Comparison

Simple DAAP Client vs Golden Ear

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Simple DAAP Client

Stream music from a DAAP server on your network. Automatically detects servers using Bonjour, allowing you to listen to your music library without complex setup. Compatible with various DAAP servers like mt-daapd.

Highlights
  • DAAP client functionality
  • Stream music from DAAP servers
  • Automatic server detection (Bonjour)
  • Compatible with mt-daapd
  • Simple, no-configuration setup
Features
Read full description

This application is a simple DAAP client. It is possible to listen to the delivered music from the daapd server(like mt-daapd, not containing iTunes ). The server can be detected without any configuration (that is Bonjour). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FriyARCDxOQ

About

Golden Ear

This app is a high-quality audio player designed for audiophiles, supporting a wide range of lossless music formats. It offers advanced features like CUE file support, customizable playlists, and file management directly on your device.

Highlights
  • Supports FLAC, APE, WAV, WavPack, AIFF, ALAC
  • CUE file support for track listing
  • Album art display
  • File management on device
  • Multiple playback modes
  • AirPlay support
Features
Read full description

* All in one lossless music player: FLAC+APE+WAV+WavPack+AIFF+ALAC * Designed for audiophiles Golden Ear is a lossless music player. It supports all common lossless audio formats, including FLAC, APE, WAV, WavPack,AIFF, ALAC. It also recognizes accompanying CUE files, and lists individual tracks so you can pick up your favorite one very easily. You just need to make sure CUE file shares same file name with the music file. Similarly, to display the cover art, you just provide the image file with same name. Golden Ear recognizes embedded cover art and CUESHEET comment tag inside flac files. Music files can be grouped either by artists or by albums. You can also show all files in one single playlist, or only files in a chosen folder. Golden Ear provides a straight forward control interface. You can use three playback modes: 1) Continuing in order; 2) Shuffle; 3) Loop one track/song. Just put your collection onto your device via iTunes file sharing, then you can start listening to high quality audio everywhere you go. FEATURES - Support up to 24bit/96KHz lossless audio. - Support AirPlay. - Support "Open In..". - Support FTP file transfer. - CUE file supported. Same name as audio file. Recommended: UTF8 Encoding. - LRC file supported. Same name as audio file. Recommended: UTF8 Encoding. - ZIP/RAR import and decompress. - Create/Rename/Delete folders right on device - Move/Rename/Delete files right on device - Album cover art(*.jpg,*.png, …). Same name as audio file or use the form "Album Title.jpg". - Sleep timer. - Rich set of playlist themes NOTES - iPad/iPhone4/iPod Touch 4g or later. Earlier models may not be smooth in playing. - Please use high quality earphone

Screenshots

Simple DAAP Client3 screens
Golden Ear4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Simple DAAP Client at Free against Golden Ear's $4.99. Golden Ear's advantage is rating (3.8 vs 2.7) and update cadence (every 6 weeks vs every 6 months). On 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Simple DAAP Client is free to download; Golden Ear costs $4.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Golden Ear holds the better App Store score, 3.8 against 2.7. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 7 and 22 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 45% of Simple DAAP Client's written reviews are positive against 57% of Golden Ear's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Simple DAAP Client ships an update every 6 months, Golden Ear every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 11, 2026 and October 13, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 2 level
Simple DAAP Client versus Golden Ear: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSimple DAAP ClientGolden Ear
PriceFree — better$4.99
Rating2.7 (7 ratings)3.8 (22 ratings) — better
Positive reviews44.9% of reviews57.4% of reviews — better
Number of ratings722 — better
Update frequencyEvery 6 monthsEvery 6 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree — betterPaid
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS26.29.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size1 MB5 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developermagnet-magic.com潮激 李

Customer experience

Simple DAAP Client

All ratings7 ratings
Positive42.9%
Neutral14.3%
Negative42.9%
Written reviews89 reviews
Positive44.9%
Neutral19.1%
Negative36.0%

Golden Ear

All ratings22 ratings
Positive68.2%
Neutral13.6%
Negative18.2%
Written reviews270 reviews
Positive57.4%
Neutral13.3%
Negative29.3%

Bugs and requests

Simple DAAP Client

Reported bugs

12 issues
  • Crashes when selecting a song
  • Crashes when connecting to server
  • Crashes when playing music
  • Crashes with large number of songs
  • Crashes with FLAC files
Show 7 more
  • Crashes with forked-daapd
  • Crashes on app startup
  • App closes immediately after starting server
  • Connection error when selecting song
  • Error message behind grey screen
  • Playback stalls frequently
  • Track order scrambled

Requested features

17 requests
  • Password support
  • Backgrounding/multitasking
  • Search functionality
  • Improved UI/UX
  • Audio controls (play/pause/next)
Show 12 more
  • Album art display
  • Playlist support
  • Track order sorting
  • Support for forked-daapd
  • Support for Rhythmbox
  • Support for iTunes 7+
  • Airplay support
  • Ability to specify server IP address
  • Dark mode
  • VPN access support
  • Improved battery usage
  • Login with authorization

Golden Ear

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Simple DAAP Client

No in-app purchases

None

Golden Ear

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Simple DAAP Client free?
Simple DAAP Client is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Golden Ear free?
Golden Ear costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Simple DAAP Client or Golden Ear?
Golden Ear is rated higher. Simple DAAP Client averages 2.7 out of 5 from 7 ratings, while Golden Ear averages 3.8 from 22 ratings.
Do Simple DAAP Client or Golden Ear have ads?
Neither Simple DAAP Client nor Golden Ear shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Simple DAAP Client or Golden Ear?
Simple DAAP Client ships an update every 6 months, and Golden Ear every 6 weeks. Most recently, Simple DAAP Client was updated on October 11, 2026 and Golden Ear on October 13, 2026.

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