
-static
-#if GCC_OLDER_THAN(5,0)
-/* gcc 4.x has no "constexpr" for std::max() */
-const
-#else
-constexpr
-#endif
+static constexpr
 size_t MIN_BUFFER_SIZE = std::max(CHUNK_SIZE * 32,
 				  64 * KILOBYTE);
 
diff --git a/src/command/CommandError.cxx b/src/command/CommandError.cxx
index be2c90d86..6eb13de6d 100644
--- a/src/command/CommandError.cxx
+++ b/src/command/CommandError.cxx
@@ -29,29 +29,6 @@
 
 #include <assert.h>
 
-#define GLIBCXX_490 20140422
-#define GLIBCXX_491 20140716
-#define GLIBCXX_492 20141030
-#define GLIBCXX_492_Debian_9 20141220
-#define GLIBCXX_493 20150626
-#define GLIBCXX_494 20160803
-#define GLIBCXX_49X_NDK_r13b 20150123
-
-/* the big mess attempts to detect whether we're compiling with
-   libstdc++ 4.9.x; __GLIBCXX__ is a date tag and cannot be used to
-   check the major version; and just checking the compiler version
-   isn't enough, because somebody could use an old libstdc++ with
-   clang - SIGH! */
-#if GCC_OLDER_THAN(5,0) || (defined(__GLIBCXX__) &&		     \
-	(__GLIBCXX__ == GLIBCXX_490 || __GLIBCXX__ == GLIBCXX_491 || \
-	 __GLIBCXX__ == GLIBCXX_492 || \
-	 __GLIBCXX__ == GLIBCXX_492_Debian_9 || \
-	 __GLIBCXX__ == GLIBCXX_493 || \
-	 __GLIBCXX__ == GLIBCXX_494 || \
-	 __GLIBCXX__ == GLIBCXX_49X_NDK_r13b))
-#define GLIBCXX_49X
-#endif
-
 gcc_const
 static enum ack
 ToAck(PlaylistResult result) noexcept
@@ -127,19 +104,9 @@ ToAck(std::exception_ptr ep) noexcept
 		return ACK_ERROR_ARG;
 	} catch (const std::out_of_range &e) {
 		return ACK_ERROR_ARG;
-#ifdef GLIBCXX_49X
-	} catch (const std::exception &e) {
-#else
 	} catch (...) {
-#endif
 		try {
-#ifdef GLIBCXX_49X
-			/* workaround for g++ 4.x: no overload for
-			   rethrow_exception(exception_ptr) */
-			std::rethrow_if_nested(e);
-#else
 			std::rethrow_if_nested(ep);
-#endif
 			return ACK_ERROR_UNKNOWN;
 		} catch (...) {
 			return ToAck(std::current_exception());
diff --git a/src/pcm/SampleFormat.hxx b/src/pcm/SampleFormat.hxx
index 405add4e5..92c081f99 100644
--- a/src/pcm/SampleFormat.hxx
+++ b/src/pcm/SampleFormat.hxx
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
 
 #include <stdint.h>
 
-#if defined(_WIN32) && GCC_CHECK_VERSION(4,6)
+#if defined(_WIN32)
 /* on WIN32, "FLOAT" is already defined, and this triggers -Wshadow */
 #pragma GCC diagnostic push
 #pragma GCC diagnostic ignored "-Wshadow"
@@ -57,17 +57,14 @@ enum class SampleFormat : uint8_t {
 	DSD,
 };
 
-#if defined(_WIN32) && GCC_CHECK_VERSION(4,6)
+#if defined(_WIN32)
 #pragma GCC diagnostic pop
 #endif
 
 /**
  * Checks whether the sample format is valid.
  */
-#if !GCC_OLDER_THAN(5,0)
-constexpr
-#endif
-static inline bool
+constexpr bool
 audio_valid_sample_format(SampleFormat format) noexcept
 {
 	switch (format) {
@@ -86,10 +83,7 @@ audio_valid_sample_format(SampleFormat format) noexcept
 	return false;
 }
 
-#if !GCC_OLDER_THAN(5,0)
-constexpr
-#endif
-static inline unsigned
+constexpr unsigned
 sample_format_size(SampleFormat format) noexcept
 {
 	switch (format) {