[jam130]

OK, also new to this thread, so here's what I'm searching for in an iOS app:
Needs to play FLAC/ALAC (and lossy mp3/aac). 95% of my files are 16/44.1, so hi-rez isn't a must have, but it should be able to handle them even if it converts on-the-fly.

1. Connects to Google Drive and Dropbox.
2. SMB connection to my ASUS router-attached external HD.
3. Offline playback capability as well as streaming.
4. Gapless playback capability.

@RobbaDobba All 3 of the below options also feature the ability to sync multiple files at a time instead of doing it one by one like iAudiogate does.

• Plex checks all of your boxes and will sync all your files as lossless native but won't output them higher than 16/44.1. It will also aggregate all of your songs from your local storage, Dropbox & GDrive on the server side before you even sync to the phone
• SigmaTunes ST-1 checks most of your boxes, except it only connects to GDrive, not Dropbox. Foobar2000 Mobile and no SMB (but the work around would be to just upload everything into GDrive
• Foobar2000 Mobile will sync with local server and stream via DLNA, but it won't handle GDrive

Based on your stated requirements, I'd say that Plex is probably a pretty good fit, it will also auto fill tag information and handle all of your movies and videos as a bonus (unless I misread something in your post).

 

[jam130]

I know this is a bit off topic, but since I've been on this thread for a while I thought I'd at least share it...

This week I traded in my iPhone 7 Plus for a Galaxy S8 Plus. Purely from an audio standpoint there are some key differences, both positive and negative so I thought I would share what I've found so far.

A Few Positives:

1. the S8 on-board DAC is quite good (for a phone) and supports FLAC up to 32/192. The native Samsung Music player even plays DSD up to 128
2. The openness of the platform allows you to save a bundle of tracks to your SD card and then access them from any music player you want
3. The available apps have enough control over the device as to allow you to control your DAC hardware volume, bypass the on-board music player (or not), stream music to multiple Bluetooth devices at once, and best of all...charge your phone and listen to music at the same time

A Few Negatives:

1. Compatibility is an issue. One DAC works, another doesn't. Onboard DAC hardware for each device is all over the map so developers spend a lot of time on compatibility and less time on fine tuning the finer tweaks of a great app
2. You can't just buy a Lightning Camera Connector and be done with it. OTG cables are all over the map and some are compatible and some are not. Also information is hard to find on the internet, it takes much longer to research how to set up your system than it did for iOS
3. The music apps definitely aren't as polished and based on compatibility issues, many seem more buggy than I found as a long time iOS user

Overall, there are some apps that seem to have great features and capabilities (UAPP/PowerAmp) but their UI's are not good. Meanwhile iOS has apps with some great UI's but a lot of the features seam to be lacking.

*Note: This is not intended to start an iPhone vs Android platform battle so please reply as it relates to audio. This is simply one person's experience and everyone's will be different...

 

[gmalik]

Hi! A df red + iphone 7 is for me. I've tested all the music players in the last 1 year, from the most expensive (relisten player, k music player ultimate / fancy, iaudiogate, neplayer, kaiser, st1, neutron, ampliflac, vox, flac player, golden ear, etc...) to the best free apps (foobar, liztener, STARLING , Etc.). Every time I compared the ios apps to the windows jriver and the foobar music player. I can declare that the red dragonfly is best for K MUSIC PLAYER FANCY / Ultimate. It's desktop player!!!!! Kmusic player sounds like foobar (win10) !!! Comparisons were made with this result. Tested with speakers!
The best hi-end, mastering sounds with good dac+iphone=DAP.

 

[headfry]

I've been using Kaisertone for about a year and recommend it for these reasons:

excellent eq
very nice UI and controls/settings
very frequently updated
has all of the features that I want and sounds excellent

if eq is important then I highly recommend it - always been pleased with the music!

 

[ROCKNSS]

Hello Everyone

I have been reading through all the pages of this great thread, getting as much information as possible.

I am an iOS developer and want to create a great app for listen music. I will appreciate any help from you!

As it is imposible for a team of one to get the "all features perfect app" in a short time, I decided to make a first version with the basics only... and then add different features with time, my dream is that you all can use it as your chosen app for music in the future =)

For a first usable version, I would priorize:

- A nice and easy UI
- Free (no ads, hate the ads)
- Mp3, ALAC and FLAC capable
- getting the music from the iTunes library as well to straight into the app
- high resolution capable, with perfect bit output
- low power consumption

I think this are the very basic. Do you think there should be another imprescindible feature? (advanced features will be added later, just need the "must have" now)

Any help or commentary will be appreciated... I love music and I love iOS... so I think I need to create an app myself.

regards!

How's the development going?

 

[mcemce13]

I've been using Kaisertone for about a year and recommend it for these reasons:

excellent eq
very nice UI and controls/settings
very frequently updated
has all of the features that I want and sounds excellent

if eq is important then I highly recommend it - always been pleased with the music!

+1 on KaiserTone

 

[kvik]

I'm curious if anyone noticed a change in sound (signature), when KaiserTone went from 2.7.8 to 2.7.9 and/or 2.8.0 (just released)?

 

[spook76]

I'm curious if anyone noticed a change in sound (signature), when KaiserTone went from 2.7.8 to 2.7.9 and/or 2.8.0 (just released)?

I hate you.

In 2015 I bought and tried all the apps that play high resolution audio and while liked both Kaisertone and iAudiogate I felt NePLAYER edged both out on clarity. Thanks to your post I revisited KaiserTone and I think I might have a new winner. I am running my iPod Touch 6th digital line out straight into my Chord Mojo then to the KSE1500 I turn off all EQ and upsampling. With that being said, I do feel the new update to KaiserTone improved the clarity and soundstage.

Now I have to transfer 95GB of music over to KaiserTone hence the comment above. I am kidding thank you for your post.

 

[turkayguner]

Is there an iOS player which shows the output's sample rate and bit depth?

 

[spook76]

Is there an iOS player which shows the output's sample rate and bit depth?

Yes, KaiserTone and NePLAYER to name two.

 

[bussola]

Hi, just want to share my experience.

I use. Iphone se and audeze isine20 via lighting cable. I play mostly ALAC 44.1 kHz files.

Kaisertone. too much wide soundstage resulting in a dramatic loss of depth. But good detail and natural music presentation.
IAudiogate. bassy, warm and compressed.
Neplayer. very narrow soundstage, real good frequency presentation but a tad too dry and artifcial
Mcintosh AP1. bassy, rather clear in the mids, not really that dynamic and a weird sensation of "blocked" bass and lowmids, they don't move.
Vox. warm and natural at the same time , too much wide soundstage( a tad less than kaisertone).
Apple Music App. Rather thin, somehow punchy bass. Not very detailed.
Onkyo HF. Precise sound, a bit less narrow soundstage than neplayer, shrill high mids.
Hibiki. my favourite, very dynamic and articulated sound. good soundstage and depht. Perfect bass and low bass presentation, very solid and dynamic. Alive sound, lively mids and natural high.

That's pretty much it. Hope It can help someone.

Edit: would lke to add. There is really no objectively better player. We are so lucky to have different player, and according to one's hearing and equipment, especially headphones or iem or whatever, the tonal soundstage response of every player may change drastically.
In my case Hibiki works better, to other people it surely sounds bad. To each his own.!!!

 

[kvik]

I hate you.

In 2015 I bought and tried all the apps that play high resolution audio and while liked both Kaisertone and iAudiogate I felt NePLAYER edged both out on clarity. Thanks to your post I revisited KaiserTone and I think I might have a new winner. I am running my iPod Touch 6th digital line out straight into my Chord Mojo then to the KSE1500 I turn off all EQ and upsampling. With that being said, I do feel the new update to KaiserTone improved the clarity and soundstage.

Now I have to transfer 95GB of music over to KaiserTone hence the comment above. I am kidding thank you for your post.

I asked because 2.7.9 seemed artificially bright and airy to me, compared to 2.7.8 which to me has the right balance of detail and warmth. I am using KaiserTone with iPhone SE directly (no external DAC), and everything turned off except Method=Dynamic and Algorithm=CyberFort in EQ Mode (which can’t be turned off completely). I emailed KaiserTone my impressions, and apparently they found some kind of glitch in 2.7.9, which had a negative impact on sound. In version 2.8.0 that should have been corrected (according to KaiserTone), but having tried the new version, I am still not sure if I like it better than 2.7.8. I agree with your assesment (clarity and soundstage), but it still feels a bit artificial to me (in lack of better description). I might just stick with 2.7.8.

 

[spook76]

Hi, just want to share my experience.

I use. Iphone se and audeze isine20 via lighting cable. I play mostly ALAC 44.1 kHz files.

Kaisertone. too much wide soundstage resulting in a dramatic loss of depth. But good detail and natural music presentation.
IAudiogate. bassy, warm and compressed.
Neplayer. very narrow soundstage, real good frequency presentation but a tad too dry and artifcial
Mcintosh AP1. bassy, rather clear in the mids, not really that dynamic and a weird sensation of "blocked" bass and lowmids, they don't move.
Vox. warm and natural at the same time , too much wide soundstage( a tad less than kaisertone).
Apple Music App. Rather thin, somehow punchy bass. Not very detailed.
Onkyo HF. Precise sound, a bit less narrow soundstage than neplayer, shrill high mids.
Hibiki. my favourite, very dynamic and articulated sound. good soundstage and depht. Perfect bass and low bass presentation, very solid and dynamic. Alive sound, lively mids and natural high.

That's pretty much it. Hope It can help someone.

Edit: would lke to add. There is really no objectively better player. We are so lucky to have different player, and according to one's hearing and equipment, especially headphones or iem or whatever, the tonal soundstage response of every player may change drastically.
In my case Hibiki works better, to other people it surely sounds bad. To each his own.!!!

A quick question, I looked at Hibiki and can you disable the upsampling or "up convert technology" which seems to be the hallmark of the app? Thanks.

 

[kvik]

I just downloaded the hibiki player (free version). There is no disabling as such, you must choose sampling frequency, 44.1/88.2/176.4/352.8/384. Playing through headphone out on my iPhone SE any upsampling results in 48 kHz, which apparently is max that way.

 

[spook76]

I just downloaded the hibiki player (free version). There is no disabling as such, you must choose sampling frequency, 44.1/88.2/176.4/352.8/384. Playing through headphone out on my iPhone SE any upsampling results in 48 kHz, which apparently is max that way.

It looks that way to me. If you choose 44.1kHz it does play higher resolution music at the proper sampling rate but the app says it is modifying the music which I want to avoid. Another problem is the user interface is mediocre at best. Back to NePLAYER for me.