JPLAY vs Hegel Control
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
JPLAY
This app is a high-fidelity music player designed for audiophiles. It seamlessly integrates streaming services like Qobuz and Tidal with local music files, offering a unified interface for all your audio content. Experience superior sound quality and discover new music through its intuitive design and advanced features.
- Plays Qobuz, Tidal, and local music files
- Works with most streamers and network DACs
- HQPlayer Control API integration
- Dramatically better sound quality
- Radio feature for music discovery
- Extended playlist management
- Artist bios and album reviews
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JPLAY is an award winning music playback app for audiophiles. It works instantly with nearly every streamer or network DAC on the market. It combines Qobuz, Tidal and local content in a single interface allowing user to access each library separately. Main features: • Beautiful, clean and easy to use app allowing you to play music on nearly all streamers/network DACs - no core needed! (UPnP AV/DLNA) • Plays from Qobuz, Tidal and files on local libraries • HQPlayer Control API – Seamlessly integrate and remotely control HQPlayer directly from JPLAY • Dramatically better sound quality thanks to minimizing network traffic • Radio feature discovers new music for you • Single library, individual library and folder views • Extended playlists management • Advanced search, sort, focus • Artists bios, album reviews etc • Highlighted audiophile formats • My Activity, My history keep your playback stats • Native iOS controls from locked screen • Sharing your favorite music on social media • And much, much more! JPLAY requires an active subscription to access its content and features. Sign up for a JPLAY subscription in the app. New users can enjoy a 14-day free trial period that will be automatically converted into a yearly subscription. Subscription is automatically renewed and charged on a yearly basis. You can cancel it at any time up until the day before renewal and you can at any time turn off the auto renewal.
Hegel Control
This application allows users to control Hegel streaming amplifiers, offering features like playback control, internet radio, and podcast access. It also facilitates initial device setup, input selection, and configuration for supported models.
- Playback control
- Internet radio and podcasts
- Initial setup
- Input selection
- Device configuration
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Control app for Hegel streaming amplifiers. The app provides playback control as well as internet radio and podcasts. The app also features initial setup, input selection and device configuration. Supported models: H150, H400, H600
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: JPLAY at 4.3 against Hegel Control's 2.3. JPLAY also leads on update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 12 months) and ratings volume (52 vs 3). Hegel Control's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3). On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement 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. JPLAY sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $49.99 per year. Hegel Control asks for nothing beyond the download.
JPLAY holds the better App Store score, 4.3 against 2.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: JPLAY has 52 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 59% of JPLAY's written reviews are positive against 50% of Hegel Control's.
JPLAY ships an update every 3 weeks, Hegel Control every 12 months. The most recent releases landed on October 16, 2026 and October 5, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | JPLAY | Hegel Control |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.3 (52 ratings) — better | 2.3 (3 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 58.9% of reviews — better | 50.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 52 — better | 3 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks — better | Every 12 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Subscription | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 — better | 14.1 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 50 MB | 22 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Marcin Ostapowicz | Hegel Music System AS |
Customer experience
JPLAY
Hegel Control
Bugs and requests
JPLAY
Reported bugs
14 issues- Tracks fail to render or play from Tidal
- App crashes on startup with older iOS versions
- Playback stuttering and lag issues
- Renderer in transition errors
- Device discovery failures
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- Missing cover art for local files
- Playback gets stuck at end of songs
- Random track order despite settings
- Skips tracks mid-playback
- Connection drops with certain streamers
- Metadata not syncing properly
- Album art not loading from Synology/Plex servers
- Qobuz favorites import not working
- Tidal playlist suggestions missing
Requested features
16 requests- Monthly subscription option
- Cross-device synchronization for playlists and favorites
- EQ and tone adjustment controls
- DSD file playback support
- Multi-room audio capability
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- Apple Watch control support
- AirPlay support
- Android version
- Gapless playback improvement
- Family sharing support
- Apple Music integration
- Internet radio support
- Volume control in player screen
- Automatic iCloud backup between devices
- WebDAV support
- Better error messages for troubleshooting
Hegel Control
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
JPLAY
- JPLAY Premium14 Days trial$49.991 Year
- Lifetime$149.00
- JPLAY Lifetime$199.00
Hegel Control
No in-app purchases
