S98Player for iPhone vs KQ Audio Player
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
S98Player for iPhone
This app plays sound logs in S98 format and PMD files from Yamaha FM sound chips. Enjoy chiptunes with features like album art, loop/shuffle playback, adjustable volume, and CarPlay support for on-the-go listening.
- Plays S98 and PMD file formats
- High-quality FM synthesis
- Adjustable sound source volumes
- Loop and shuffle playback
- CarPlay support
- File transfer via Files app
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S98Player plays the FM synth music of the PC-9801 and X68000 on your iPhone and iPad. Alongside sound logs (S98), the PMD, FMP and MDX drivers are built into the app, so you can drop the original song files straight in and play them. Formats - S98 (Version 1 / 3) — .s98 - PMD — .m / .m2 / .mz / .mp / .ms / .pmd - FMP — .opi / .ovi / .ozi / .mfm / .mf2 / .m86 / .m26 - MDX — .mdx (put .pdx in the same folder for songs that use ADPCM) Voiced for the machine The same FM chip sounded different on each computer: the external DAC and the analogue stage after it were not the same. PC-98, PC-88, X68000 and X1turboZ each have their own DAC, output stage, cutoff and per-chip mix. The machine is chosen from the S98 system tag, and can also be set in Settings.plist. Channel monitor Watch every channel on a piano-style keyboard while the music plays, with level meters, stereo panning, rhythm pads and a spectrum analyser. Tap a row to mute it, long-press to solo, and study each part on its own. Waveform seek bar The seek bar is a waveform. It draws the intro and one turn of the loop, and shows which time around you are on by how dark it is. Drag it to jump anywhere. More - Rotate your iPhone for a two-pane view: keyboard and spectrum analyser - Song info shows everything the file contains, unmodified - Album and song details can be edited in the app, album art included - You are told when a PCM file is missing - CarPlay support - Shuffle, and looping over an album Rhythm samples To hear the OPNA rhythm section you need ym2608_adpcm_rom.bin, or the rhythm files (2608_BD.WAV / 2608_HH.WAV / 2608_RIM.WAV / 2608_SD.WAV / 2608_TOM.WAV / 2608_TOP.WAV). Put them in the S98Player folder under "On My iPhone" in the Files app. Song files go there too, in a folder per album. Third-party software - PMDWin Ver. 0.52 Copyright & Programmed by C60 - ymfm Copyright (C) Aaron Giles - 98Fmplayer (fmdriver) Copyright (c) 2016 Takamichi Horikawa - portable_mdx (MXDRV) Copyright (C) 2018 Yosshin (MXDRV: milk. / K.MAEKAWA / Missy.M / Yatsube / GORRY / m_puusan)
KQ Audio Player
A music player designed for practice and everyday listening. Offers advanced playback controls like speed and pitch adjustment, along with library management and custom settings for individual tracks. Supports various audio file formats.
- Music playback
- Library folders
- Playlist creation
- Playback speed control
- Pitch adjustment
- Marker Function
- A-B Repeat Between Markers
- Equalizer function
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KQ Audio Player is a simple yet feature-rich music player, designed to provide greater comfort in your music life. The app is also good for practice. You can change the playback rate and pitch. How about using this app as your everyday music player? Key Features - Music playback: Enjoy smooth and seamless playback of your favorite songs - Shake to change the playback speed. - Library folders: You can freely specify folders for song libraries. - Playlist creation: Easily create and manage your own playlists. - Per-device settings: Allow you to set the playback mode, delay, and volume offset for individual devices. When headphones are connected, its configured settings are applied automatically. - Playback speed control: Adjust the tempo of tracks as needed - Pitch adjustment (Available when not using the system default engine) - Marker Function: Set markers at any point in a track (Available when not using the system default engine) - A-B Repeat Between Markers (Available when not using the system default engine) - Equalizer function (Available when not using the system default engine) - Play Audio Files: Supports playback of .m4a, .mp3, .flac, .wav, .mid files (Available when not using the system default engine). - MIDI file playback (Available when not using the system default engine) - Single-track playback mode: Automatically stops after playing one song - Per-song custom settings: Save individual equalizer and playback speed settings (Globe/3-Sliders Icon) - The volume in this app is independent from the device's volume (Only when not using the system default engine) - Hi-res support: Up to 192kHz (Only when not using the system default engine) Settings: - Playback Rate - Pitch Adjustment* - Repeat Mode - Volume (Independent from Device Settings*) - Song Libraries* (Specify folders) - Equalizer* - Motion* - Reduce Stereo Width* - Time Interval between Songs* - Start Delay* - Sample Rate* - Ping before Playing* - Keep Audio Session Active* - Prevent Sleep - Skip Time - Sort Order - Show Wave View* - Use File Name as Title* - Detect Infinite Loop* (for MIDI files) - Use System Engine *Available when not using system engine. Important Notes - Using the system default engine allows playback of DRM-protected and online music, but some features will be restricted. By default, the system engine is disabled. - Changing the playback speed, changing the pitch, using the equalizer, or MIDI file playback will increase battery consumption. - Settings cannot be fully restored from backups, and exporting playlists to other devices is not supported. I recommend that you use the system music app's playlists. This app and its description contain automatically generated text. This app does not contain any songs.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: S98Player for iPhone at Free against KQ Audio Player's $4.99. KQ Audio Player's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs every 2 months) and review sentiment (100% vs 83%). On rating, ratings volume, 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
S98Player for iPhone is free to download; KQ Audio Player costs $4.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for S98Player for iPhone against 5.0 for KQ Audio Player. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2 and 1 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 83% of S98Player for iPhone's written reviews are positive against 100% of KQ Audio Player's.
S98Player for iPhone ships an update every 2 months, KQ Audio Player weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | S98Player for iPhone | KQ Audio Player |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $4.99 |
| Rating | 5.0 (2 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 83.3% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 2 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Weekly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free — better | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 16.6 — better | 17 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 4 MB | 17 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Hiroaki Kimura | Ryouta Kira |
Customer experience
S98Player for iPhone
KQ Audio Player
In-app purchases
S98Player for iPhone
No in-app purchases
KQ Audio Player
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is S98Player for iPhone free?
Is KQ Audio Player free?
Which has better reviews, S98Player for iPhone or KQ Audio Player?
Do S98Player for iPhone or KQ Audio Player have ads?
Which is updated more often, S98Player for iPhone or KQ Audio Player?
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