Comparison

WHAALE Multiroom Player vs Sidecar MIDI Controller

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

Head to head
About

WHAALE Multiroom Player

Stream music to multiple AirPlay speakers simultaneously, enjoying multiroom or multizone audio experiences. Control your sound with an intuitive interface and a smart widget for background playback.

Highlights
  • Multiroom audio playback
  • Multizone audio playback
  • Play on up to 6 AirPlay speakers
  • Intuitive multi-touch interface
  • Smart widget for background control
  • Automatic speaker recognition
  • Deezer music service integration
Features
Read full description

You can have your music where you want it, when you want it - all around your home as you move from room to room on any Airplay™ device The WHAALE Multiroom Player makes it easy for you! Get your all around the home music experience up and running, easily and in minutes, right now! • Download the app for a free test drive • Buy this fully functioning app Join the large and established community of happy WHAALE customers enjoying the greatest audio experience all around their homes. They like having their music where they want it, when they want it – and they say it’s easy and quick to set up. What makes WHAALE special and different? With our app you can: - Play music/ambient-sounds on up to 6 AirPlay™ speakers simultaneously (*) and (**) - Listen to one song on multiple speakers in different rooms (multiroom mode)
 - Listen to different songs on different speakers (multizone mode) - Have all the excitement of listening to multiple songs/sounds on multiple speakers in the same room (using ambient mode…you might have the latest tracks from Cuba backed up by ambient street sounds from Old Havana, for example) - Benefit from a special intuitive multi-touch interface…unlike other apps on the market this is the only one allowing you to see a clear visual display of all your speakers and music choices right in front of you! And there’s more… You get: - A smart widget for the ‘Today View’ in the notification center…it lets you control the app while the application runs in the background - A system ready to go with no setup needed - all the speakers are recognized automatically once they are available on your local network
 - Full access to the music library on your iPad/iPhone/iPod (you do have to download iTunes Match/cloud items to your device before they can be played) - see http://itunes.whaale.com for details - The Deezer Music service brings a selection of over 30 million songs for your listening pleasure - see http://deezer.whaale.com for details - The Audiobus source which lets you play music that comes from other apps supported by it. See http://audiobus.whaale.com for details - Our WHAALE Family Feature…it makes multiple WHAALE apps in the same network work together easily - see http://family.whaale.com ----- Please note before you buy ----- By default, the app can play music: - stored on your iOS device (but Apple Music is not supported, see below) - provided by the Deezer Music service - comes from Audiobus-compatible apps - on up to 4 AirPlay speakers or the internal speaker of the iOS device. It supports up to 6 speakers, internet radio and UPnP media servers, available as an In-App-Purchase. -The app doesn’t work with Apple Music (because it’s DRM protected and can’t be played on third party apps). -The WHAALE app only handles sound from other apps which are supported by the Audiobus app. -You can’t play music on AirPlay speakers and the device’s internal speaker/docking station at the same time. - Bluetooth speakers are not supported. The WHAALE Multiroom Player supports all Airplay™ certified devices on the market and will run on iPad 2, 3, 4, Air/2, iPad Mini/2, iPhone 4/S, 5/S and 6/Plus and iPod touch 4 and 5 (see **). Software-based AirPlay-implementations like Airfoil, XBMC, Reflector are not currently supported. Please check http://airplay-multiroom.whaale.com for further information about multi room audio systems. AirPlay is a trademark of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. * Needs an optional in-app-purchase; 4 speakers are activated free; further speakers will work in demo mode for 5 minutes. ** Due to the limitations the devices themselves up to 3 speakers maximum are supported on the iPhone 4 and the iPod touch 4.

About

Sidecar MIDI Controller

Transform your QWERTY keyboard or game controller into a powerful MIDI controller for your iOS music apps. Play melodies, trigger chords, and adjust synth parameters with ease, even while running other apps in the background.

Highlights
  • QWERTY keyboard piano mapping
  • Configurable pads for notes, chords, and messages
  • Scale-configurable virtual keyboard
  • Game controller support
  • AUv3 plugin integration
  • Slide-over and side-by-side mode compatibility
Features
Read full description

There are hundreds of great iOS synth apps, but playing them with on-screen keyboards can be a challenge. Sidecar turns your ordinary QWERTY keyboard into a powerful MIDI controller.  The lower part of the keyboard is mapped piano-style, letting you play melodies with the physical keys -- much easier to keep your fingers in the right place, and to get the notes you want. The app is configurable; you can have ten different set-ups, and switch between them quickly with a tap on the "QWERTY" row. There are also ten configureable pads for each set-up, which you can trigger with the number keys. Each pad can play a specific note, a chord, generate a program change message, or send a control code. Because Sidecar operates in slide-over and side-by-side mode on the iPad, you can use your physical keyboard with any MIDI app, even if the other app is running in the background. On screen, you have access to each of the pads -- map the knobs and sliders of your synth apps to MIDI CC messages, and then use Sidecar to adjust these sliders as you play. Sidecar also provides a scale-configurable virtual keyboard. Pick the scale you want, and then you can't hit a wrong note. In addition to external keyboards, Sidecar also supports many game controllers. The app is now universal; while the iPhone doesn't support slide-over, you can still take advantage of the configuration options of the app. * Easy MIDI Configuration With ten separately configurable MIDI destinations you can quickly set up a set of assignments for each of the MIDI apps that you use. Have a set of chords for Animoog, choose different presets for ToneStack, or assign pads to different samples for DM1. Each MIDI destination has ten configurable pads, which can be assigned to chords, single notes, a program change message, or a controller change message. For notes and chords, the touch position controls note velocity. For controller change messages, the location of a touch on screen can be used to determine the controller value. * QWERTY Keyboard Support Toggle on support for the external keyboard, and you can switch between the ten MIDI destinations quickly (using the keys in the QWERTY row). Toggle on or off any of the ten pads by pressing the number keys. The two lowest rows of keys are mapped as a standard piano keyboard, providing a musical play surface with an ordinary text keyboard. Note that QWERTY keyboards only send "key press" information to your iPad -- to silence a sounding note, you simply tap the space bar. * AUv3 Support Add the plug-in to your favorite DAW or looper, and Sidecar will give you easy access to multiple synths. Many AUv3 hosts will also let you map the keyboard keys to the transport controls. * Game Controller Ready Sidecar also supports the iON iCade game controller, mapping the buttons of the iCade to the pads. Because the iCade was designed for games, it sends button press and release information, which makes it easy to toggle on and off the pads. * MIDI Relay If you have an external MIDI controller, you can have it send MIDI events to Sidecar -- and these will be relayed to any of the ten MIDI destinations you select. Use this to quickly switch from one synth to another. *Control Background Synths Because Sidecar sends MIDI messages, it can be used to control background synthesizers, sequencers, and effects apps. Sidecar is designed to work along side your other iOS music apps.

Screenshots

WHAALE Multiroom Player4 screens
Sidecar MIDI Controller3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Sidecar MIDI Controller at 4.9 against WHAALE Multiroom Player's 3.8. Sidecar MIDI Controller also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 7) and price ($4.99 vs $9.99). WHAALE Multiroom Player's advantage is update cadence (every 5 weeks vs every 3 months) and iOS requirement (9.0 vs 15.6). On ratings volume, ads 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

WHAALE Multiroom Player costs $9.99 and Sidecar MIDI Controller $4.99 up front. WHAALE Multiroom Player sells 7 one-off in-app purchases. Sidecar MIDI Controller asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Sidecar MIDI Controller holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 3.8. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 9 and 14 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 59% of WHAALE Multiroom Player's written reviews are positive against 76% of Sidecar MIDI Controller's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

WHAALE Multiroom Player ships an update every 5 weeks, Sidecar MIDI Controller every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on September 28, 2026 and September 21, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
WHAALE Multiroom Player versus Sidecar MIDI Controller: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterWHAALE Multiroom PlayerSidecar MIDI Controller
Price$9.99$4.99 — better
Rating3.8 (9 ratings)4.9 (14 ratings) — better
Positive reviews59.0% of reviews76.2% of reviews — better
Number of ratings914 — better
Update frequencyEvery 5 weeks — betterEvery 3 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS9.0 — better15.6
Further details — not scored
Size67 MB6 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperLogit Ltd.Secret Base Design

Customer experience

WHAALE Multiroom Player

All ratings9 ratings
Positive66.7%
Neutral11.1%
Negative22.2%
Written reviews188 reviews
Positive59.0%
Neutral6.9%
Negative34.0%

Sidecar MIDI Controller

All ratings14 ratings
Positive92.9%
Neutral7.1%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews21 reviews
Positive76.2%
Neutral4.8%
Negative19.0%

In-app purchases

7 purchases

WHAALE Multiroom Player

One-time7
  • Upgrade to 3 speakersFree
  • Upgrade to 4 speakersFree
  • UPnP Media Servers$0.99
Show 4 more
  • Upgrade to 5 speakers$1.99
  • Upgrade to 6 speakers$1.99
  • vTuner Internet Radio$1.99
  • WHAALE Family$4.99
None

Sidecar MIDI Controller

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is WHAALE Multiroom Player free?
WHAALE Multiroom Player costs $9.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is Sidecar MIDI Controller free?
Sidecar MIDI Controller costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, WHAALE Multiroom Player or Sidecar MIDI Controller?
Sidecar MIDI Controller is rated higher. WHAALE Multiroom Player averages 3.8 out of 5 from 9 ratings, while Sidecar MIDI Controller averages 4.9 from 14 ratings.
Do WHAALE Multiroom Player or Sidecar MIDI Controller have ads?
Neither WHAALE Multiroom Player nor Sidecar MIDI Controller shows ads.
Which is updated more often, WHAALE Multiroom Player or Sidecar MIDI Controller?
WHAALE Multiroom Player ships an update every 5 weeks, and Sidecar MIDI Controller every 3 months. Most recently, WHAALE Multiroom Player was updated on September 28, 2026 and Sidecar MIDI Controller on September 21, 2026.

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