# DS audio vs SubStreamer

The clearest difference is review sentiment: SubStreamer at 72% against DS audio's 29%. SubStreamer also leads on rating (4.0 vs 2.8) and update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 3 months). DS audio's advantage is device support (4 vs 2) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 16.4). On price, ratings volume, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

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

SubStreamer holds the better App Store score, 4.0 against 2.8. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 206 and 141 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 29% of DS audio's written reviews are positive against 72% of SubStreamer's.

DS audio ships an update every 3 months, SubStreamer every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 8, 2026 and October 10, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | DS audio | SubStreamer |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [2.8 (206 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ds-audio/id321495303/reviews) | **[4.0 (141 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/substreamer/id1012991665/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **206** | 141 |
| Positive reviews | 29.1% of reviews | **72.2% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | **Every 2 weeks** |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Size | 39 MB | 55 MB |
| Requires iOS | **13.0** | 16.4 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | +4 |
| Developer | [Synology Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/321493109) | [Gaven Henry](https://appshunter.io/developer/925249622) |

## What reviewers say

### DS audio

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ds-audio/id321495303)

Stream your music library from your Synology NAS to your iPhone or iPad. Enjoy offline playback, organize music by various criteria, create and share playlists, and even rate your tracks. It can also function as a remote control for streaming to home stereo speakers.

**Highlights:** Stream music from Synology NAS, Offline music playback, Browse by albums, artists, genres, Create and share playlists, Rate music tracks, Remote control for home speakers

**Features:** Apple Watch app, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Streaming music from NAS
- 👍 Allows offline playback
- 💡 Integrates with home audio systems
- 👍 Provides access to entire music library

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Frequent crashes and bugs
- 🐛 Unreliable connectivity and login issues
- 🐛 Inconsistent performance and skipping songs
- 🐛 Outdated and cluttered user interface

**Reported bugs**

- App randomly closes or stops playing
- Fails to remember playback position
- Incompatible with latest iOS versions
- Issues with downloading and caching music

**Requested features**

- Add support for Dolby Atmos and surround sound
- Implement gapless playback
- Improve playlist management and editing
- Add search and sorting functionality
- Provide better integration with CarPlay and Chromecast


### SubStreamer

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/substreamer/id1012991665)

Access and stream your personal music library from a Subsonic-compatible server on your mobile device. Enjoy offline playback, personalized mixes, and detailed listening analytics without ads or subscriptions.

**Highlights:** Stream and download music library, Offline listening with background processing, Personalized smart mixes, Listening analytics and scrobbling, Playlist and library management, Background playback with lock screen controls, Open source

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Siri integration, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 🎨 Beautiful and modern UI design
- ⚡ Clean, intuitive interface
- 🎵 Excellent Navidrome server compatibility
- 📱 Works seamlessly with self-hosted music servers
- 🔄 Reliable background playback functionality

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Frequent playback failures and stalling
- 🐛 Random crashes during playback
- 🐛 Scrobbling not working reliably
- 🐛 Large file playback issues (10MB+)
- 🐛 AirPlay/Apple TV streaming broken

**Reported bugs**

- Songs fail to play without double-pressing play button
- Playback stops with 4 seconds remaining in track
- Skipping back crashes the app
- Large files (10MB+) require pause-then-play to start
- Scrobbling fails despite server support

**Requested features**

- CarPlay support for in-car use
- Traditional Chinese language support
- Simplified Chinese language support
- All-songs library view (not just albums/artists)
- Lyrics API integration


## Frequently asked questions

### Is DS audio free?

DS audio is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is SubStreamer free?

SubStreamer is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, DS audio or SubStreamer?

SubStreamer is rated higher. DS audio averages 2.8 out of 5 from 206 ratings, while SubStreamer averages 4.0 from 141 ratings.

### Do DS audio or SubStreamer have ads?

Neither DS audio nor SubStreamer shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, DS audio or SubStreamer?

DS audio ships an update every 3 months, and SubStreamer every 2 weeks. Most recently, DS audio was updated on October 8, 2026 and SubStreamer on October 10, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*