Roon ARC vs McIntosh Connect
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Roon ARC
Access your entire Roon music library, including personal files and streaming services, from anywhere. Enjoy high-quality audio playback, offline listening, and in-depth music discovery features optimized for mobile and car use.
- Access Roon library anywhere
- Offline music downloads
- High-quality audio playback
- Advanced EQ and audio shaping
- In-depth music discovery
- Car integration
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*** Roon ARC requires a valid Roon subscription *** ARC puts the best possible on-the-go music experience in your pocket and lets you enjoy your Roon library and all of Roon's immersive features wherever you are in the world. ARC is a custom-built streaming service powered by your Roon system at home. Explore your complete collection of artists, albums, playlists, and personal music files, plus TIDAL, Qobuz, and KKBOX streams. Discover added content from Roon's music experts and smart features, such as staff-curated playlists, Daily Mixes, New Releases for You, personalized recommendations, and Roon Radio. You can add albums to your collection, build playlists, set favorites, create tags, and more, just as you can in Roon. Offline listening lets you download your personal music files to keep the music playing wherever your adventures take you – even if you're off the grid entirely. ARC offers remote access to Roon's captivating library of in-depth artist bios and album articles, revealing the stories that take us deep into the heart of our favorite music. And there's more… Ready to hit the road? Your Roon library is too! Roon's browsing and discovery features fully integrate into your car's controls for safe and convenient playback. With ARC within easy reach of the wheel, every road you take is a journey in sound. ARC makes the driver's seat feel like your listening chair at home. ARC is designed to look and feel just like Roon. You get the same intuitive, aesthetically rich Roon interface you know and love, fully optimized for your phone. No more switching between streaming apps; ARC compiles all your music in one place for easy access and maximum enjoyment. And now, Roon's audio shaping suite and pristine sound quality have arrived in ARC - with bold styling never before seen in a mobile app! MUSE delivers the precision audio control of Roon when you're on the go or running a streamlined mobile setup with ARC. It places radically unique EQ handling, optimized balance control, precision volume leveling, FLAC, DSD & MQA support, crossfeed, headroom management, and sample rate conversion in the palm of your hand. You can customize sonic qualities to your specific tastes with MUSE, then save or apply them with a few clicks. To top it all off, MUSE even remembers your presets and reapplies them when you reconnect to a known device. The MUSE Signal Path display provides complete audio signal transparency as the music flows through your device - from source media all the way to your speakers. ARC offers artful design, sound quality, and a music listening experience unmatched by any other music app. Best of all, it's included free with your Roon subscription.
McIntosh Connect
Control compatible McIntosh audio equipment with a streamlined interface. Manage volume, inputs, tone, and more for select preamplifiers. Easily update firmware and configure network settings for an optimized listening experience.
- Volume Control
- Input Selection & Renaming
- Tone Adjustment
- Firmware Update Management
- Multi-Zone Audio Control
- Network Setup
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McIntosh Connect offers a refined, intuitive interface for controlling supported McIntosh products, currently the CR106 6-Zone Preamplifier / Audio Matrix, C55 Solid State Preamplifier, and C2800 Vacuum Tube Preamplifier. Each product provides a tailored in-app experience designed to highlight and control its most essential features. Key Features (all features may not be compatible with all products): • Guided Product Discovery & Onboarding • Volume Control • Input Selection • Input Renaming & Configuration • Tone Adjustment • Output Switching • Balance Control • Input Trim Level • Network Setup & Configuration • Firmware Update Management • Multi-Zone Audio Control (CR106 only) • Experience Creation & Recall (CR106 only) Supported Products: • CR106 2-Channel, 6-Zone Preamplifier / Audio Matrix • C55 2-Channel Solid State Preamplifier • C2800 2-Channel Vacuum Tube Preamplifier Firmware Updates Made Easy Stay current with the latest enhancements. McIntosh Connect automatically checks for firmware updates and simplifies installation, ensuring your system performs at its best. Control of Connected Source Components McIntosh Connect also enables indirect control of select McIntosh source components via the Data Ports on supported preamplifiers. Proper configuration is required; please refer to your product’s Owner’s Manual for setup instructions.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ratings volume: Roon ARC at 201 against McIntosh Connect's 14. Roon ARC also leads on update cadence (monthly vs every 3 months) and review sentiment (36% vs 25%). On price, rating, ads and in-app purchases 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.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 3.3 for Roon ARC against 3.3 for McIntosh Connect. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Roon ARC has 201 ratings behind it against 14, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 36% of Roon ARC's written reviews are positive against 25% of McIntosh Connect's.
Roon ARC ships an update monthly, McIntosh Connect every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and November 4, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Roon ARC | McIntosh Connect |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.3 (201 ratings) — better | 3.3 (14 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 35.7% of reviews — better | 25.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 201 — better | 14 |
| Update frequency | Monthly — better | Every 3 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 124 MB | 47 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Roon Labs LLC | McIntosh Laboratory, Inc. |
Customer experience
Roon ARC
McIntosh Connect
Bugs and requests
Roon ARC
Reported bugs
4 issues- Corrupted media files
- Disappearing playlists
- Inability to select external storage for downloads
- Inconsistent connectivity to Roon server
Requested features
5 requests- Native iPad app
- Siri integration for voice control
- Improved browsing and search capabilities
- Automatic offline downloads
- MQA decoding support
McIntosh Connect
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Roon ARC
No in-app purchases
McIntosh Connect
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Roon ARC free?
Is McIntosh Connect free?
Which has better reviews, Roon ARC or McIntosh Connect?
Do Roon ARC or McIntosh Connect have ads?
Which is updated more often, Roon ARC or McIntosh Connect?
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