Roon Essentials Remote vs HQPDcontrol v4
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Roon Essentials Remote
Control your Roon Essentials audio system to browse music, play tracks, and adjust settings. This app is specifically designed for Roon Essentials hardware like the ELAC Discovery and is not compatible with standard Roon.
- Browse music library
- Play favorite tracks
- Configure Roon Essentials system
- Control audio playback
- Designed for Roon Essentials hardware
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Browse your library, play your favorites, and configure your Roon Essentials system. Note that this application is only designed to work with Roon Essentials hardware such as the ELAC Discovery. This application is not compatible with Roon.
HQPDcontrol v4
Control your high-quality audio playback and upsampling from your mobile device. Browse your music library, manage playback queues, and adjust audio processing settings remotely. Seamlessly connect to your HQPlayer setup for an intuitive audiophile experience.
- Library browsing by artist, album, genre, and directory
- Full playback transport controls
- Real-time audio format and processing display
- Queue management with drag-and-drop reordering
- Remote adjustment of HQPlayer audio settings
- HRA catalog browsing and streaming
- Automatic HQPlayer instance discovery
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HQPDcontrol is the remote control for HQPlayer — the renowned high-quality audio player and upsampler. Turn your iPhone or iPad into a powerful, intuitive control surface for your audiophile setup. LIBRARY BROWSING Browse your music collection by artists, albums, genres, directories, or playlists. Search across your entire library instantly. View album artwork, track details, and digital booklets. Choose between grid and list views with configurable column layouts optimized for both phones and tablets. PLAYBACK CONTROL Full transport controls with real-time track information, album art, and a detailed audio format display showing sample rate, format (PCM/DSD), and the processing pipeline. Scrub through tracks, adjust volume, and monitor audio levels with a multi-channel meter view featuring peak indicators. QUEUE MANAGEMENT View and edit your playing queue with drag-and-drop reordering. Add tracks, albums, or entire playlists. Clear the queue or save it as a playlist for later. Jump to the currently playing track with a single tap. HQPLAYER SETTINGS Adjust HQPlayer's audio processing parameters directly from your device. Change filters, modulators, and other settings in real time without interrupting playback. HRA CATALOG ACCESS Browse and search the HRA (HIGHRESAUDIO.com) streaming catalog directly from the app. Manage your HRA playlists and send streaming URLs to HQPlayer for playback — HQPDcontrol acts purely as a remote control, with all audio processing and playback handled by HQPlayer. AUTOMATIC DISCOVERY HQPDcontrol automatically detects HQPlayer instances on your network. Just launch the app and connect — or configure the connection manually if preferred. DESIGNED FOR AUDIOPHILES • Real-time audio level meters with multi-channel support • Detailed format and conversion information display • Support for PCM and DSD formats • Album booklet/liner notes viewer (PDF) • Library statistics and storage overview • Dark and light themes • Left-handed mode • Responsive layout for all screen sizes HQPDcontrol requires a running instance of HQPlayer on your network. No audio is streamed through the app — all playback is handled entirely by HQPlayer. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: HQPDcontrol v4 at 3.9 against Roon Essentials Remote's 2.6. HQPDcontrol v4 also leads on review sentiment (83% vs 43%) and update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 4 months). Roon Essentials Remote's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2) and iOS requirement (11.0 vs 16.6). On price, ratings volume, ads 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
Both are free to download. HQPDcontrol v4 sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Roon Essentials Remote asks for nothing beyond the download.
HQPDcontrol v4 holds the better App Store score, 3.9 against 2.6. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 9 and 10 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 43% of Roon Essentials Remote's written reviews are positive against 83% of HQPDcontrol v4's.
Roon Essentials Remote ships an update every 4 months, HQPDcontrol v4 every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 15, 2026 and September 22, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Roon Essentials Remote | HQPDcontrol v4 |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 2.6 (9 ratings) | 3.9 (10 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 42.9% of reviews | 83.3% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 9 | 10 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | Every 2 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 11.0 — better | 16.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 278 MB | 53 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Roon Labs | Ales Prochazka |
Customer experience
Roon Essentials Remote
HQPDcontrol v4
In-app purchases
Roon Essentials Remote
No in-app purchases
HQPDcontrol v4
- HQPDcontrol v4 (M)7 Days trial$1.991 Month
- HQPDcontrol v4 (A)7 Days trial$12.991 Year
Questions
Is Roon Essentials Remote free?
Is HQPDcontrol v4 free?
Which has better reviews, Roon Essentials Remote or HQPDcontrol v4?
Do Roon Essentials Remote or HQPDcontrol v4 have ads?
Which is updated more often, Roon Essentials Remote or HQPDcontrol v4?
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