Comparison

mconnect Player vs Sidechain Compressor Plugin

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

Head to head
About

mconnect Player

Stream your music, videos, and photos from various sources to compatible devices. Enjoy gapless playback and support for high-resolution audio formats. Seamlessly cast media to UPnP, Chromecast, and AirPlay devices.

Highlights
  • UPnP/DLNA media streaming
  • Google Cast (Chromecast) support
  • AirPlay streaming
  • Gapless playback
  • DSD and FLAC playback
  • TIDAL, Qobuz, and Bugs integration
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

mconnect Player is a media player app to support UPnP/DLNA and Google Cast(Chromecast). - Send Video/Photo/Music to UPnP and Google Cast (Chromecast) devices. - Gapless Playback by App and to UPnP renderers. - DSD and FLAC music playback by App. - Play TIDAL, Qobuz and Bugs music & video to UPnP and Google Cast devices. - Send media files to Apple AirPlay compatible devices from PC, NAS and Internet. You can play media files from any Servers to any Playback Devices with mconnect Player. [Media Servers] - Your iPhone and iPad. - UPnP compatible servers: PC and NAS. - Internet Music integrated into App: TIDAL, Qobuz and Bugs. - Cloud Server integrated into App: OneDrive and Dropbox. [Playback Devices] - Your iPhone and iPad. - UPnP compatible renderers: Smart TV, UPnP supported Audio, UPnP receivers. - Google Cast: Chromecast, Google Cast compatible Audio. - AirPlay compatible devices: Apple TV, Airport Express, AirPlay Audio. Note: If you send a media file to a remote playback device, the playable media format depends on the media decoder in the remote playback device. iPhone, iPad, AirPlay, Apple TV, and AirPort Express are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. Google Cast and Chromecast are registered trademarks of Google Inc. DLNA is a trademark of Digital Living Network Alliance. UPnP is a certification mark of the UPnP Forum in the United States and other countries. TIDAL is a trademark of ASPIRO AB. Qobuz is a trademark of XANDRIE SA. Bugs is a trademark of NHN Bugs Corp.

About

Sidechain Compressor Plugin

This audio plugin enables side-chain compression for music production, creating rhythmic pumping effects. It offers true side-chaining in compatible DAWs and a unique sudo side-chain method for broader compatibility.

Highlights
  • Standard compressor features
  • Real calibrated VU and reduction meters
  • Real-time visual graphing
  • True sidechain in AUM
  • Sudo sidechain with MASTER/SLAVE
  • 3 available busses
  • Mono/Stereo modes
Features
Read full description

This is an AUv3 compatible stereo compressor plugin which is intended for use inside your favourite DAW/HOST such as AUM, Cubasis, Auria, Meteor, AUM or GarageBand etc. So lets start by answering the question what is side chaining?  Side chaining is a technique used in a lot of modern dance music which involves using the volume level of one sound source to control another. You can hear plenty of examples of this in modern Trance/Dubstep music where sound engineers use the impact of a bass drum to duck a sustained string sound, creating space in the mix. This can be heard as a rythmic pumping sound which gives your music drive and energy. This compressor is quite unique since it was designed to get around the limitations of AUv3 plugins on iOS and the lack of multi-audio routing inside DAW apps. Until recently it wasn't possible to do true side chaining using AUv3, but now AUM has recently integrated support for multiple inputs and outputs per AUv3 plugin, it opens up a whole new world of possibilities. This is great for AUM users, but this still leaves users of other DAW's in the dark. This is where this app has you covered as it provides a method of sudo side-chaining by allowing you to attach two instances of this plugin to multiple sources and route audio between them to achieve a sudo sidechain. This works by ensuring two instances of the plugin are loaded as insert effects, one being the MASTER and the other a SLAVE. The slave sends audio to the master by means of one of 3 available busses. True side chaining can be achieved in AUM. Simple set the SideChain Mode to 'Normal' and install an instance of the plugin on the channel you want to control. Then using the new 'Multiple Audio Unit Instances' option in AUM you can add a redirection of the controlling source to send to the same bus the plugin is listening to. It's that simple. In this case you need to set both instances to either Bus 2 or 3, since Bus 1 is the original audio. Features: ○ Standard Compressor features. ○ Real calibrated VU and reduction meters ○ Real-time visual graphing of parameters. ○ Real sidechain in AUM. ○ Sudo side chain using MASTER and SLAVE for others. ○ 3 available busses. ○ Mono / Stereo modes. ○ Integrated help.

Screenshots

mconnect Player4 screens
Sidechain Compressor Plugin4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is monetization model: mconnect Player at free against Sidechain Compressor Plugin's paid. mconnect Player also leads on update cadence (monthly vs every 67 months) and ratings volume (78 vs 6). Sidechain Compressor Plugin's advantage is rating (3.8 vs 3.5) and review sentiment (63% vs 46%). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support 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

mconnect Player costs $5.99 and Sidechain Compressor Plugin $5.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Sidechain Compressor Plugin holds the better App Store score, 3.8 against 3.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: mconnect Player has 78 ratings behind it against 6, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 46% of mconnect Player's written reviews are positive against 63% of Sidechain Compressor Plugin's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

mconnect Player ships an update monthly, Sidechain Compressor Plugin every 67 months. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and September 21, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
mconnect Player versus Sidechain Compressor Plugin: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
Parametermconnect PlayerSidechain Compressor Plugin
Price$5.99$5.99
Rating3.5 (78 ratings)3.8 (6 ratings) — better
Positive reviews46.0% of reviews62.5% of reviews — better
Number of ratings78 — better6
Update frequencyMonthly — betterEvery 67 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree — betterPaid
Best chart rank#157 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS12.011.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size87 MB12 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperConversDigital Co., Ltd.4Pockets.com

Customer experience

mconnect Player

All ratings78 ratings
Positive53.8%
Neutral14.1%
Negative32.1%
Written reviews235 reviews
Positive46.0%
Neutral21.7%
Negative32.3%

Sidechain Compressor Plugin

All ratings6 ratings
Positive66.7%
Neutral16.7%
Negative16.7%
Written reviews8 reviews
Positive62.5%
Neutral25.0%
Negative12.5%

Bugs and requests

mconnect Player

Reported bugs

20 issues
  • App crashes when searching or browsing Qobuz
  • Gapless playback stops before end of album
  • Scrub line doesn't work in player
  • Song truncation in queue (cuts off last 8-18 seconds)
  • Loud digital noise/white noise between songs
Show 15 more
  • Renderer selection fails when Bluetooth devices connected
  • DLNA servers not appearing after updates
  • App freezes for 30 seconds on selections
  • Stuttering and stalling during playback
  • Device disconnects and won't reconnect without app restart
  • Qobuz quality settings not persisting (reverts to MP3)
  • Volume control overwritten by iOS media volume
  • Song dropouts and frequent disconnections
  • Crashes when pausing or after phone calls
  • Hangs when loading songs from Qobuz
  • Skipping songs doesn't work properly
  • App forgets playlist on restart
  • Only plays one song without manual prompt for next
  • Hi-res AIFF/WAV file indexing issues
  • FLAC files corrupted with noise

Requested features

15 requests
  • Add to queue functionality from now-playing screen
  • Advanced playlist and queue management (reordering, randomize)
  • Dark mode/theme options
  • Search within playlists
  • Persistent queue/playlist memory across app restarts
Show 10 more
  • Manual track reordering in queue (drag-and-drop)
  • Equalizer support
  • Last.fm integration
  • Download support for offline playback
  • Split-screen iPad support
  • Internet radio support
  • Better Tidal interface and search functionality
  • Improved renderer selection UI
  • Simplified device connection process
  • Horizontal scrolling for long track titles

Sidechain Compressor Plugin

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

mconnect Player

No in-app purchases

None

Sidechain Compressor Plugin

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is mconnect Player free?
mconnect Player costs $5.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Sidechain Compressor Plugin free?
Sidechain Compressor Plugin costs $5.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, mconnect Player or Sidechain Compressor Plugin?
Sidechain Compressor Plugin is rated higher. mconnect Player averages 3.5 out of 5 from 78 ratings, while Sidechain Compressor Plugin averages 3.8 from 6 ratings.
Do mconnect Player or Sidechain Compressor Plugin have ads?
Neither mconnect Player nor Sidechain Compressor Plugin shows ads.
Which is updated more often, mconnect Player or Sidechain Compressor Plugin?
mconnect Player ships an update monthly, and Sidechain Compressor Plugin every 67 months. Most recently, mconnect Player was updated on September 23, 2026 and Sidechain Compressor Plugin on September 21, 2026.

Other comparisons