Comparison

HiByMusic vs EffectDeck

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

HiByMusic

A free, high-fidelity audio player for audiophiles and music lovers. It supports a wide range of lossless and lossy formats, offering high-precision decoding and advanced audio features for a premium listening experience.

Highlights
  • Wide lossless/lossy audio format support
  • CUE sheets and ISO image support
  • High precision decoding (32-bit output, 64-bit float)
  • External USB DAC support
  • Gapless playback
  • 10 band graphic EQ
  • MSEB support
Read full description

HiByMusic Free lossless HiFi audio player. Easy to use, clean and clear. HiByMusic Player is a free lossless HiFi audio player designed for audiophiles and music fans, giving you a first-class music experience wherever you go. Features: 1. Wide lossless/lossy audio format support, including DSD(DSF,DFF), ISO(DSF,DFF,DST), WAV, FLAC, APE, AIFF, M4A, AAC, WMA, MP3, Ogg Vorbis; 2. CUE sheets and ISO images are also directly supported; 3. High precision decoding with 32 bits output, 64 bits floating point decoding and 128 bits internal precision, all for the best quality audio; 4. External USB DAC is supported, Output Native DSD with DoP, Direct output DxD and 384kHz@32bits audio streams easily; 5. Gapless playback; 6. 10 band graphic EQ; 7. MSEB support; Stay tuned, more professional function will be added continually! email: service@hiby.com website: www.hiby.com

About

EffectDeck

Process audio from any app with a customizable chain of effects. Add built-in, AUv3, or custom JSFX plugins. Share your audio chains and scripts easily.

Highlights
  • 100+ built-in audio effects
  • JSFX script support
  • AUv3 plugin integration
  • Custom impulse responses
  • Audio analysis tools
  • Preset management
  • Chain and script sharing
Features
Read full description

EffectDeck puts an effect chain on the audio other apps are already playing, and the effects you can put in it are not limited to the ones it ships with. Pick EffectDeck as the output in Control Center, then open the app and build a chain. No virtual cable, no routing to set up, nothing to configure first. Start from over 100 of EffeTune's effects, running unmodified: the same DSP code EffeTune runs on the desktop and on the web. Add the AUv3 plug-ins already on your device and your own impulse responses. When the effect you want does not exist, write it as a JSFX script, and it goes into the chain like any other effect. WHAT YOU GET - Over 100 built-in effects: EQ, dynamics, saturation, modulation, reverb, delay, spatial, lo-fi and restoration - JSFX effects: import a script from Files, a link or the clipboard. Each gets its own sliders and, if it draws, its own display - AUv3 effect plug-ins installed on your iPhone or iPad - Convolution reverb with your own impulse responses, and AutoEQ profiles for the 15-band EQ - Analyzers you can drop into the chain: spectrum, spectrogram, oscilloscope, level and stereo meters - Presets from EffeTune, plus your own presets in folders - Share a chain or a JSFX script as a link, and open the links others send you - A two-column layout on iPad - Oversampling at 48, 96 or 192 kHz, with latency and CPU shown while it runs HOW IT WORKS iOS 27 lets an app present itself as an audio output device. EffectDeck appears in Control Center next to your speaker and headphones. Choose it, and the audio from the player you are using is handed over, processed, and played back on the same device. Apps that never report themselves as playing, most games among them, keep going straight to the speaker. The audio never leaves the device, and nothing is collected. If you are signed in to iCloud, your presets and chain follow you to your other devices. The effects are EffeTune by Yoshiyuki Kobayashi (MIT). This app is a separate project and is not affiliated with EffeTune. The name was changed at the upstream author's request.

Screenshots

HiByMusic4 screens
EffectDeck4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: EffectDeck at 96% against HiByMusic's 42%. EffectDeck also leads on rating (4.8 vs 3.4) and update cadence (every 3 days vs every 3 months). HiByMusic's advantage is ratings volume (143 vs 12) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 27.0). 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

EffectDeck holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 3.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: HiByMusic has 143 ratings behind it against 12, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 42% of HiByMusic's written reviews are positive against 96% of EffectDeck's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

HiByMusic ships an update every 3 months, EffectDeck every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on November 2, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
HiByMusic versus EffectDeck: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHiByMusicEffectDeck
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.4 (143 ratings)4.8 (12 ratings) — better
Positive reviews42.0% of reviews95.7% of reviews — better
Number of ratings143 — better12
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 3 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS12.0 — better27.0
Further details — not scored
Size48 MB16 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperDongguan Hiby Music Technology Co., Ltd.Masahiro Sato

Customer experience

HiByMusic

All ratings140 ratings
Positive55.0%
Neutral13.6%
Negative31.4%
Written reviews402 reviews
Positive42.0%
Neutral14.4%
Negative43.5%

EffectDeck

All ratings11 ratings
Positive90.9%
Neutral9.1%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews23 reviews
Positive95.7%
Neutral4.3%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

HiByMusic

Reported bugs

21 issues
  • App crashes during music library scanning (around 3,000 files)
  • HibyLink connection drops repeatedly
  • Music playback stops when app is backgrounded
  • Rewind button behavior inconsistent (goes to previous song instead of replaying)
  • Album shuffle mixing with existing playlist songs
Show 16 more
  • SMBv3 compatibility issues
  • DLNA functionality crashes
  • EQ and DSP effects not working on iOS
  • DSD DoP not functioning on iPhone 15 Pro Max
  • MQA track playback crashes
  • Search function keyboard disappears after each letter
  • Album art cropping and stretching issues
  • Lyric loading failures
  • Some MP3 and M4A files fail to play
  • Bluetooth pairing inconsistency with Hiby devices
  • Firmware update required every startup (2-3 minutes)
  • Music file scanning not detecting all formats
  • Volume control glitches when pressing quickly
  • Plugin deactivation after app closure
  • Folder sorting in reverse alphabetical order
  • Track order randomization in folder view

Requested features

20 requests
  • Manual playlist reordering
  • ID3 tag editing capability
  • Folder-based music library scanning
  • Album artist sorting (not just track artist)
  • Album favorites/bookmarking
Show 15 more
  • Gapless playback
  • Crossfade between tracks
  • Folder icon display in browser
  • Font size adjustment
  • Language settings
  • Dark mode and theme customization
  • Background playback support
  • Search by filename
  • HTTP/NAS access support
  • Lyrics matching and custom lyric sources
  • Portrait mode support for iPad
  • Online lyrics and cover art fetching improvements
  • Ascending/descending sort order options
  • Playlist organization and song management
  • VoiceOver accessibility improvements for iOS

EffectDeck

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

HiByMusic

No in-app purchases

None

EffectDeck

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is HiByMusic free?
HiByMusic is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is EffectDeck free?
EffectDeck is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, HiByMusic or EffectDeck?
EffectDeck is rated higher. HiByMusic averages 3.4 out of 5 from 143 ratings, while EffectDeck averages 4.8 from 12 ratings.
Do HiByMusic or EffectDeck have ads?
Neither HiByMusic nor EffectDeck shows ads.
Which is updated more often, HiByMusic or EffectDeck?
HiByMusic ships an update every 3 months, and EffectDeck every 3 days. Most recently, HiByMusic was updated on November 2, 2026 and EffectDeck on October 31, 2026.

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