Comparison

Surround Speaker Check vs Plex Dash

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

Head to head
About

Surround Speaker Check

Test and optimize your Dolby Atmos home theater system. This app provides over two hours of spatial audio content to verify surround sound decoding, speaker configuration, and enjoy immersive audio experiences on compatible soundbars and headphones.

Highlights
  • Verify Dolby Atmos decoding
  • Test speaker configuration
  • Evaluate height channels
  • Subwoofer test suite
  • Manual speaker troubleshooting
  • Spatial audio demos
  • Dolby Atmos test tracks
Features
Read full description

Surround Speaker Check is a fun and entertaining utility to help you set up and enjoy Dolby Atmos on your home theater gear! Also works as great way to test spatial audio on Dolby Atmos-compatible sound bars and headphones! Surround Speaker Check is more than just the world’s most popular AV utility app - with over 2 hours of content, it’s now THE best way to experience Dolby Atmos spatial audio like you’ve never heard before! SURROUND SOUND TESTING - Verify your system is properly decoding Dolby Atmos surround sound audio - Confirm your speakers are properly configured - Hear and evaluate your surround speakers in isolation (including height channels) - Tune your room, test your sub with the new Subwoofer Test Suite - Use the Manual Speaker Check feature to help troubleshoot and fine-tune your system - Confirm your Apple TV is properly set-up for surround sound playback DOLBY ATMOS TEST TRACKS - True Dolby Atmos audio support provides an accurate and complete test environment - Supports up to 7.1.4 speaker layouts - Works with Atmos-compatible soundbars SPATIAL AUDIO PLAYGROUND - Over two hours of spatial audio demos and Dolby Atmos test tracks - Regularly updated Dolby Atmos demos experimental spatial audio content - Enjoy spatial object scenes designed to unleash the full potential of your home theater Uses specially-produced Dolby Atmos surround tracks with on-screen 3D graphics Designed by guitarist and immersive audio producer Jeff Perrin as a means to confirm the integrity of various surround systems while producing surround sound music tracks. NOTE: Playback of test content on speakers requires an Apple TV (or similar AirPlay-compatible streaming device) connected to a Dolby Digital-compatible home theater system. Spatial audio support over headphones requires compatible iOS device with Dolby Atmos-compatible AirPods or Dolby Atmos-compatible headphones. When played back over an optical connection or non-Atmos devices, surround content will fold down to Dolby Digital 5.1 or stereo 2.0 format, depending on device capabilities. In all cases, a fast internet connection is highly recommend. *Playback of Dolby Atmos content on non-Apple devices requires that the device supports multichannel audio (ie. Dolby Digital 5.1 or Atmos) over AirPlay 2. Please check your device specifications. Please try out the free included test tracks so as to ensure compatibility with your hardware before making any purchases. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Plex Dash

Monitor your Plex Media Server in real-time. Track streams, DVR recordings, and server resources with detailed graphs. Manage media artwork and refresh libraries directly from your device.

Highlights
  • Real-time playback status
  • DVR recording monitoring
  • Bandwidth and resource graphs
  • Top media and user history
  • Artwork management
  • Library refresh
  • Server log inspection
Features
Read full description

** You'll need a Plex Media Server and an active Plex Pass to use this app ** ** From the same people who brought you the Plex app ** ** PS - If you’re new to Plex, download the Plex app first ** Pop quiz, hotshot: how many streams is your Plex Media Server dishing out RIGHT NOW? What’s your most-watched movie in the past month? Is that CPU you picked up from a sketchy eBay vendor up to the task? More importantly, are you sure that’s the best poster for Speed (1994)? Plex Dash is a tool created by obsessive Plex Media Server admins for obsessive Plex Media Server admins. Get real-time status of playbacks, DVR recordings, Sync conversions, and more. Monitor bandwidth and server resources with sexy graphs. Dig deeper and learn about top items or individual user history. Fix up artwork. Refresh libraries. Inspect nerdy media details. If it all goes south, check out the raw server logs. MASTER YOUR MEDIAVERSE Who’s streaming what right now? Plex Dash answers in spades. Gorgeous Now Playing tiles keep you apprised of all the latest shenanigans, across all of your servers. Put that giant iPad to great use by duct-taping it to the wall (landscape, duh); lean back, pet your hairless cat, and keep an eye on your empire. DIVE UNDER THE HOOD Server up to something? DVR recording? Media Optimizer doing its… optimizing? You get a chonky lightning bolt to make sure this doesn’t go unnoticed. ONE-HANDED CURATION Browse and change artwork from the palm of your hand while checking out at your local co-op. It’s like that other swipey app, but with less risk of disease.

Screenshots

Surround Speaker Check4 screens
Plex Dash4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Plex Dash at 4.6 against Surround Speaker Check's 3.8. Plex Dash also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 4) and review sentiment (81% vs 54%). On price, ads, monetization model and device support 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. Surround Speaker Check sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $19.99 per year. Plex Dash asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Plex Dash holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 3.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Plex Dash has 2.2K ratings behind it against 41, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 54% of Surround Speaker Check's written reviews are positive against 81% of Plex Dash's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Surround Speaker Check ships an update every 5 months, Plex Dash monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 2, 2026 and October 1, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Surround Speaker Check versus Plex Dash: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSurround Speaker CheckPlex Dash
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.8 (41 ratings)4.6 (2.2K ratings) — better
Positive reviews54.3% of reviews81.1% of reviews — better
Number of ratings412.2K — better
Update frequencyEvery 5 monthsMonthly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple TViPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS16.613.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size180 MB36 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperJeff Perrin Music LLCPlex Inc.

Customer experience

Surround Speaker Check

All ratings41 ratings
Positive65.9%
Neutral9.8%
Negative24.4%
Written reviews35 reviews
Positive54.3%
Neutral11.4%
Negative34.3%

Plex Dash

All ratings2,151 ratings
Positive91.9%
Neutral2.5%
Negative5.6%
Written reviews588 reviews
Positive81.1%
Neutral5.8%
Negative13.1%

Bugs and requests

Surround Speaker Check

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Plex Dash

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Difficulty connecting to server or finding servers
  • Crashes when viewing server graphs
  • Inaccurate or incomplete playback history

Requested features

6 requests
  • Add ability to manage users and permissions
  • Integrate more server administration functions
  • Improve library browsing and media details
  • Provide more detailed playback statistics
  • Add support for GPU monitoring
Show 1 more
  • Allow remote server control and updates

In-app purchases

4 purchases

Surround Speaker Check

Subscriptions2
  • Unlimited Access$19.991 Year
  • Unlimited Access$24.991 Year
One-time2
  • Subwoofer Check$0.99
  • Center Speaker Check$0.99
None

Plex Dash

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Surround Speaker Check free?
Surround Speaker Check is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Plex Dash free?
Plex Dash is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Surround Speaker Check or Plex Dash?
Plex Dash is rated higher. Surround Speaker Check averages 3.8 out of 5 from 41 ratings, while Plex Dash averages 4.6 from 2.2K ratings.
Do Surround Speaker Check or Plex Dash have ads?
Neither Surround Speaker Check nor Plex Dash shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Surround Speaker Check or Plex Dash?
Surround Speaker Check ships an update every 5 months, and Plex Dash monthly. Most recently, Surround Speaker Check was updated on October 2, 2026 and Plex Dash on October 1, 2026.

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