Roon vs Cary Streamer 2.0
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.
Cary Streamer 2.0
This application provides intuitive control over Cary Audio DMS and AiOS products. Its interface mirrors the physical unit's faceplate, offering two-way functionality to display the same information as the device.
- Control Cary Audio DMS & AiOS products
- Intuitive interface
- Mirrors physical unit faceplate
- Two-way functionality
- Displays device information
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Explanation of APP function: This app is specifically designed to control the Cary Audio all DMS & AiOS products. All functions of the all DMS & AiOS products can be control with the intuitive interface which is designed to function similarly to the actual unit faceplate. The app has two way functionality which displays the same information as the unit itself.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Roon at 3.6 against Cary Streamer 2.0's 2.6. Roon also leads on review sentiment (33% vs 0%) and ratings volume (556 vs 5). Cary Streamer 2.0's advantage is iOS requirement (12.0 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 2.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Roon has 556 ratings behind it against 5, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 33% of Roon's written reviews are positive against 0% of Cary Streamer 2.0's.
Roon ships an update every 3 weeks, Cary Streamer 2.0 every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 13, 2026 and September 8, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Roon | Cary Streamer 2.0 |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.6 (556 ratings) — better | 2.6 (5 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 32.6% of reviews — better | 0.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 556 — better | 5 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks — better | Every 2 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 12.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 616 MB | 20 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Roon Labs | Cary Audio Design LLC |
Customer experience
Roon
Cary Streamer 2.0
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
Cary Streamer 2.0
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Roon
No in-app purchases
Cary Streamer 2.0
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Roon free?
Is Cary Streamer 2.0 free?
Which has better reviews, Roon or Cary Streamer 2.0?
Do Roon or Cary Streamer 2.0 have ads?
Which is updated more often, Roon or Cary Streamer 2.0?
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