# DS audio

> Stream and manage music from a Synology NAS to mobile devices. (iPhone/iPad app by Synology Inc..)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ds-audio/id321495303 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Synology Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/321493109)
- Category: Music, Entertainment
- Price: Free
- Rating: 2.80/5 from 206 App Store ratings · 275 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 13.0 · 39 MB
- Languages: German (Germany), Danish, American English, French (France), Italian, Japanese, Korean, Dutch, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk and 11 more
- Released: 2009-07-21
- Data updated: 2026-08-25
- Monetization: free
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ds-audio/id321495303/reviews.md

## What is DS audio?

**You must own a Synology NAS to run this app, and be running the Audio Station 6.5.0 package to get the complete set of features**

DS audio allows you to stream music stored on your DiskStation with an iPhone/iPad wherever an Internet connection is available. Better yet, with the offline mode you can listen to songs stored in the device’s local memory for when no network connection is available. You can browse music by albums, artists, folders or genres, create your own playlists or share them with your friends, and even rate your music! And if you have dedicated stereo speakers at home, DS audio can also become a remote control to stream music to them. 


Find all detailed features about the app on our website:
www.synology.com > NAS > DSM 7.1 > Apps > Mobile Apps > Software Specs
https://www.synology.com/en-global/dsm/7.1/software_spec/video_station#affiliated_utility__ds_video_mobile__feature

## Key features

- Stream music from Synology NAS
- Offline music playback
- Browse by albums, artists, genres
- Create and share playlists
- Rate music tracks
- Remote control for home speakers

## What do users think of DS audio?

Overall sentiment: negative

**Pros**

- 🚀 Streaming music from NAS
- 👍 Allows offline playback
- 💡 Integrates with home audio systems
- 👍 Provides access to entire music library

**Cons**

- 🐛 Frequent crashes and bugs
- 🐛 Unreliable connectivity and login issues
- 🐛 Inconsistent performance and skipping songs
- 🐛 Outdated and cluttered user interface

**Commonly reported bugs**

- App randomly closes or stops playing
- Fails to remember playback position
- Incompatible with latest iOS versions
- Issues with downloading and caching music

**Most requested features**

- Add support for Dolby Atmos and surround sound
- Implement gapless playback
- Improve playlist management and editing
- Add search and sorting functionality
- Provide better integration with CarPlay and Chromecast

## Recent user reviews (10 of 275)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ds-audio/id321495303/reviews.md

### 2/5 — Skips through the queue rapidly

*2026-07-17, version 5.17.1*

Works fine until your phone switches networks, or from WIFi to 5g and vice versa. Then, it will rapidly rip through your playlist without playing anything. Just song titles fleeting by. You then have to force quit the app or logout / in to your NAS. Like other Synology apps, it leaves me wanting.

### 4/5 — Piste d’amélioration

*2026-07-02*

Bonne application mais elle est un peu vieille. 

Peut-on avoir la possibilité de mettre en mode sombre (le fond en noir).

D’avoir toujours le curseur du temps, toujours visible.

De pouvoir synchroniser les musiques télécharger sur mon téléphone, tablette et le NAS Synology ?
Exemple : je télécharger toujours mes musiques sur mes appareils afin de les avoir avec moi (voiture, avion, voyage…) mais quand je reviens je ne peux pas synchroniser mes musiques avec mon NAS, comme de partager le nombre d’écoute… Et si je modifie ou j’ajoute des morceaux sur mon NAS alors ce n’est pas automatiquement synchroniser sur mes appareils (faire comme iTunes mais pour Apple et aussi Android).

Rendre le rangement sur le NAS plus facile, aussi facile qu’iTunes que je n’ai plus car j’ai aussi des Android et une TV.

Pouvoir faire plus de choses avec les listes de lecture même offline. 

Mettre un petit dessin qui t’indique quelle musique tu écoute dans  la liste de toutes nos musiques.

Petite amélioration pratique : lorsqu’on est sur la musique en cours de lecture. Peut-on faire un mouvement de doigt de haut en bas pour la réduire pour retourner dans les dossiers (Albums, Artistes, Compo…) ?

Merci à vous

### 2/5 — Need Update

*2026-06-25*

It has been over two years and there’s no update for the app and with the latest DSM version it is now breaking for units that are behind proxy or tunneling for security.

Be cautious upgrading to DSM 7.3 because the audio station app updates to 7.2.0.x and if you are either tunneling through Cloudflare or reverse proxy it will not let you authenticate and it will throw an error saying you’re unauthorized or your DSM version is 4.0 or below

### 1/5 — Seeking is broken

*2026-06-19, version 5.17.1*

Seeking is broken

### 1/5 — Outdated

*2026-06-15, version 5.17.1*

Needs a huge update

### 5/5 — Löst mein Problem

*2026-05-03*

Nach einem Wechsel von Fritz!Box 5490 zur 5530 konnte ich auf meinem WiFi Lautsprecher (älterer Pioneer) kein Internetradio mehr wiedergeben (da die neue Box keinen Medienserver hat). Nach Einrichten von Medienserver und Audio Station auf meiner Synology kann ich mit dieser App die Internetradios wieder auf dem Pioneer wiedergeben und zwar so, dass ich nach Start des Streams das iPhone abschalten kann, also der Stream direkt vom Lautsprecher gezogen wird. Das funktioniert interessanterweise sogar, wenn der Lautsprecher mit AirPlay (nicht nur DLNA) angesteuert wird. Bin also sehr zufrieden mit der App, weil sie meine nicht mehr ganz neuen Geräte am Laufen hält.

### 1/5 — Nicht wirklich gute App

*2026-04-21*

Bereits im letzten November hatte ich mich zu den häufigen Verbindungsabbrüchen geäußert. Leider scheint das immer schlimmer zu werden. Es sollte für die App ohne Belang sein, ob das Smartphone von wifi zu Cellular wechselt. An der Netzqualität liegt es nicht. Aber bei Synology kümmert das offensichtlich niemanden. Hätte ich gewußt, wie schlecht der Support der Apps by Synology ist, wäre ich nie auf die Idee gekommen, etwas von denen zu kaufen. Aber Profit geht natürlich vor Service. 

Zunächst einmal gibt es häufig Verbindungsabbrüche, was ziemlich nervig ist. Wenn es dann ganz blöd läuft, findet die App die DiscStation nicht mehr, weil diese angeblich Offline ist, was aber nicht stimmt.
Sehr nervig finde ich das Datenbanksystem von Synology auf der AudioStation. Offensichtlich wird zuerst nach Album und erst dann nach Interpret sortiert, was zur Folge hat, dass ich ein falsches Cover angezeigt bekomme. Wenn ich zuerst Greatest Hits von Tina Turner gespeichert habe, bekomme ich Tina Turners Cover auch bei den Greatest Hits der Rolling Stones angezeigt, obwohl ich die korrekten Cover mit mp3tag eingebunden habe. Man kann das umgehen indem man den korrekten Künstlernamen in Klammern hinter den Albumtitel schreibt. Sobald 2 Künstler den selben Albumtitel haben, ist bei einem Künstler das falsche Cover abgebildet. Ich habe das mal dem Support gesagt und bekam einen sinnlosen Tipp von denen. 
Es wäre nett, wenn die für die App Verantwortlichen, die App mal öfter als einmal im Jahr aktualisieren würden. Die Hardware war schließlich teuer genug, dass eine gewisse Qualität werden kann.

### 3/5 — Manque de développement

*2026-04-11*

Une excellente application mais délassée et c’est bien dommage, quelques bugs très gênants perdurent notamment la fonction random qui n’est pas réellement aléatoire (on retrouve souvent les mêmes morceaux) et lors de la lecture les titres sautent très souvent. Dommage car les bases de l’application sont excellentes…

### 3/5 — Bof

*2026-04-08*

Fait globalement le job malgré un bug au niveau du curseur du volume qui se met tout seul au max lors de certaines ouvertures de l’app. La gestion des illustrations d’albums est nettement à améliorer

### 5/5 — Simple design, great to use

*2026-03-24, version 5.17.1*

This is such a good app, i really like the design. At a time when design seems to be going backwards this keeps to simple user friendly design principles. The only things I'd like is to choose my own covers and shuffle all otherwise perfect.

## Frequently asked questions about DS audio

### What is DS audio?

DS audio is a mobile application that allows you to stream music stored on your Synology NAS to your iPhone or iPad. It requires you to own a Synology NAS and have the Audio Station package installed.

### Can I listen to music without an internet connection?

Yes, DS audio offers an offline mode that allows you to listen to songs stored in the device's local memory. This is useful for situations where you do not have an available network connection.

### How much does DS audio cost?

DS audio is a free application. However, it requires you to own a Synology NAS and have the Audio Station package installed on your NAS to function.

### What devices is DS audio compatible with?

DS audio is designed for iPhone and iPad devices. It requires a Synology NAS running Audio Station 6.5.0 or later for the complete set of features.

### What are the main features of DS audio?

Key features include streaming music from your Synology NAS, offline playback, browsing music by albums, artists, folders, or genres, creating and sharing playlists, rating music, and using it as a remote control for streaming to home stereo speakers.

## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 5.17.1 — 2024-10-24

Fixed Issues:
1. Fixed an issue where signing in to DS audio via QuickConnect could fail.
2. Fixed an issue where AirPlay button might not display correctly.

### 5.17.0 — 2024-08-29

Compatibility & Installation:
1. To ensure compatibility when using DS audio on your Apple Watch, please update watchOS to version 5 or later.

What's New:
1. Supports playing FLAC files.

Fixed Issues:
1. Fixed an issue where the volume slider was not displayed properly when editing volume.
2. Fixed an issue where a crash might happen unexpectedly when downloading playlists.
3. Fixed an issue where loading files might take a long time.
4. Fixed an issue where searching for your Synology NAS on a local network within the DS audio mobile app might not be successful.

### 5.16.4 — 2022-09-20

Important Note: 
1. Updated to be compatible with Advanced Media Extensions 3.0.
2. Support for AAC encoded audio is widespread across end devices like smartphones, tablets, computers, and the majority of other media playback devices. The need for AAC transcoding to achieve better compatibility has significantly diminished and will be removed starting with DSM 7.1.1.  Starting from DSM 7.1.1, AAC decoding is performed by the end device.
 - Streaming AAC encoded files over AirPlay is no longer supported.
 - Playback of AAC files via Chromecast is no longer supported.
 - Playback of M4A (recordings made on iPhones) is no longer supported.
 - Removed options for transcoding AAC files.

Fixed Issues:
1. Fixed an issue where the application might quit unexpectedly when switching to a Chromecast device during playback.
2. Fixed an issue where the player might not show the information of the artist.
3. Minor bug fixes.

### 5.16.3 — 2021-10-26

1.  Fixed an issue where you could not sign in on DS audio via QuickConnect.
2. Fixed an issue where music could not be streamed to Chromecast.
3. Minor bug fixes.

### 5.16.2 — 2021-08-11

Compatibility & Installation
1. This version is the last version that supports DSM 3.2 and below. It is recommended that you update to DSM 4.0 or above to use the next version of DS audio.
What's New
1. Add support of in-app miniplayer.
Fixed Issues
1. Fixed an issue where lyrics might not be displayed properly.
2. Minor bug fixes.

## Apps similar to DS audio

| App | Rating | Price | Category |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Apple Music](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/apple-music/id1108187390) | 4.9 (2,570,149) | Free | Music |
| [Offline Music Player](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/offline-music-player/id1259949354) | 4.6 (58,244) | Free | Music |
| [QNAP Qmusic](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/qnap-qmusic/id596677182) | 2.4 (41) | Free | Music |
| [Wi-Fi Music](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/wi-fi-music/id1515401872) | 4.2 (35) | Free | Music |
| [Play-Fi Headphones](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/play-fi-headphones/id1360123869) | 3.5 (11) | Free | Music |
| [DS Music - SynologyMusicPlayer](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ds-music-synologymusicplayer/id6476442387) | 4.2 (37) | Free | Music |

## More apps by Synology Inc.

- [DS photo](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ds-photo/id321493106)
- [DS cam](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ds-cam/id349087111)
- [DS file](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ds-file/id416751772)
- [DS finder](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ds-finder/id429865523)
- [DS video](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ds-video/id540949418)

All apps by Synology Inc.: https://appshunter.io/developer/321493109

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*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-08-25.*