DS audio vs HiByMusic
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
DS audio
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.
- 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
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**You must own a Synology NAS to run this app, and be running the Audio Station 6.5.0 package to get the complete set of features** DS audio allows you to stream music stored on your DiskStation with an iPhone/iPad wherever an Internet connection is available. Better yet, with the offline mode you can listen to songs stored in the device’s local memory for when no network connection is available. You can browse music by albums, artists, folders or genres, create your own playlists or share them with your friends, and even rate your music! And if you have dedicated stereo speakers at home, DS audio can also become a remote control to stream music to them. Find all detailed features about the app on our website: www.synology.com > NAS > DSM 7.1 > Apps > Mobile Apps > Software Specs https://www.synology.com/en-global/dsm/7.1/software_spec/video_station#affiliated_utility__ds_video_mobile__feature
HiByMusic
A free, high-fidelity audio player for audiophiles and music lovers. It supports a wide range of lossless and lossy formats, offering high-precision decoding and advanced audio features for a premium listening experience.
- Wide lossless/lossy audio format support
- CUE sheets and ISO image support
- High precision decoding (32-bit output, 64-bit float)
- External USB DAC support
- Gapless playback
- 10 band graphic EQ
- MSEB support
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HiByMusic Free lossless HiFi audio player. Easy to use, clean and clear. HiByMusic Player is a free lossless HiFi audio player designed for audiophiles and music fans, giving you a first-class music experience wherever you go. Features: 1. Wide lossless/lossy audio format support, including DSD(DSF,DFF), ISO(DSF,DFF,DST), WAV, FLAC, APE, AIFF, M4A, AAC, WMA, MP3, Ogg Vorbis; 2. CUE sheets and ISO images are also directly supported; 3. High precision decoding with 32 bits output, 64 bits floating point decoding and 128 bits internal precision, all for the best quality audio; 4. External USB DAC is supported, Output Native DSD with DoP, Direct output DxD and 384kHz@32bits audio streams easily; 5. Gapless playback; 6. 10 band graphic EQ; 7. MSEB support; Stay tuned, more professional function will be added continually! email: service@hiby.com website: www.hiby.com
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: HiByMusic at 3.4 against DS audio's 2.7. HiByMusic also leads on review sentiment (42% vs 28%). On price, ratings volume, update cadence and ads 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.
HiByMusic holds the better App Store score, 3.4 against 2.7. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 211 and 143 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 28% of DS audio's written reviews are positive against 42% of HiByMusic's.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on October 25, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | DS audio | HiByMusic |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 2.7 (211 ratings) | 3.4 (143 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 27.8% of reviews | 42.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 211 — better | 143 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | Every 3 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — better | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 | 12.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 39 MB | 48 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Synology Inc. | Dongguan Hiby Music Technology Co., Ltd. |
Customer experience
DS audio
HiByMusic
User reviews
DS audio
From 211 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Streaming music from NAS
- 👍 Allows offline playback
- 💡 Integrates with home audio systems
- 👍 Provides access to entire music library
Room to improve
- 🐛 Frequent crashes and bugs
- 🐛 Unreliable connectivity and login issues
- 🐛 Inconsistent performance and skipping songs
- 🐛 Outdated and cluttered user interface
HiByMusic
From 143 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🎵 Excellent hi-res audio support (DSD, FLAC, WAV, APE)
- 🆓 Free app without ads or hidden fees
- 🎨 Clean and intuitive user interface
- 🔗 HibyLink functionality for controlling compatible devices
- ⚙️ Effective equalizer and DSP effects
Room to improve
- 🐛 Frequent crashes and stability issues
- 📱 Poor iOS optimization compared to Android version
- 🔌 Unreliable Bluetooth and WiFi connectivity
- 🎯 Clunky and unintuitive user experience
- 🚫 CarPlay support removed in recent updates
Bugs and requests
DS audio
Reported bugs
4 issues- App randomly closes or stops playing
- Fails to remember playback position
- Incompatible with latest iOS versions
- Issues with downloading and caching music
Requested features
5 requests- 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
HiByMusic
Reported bugs
21 issues- App crashes during music library scanning (around 3,000 files)
- HibyLink connection drops repeatedly
- Music playback stops when app is backgrounded
- Rewind button behavior inconsistent (goes to previous song instead of replaying)
- Album shuffle mixing with existing playlist songs
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- SMBv3 compatibility issues
- DLNA functionality crashes
- EQ and DSP effects not working on iOS
- DSD DoP not functioning on iPhone 15 Pro Max
- MQA track playback crashes
- Search function keyboard disappears after each letter
- Album art cropping and stretching issues
- Lyric loading failures
- Some MP3 and M4A files fail to play
- Bluetooth pairing inconsistency with Hiby devices
- Firmware update required every startup (2-3 minutes)
- Music file scanning not detecting all formats
- Volume control glitches when pressing quickly
- Plugin deactivation after app closure
- Folder sorting in reverse alphabetical order
- Track order randomization in folder view
Requested features
20 requests- Manual playlist reordering
- ID3 tag editing capability
- Folder-based music library scanning
- Album artist sorting (not just track artist)
- Album favorites/bookmarking
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- Gapless playback
- Crossfade between tracks
- Folder icon display in browser
- Font size adjustment
- Language settings
- Dark mode and theme customization
- Background playback support
- Search by filename
- HTTP/NAS access support
- Lyrics matching and custom lyric sources
- Portrait mode support for iPad
- Online lyrics and cover art fetching improvements
- Ascending/descending sort order options
- Playlist organization and song management
- VoiceOver accessibility improvements for iOS
In-app purchases
DS audio
No in-app purchases
HiByMusic
No in-app purchases
