Roon vs Mark Levinson Control
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Roon
This app serves as a controller for a Roon Server, enabling users to browse and play their music library. It offers a rich metadata-driven interface for musical discovery, connecting to over 1,000 compatible audio devices for seamless playback.
- Music library browsing and playback
- Rich metadata for musical discovery
- Connects to 1,000+ audio devices
- Seamless in-home audio connection
- Access music library remotely via Roon ARC
- Bit-perfect playback and format support
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*** The Roon experience requires a Roon Server on your network. *** The Roon App is another controller for your Roon Server. You browse and play your music library on over 1,000 compatible audio devices, and provides a seamless in-home connection. You can install the free Roon App on as many devices as you like. What is Roon? The very best way to experience your music: Roon reshapes the way you browse and explore music. Powered by rich metadata, Roon's interface invites you on a new journey of musical discovery every time you log in. Your music library becomes the starting point on a vast map of performers, composers, influences, and genres. Follow the path emanating from the music you love to discover exciting new sounds and reconnect with long-forgotten favorites. You can delve even deeper through lyrics, artist photos, bios, reviews, and tour dates - then continue the journey with recommendations specifically tailored to your tastes and listening habits. Listen anywhere, on all your gear: Roon lets you play from your collection of music files and TIDAL, Qobuz, and KKBOX libraries on thousands of Roon Ready, Airplay, Chromecast, and USB devices from one app inside your home. Meanwhile, Roon ARC provides access, playback, and precision audio control for your entire Roon music library directly from your phone, wherever you are in the world. Flawless playback. Everywhere, every time: Roon is built to ensure your music sounds perfect every time you hit play, no matter where you are. Roon guarantees the best possible sound quality from every piece of audio gear - our MUSE sound engine delivers bit-perfect playback, exhaustive format support, and precision audio control for a fully customizable and flawless listening experience. From headphones to your home hi-fi, and everything in between.
Mark Levinson Control
This app provides comprehensive control for a specific audio player, allowing users to manage source selection, volume, and detailed audio settings. Stream music from various sources, tune into internet radio, and access podcasts wirelessly from your iOS device.
- Source selection control
- Volume adjustment
- Audio parameter configuration
- Network settings
- Music streaming
- Internet radio access
- Podcast listening
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The Mark Levinson № 519 app is the universal remote control for the № 519 audio player. Control source selection, volume, configure all of the settings including network and detailed audio parameters. Access, stream, and listen to any song, from anywhere – streaming music services, shared music library, or anywhere else your music is stored. Tune in to Internet radio stations and podcasts aired from anywhere in the world. And do it all wirelessly, right from your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Roon at 3.6 against Mark Levinson Control's 2.8. Roon also leads on update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 21 months) and ratings volume (556 vs 6). Mark Levinson Control's advantage is review sentiment (67% vs 33%) and iOS requirement (10.0 vs 15.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Roon holds the better App Store score, 3.6 against 2.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Roon has 556 ratings behind it against 6, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 33% of Roon's written reviews are positive against 67% of Mark Levinson Control's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Roon ships an update every 3 weeks, Mark Levinson Control every 21 months. The most recent releases landed on October 20, 2026 and September 28, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Roon | Mark Levinson Control |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.6 (556 ratings) — better | 2.8 (6 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 32.6% of reviews | 66.7% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 556 — better | 6 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks — better | Every 21 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 10.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 616 MB | 7 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Roon Labs | HARMAN INTERNATIONAL INDUSTRIES LIMITED |
Customer experience
Roon
Mark Levinson Control
Bugs and requests
Roon
Reported bugs
4 issues- App crashes on search
- Audio devices disappearing
- Volume issues after updates
- Inability to find Roon core
Requested features
5 requests- Dark mode option
- Offline music playback
- Better Tidal/Spotify integration
- Improved metadata editing
- Apple Watch support
Mark Levinson Control
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Roon
No in-app purchases
Mark Levinson Control
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Roon free?
Is Mark Levinson Control free?
Which has better reviews, Roon or Mark Levinson Control?
Do Roon or Mark Levinson Control have ads?
Which is updated more often, Roon or Mark Levinson Control?
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