Nyquist Player vs ARPJAM Player
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Nyquist Player
A file-first music player for audiophiles with large local libraries. It offers bit-perfect playback, true gapless transitions, and advanced track analysis tools. Stream to network receivers and manage huge libraries with ease.
- Bit-perfect playback
- True gapless transitions
- Network streaming (UPnP/DLNA)
- Advanced track analysis
- On-device search
- Large library management
- NAS support
- Portable playlists
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Nyquist is a native, file-first music player for audiophiles who keep large local libraries on SSDs, external drives, and NAS shares. It is not a streaming app — it is a fast, precise playback tool built for people who care about sample rates, bit depth, and an honest signal path. WHY NYQUIST • Bit-perfect intent — On macOS, Nyquist matches your DAC's hardware sample rate to each file (44.1 → 88.2/176.4, 48 → 96/192) and waits for the clock to re-lock so CoreAudio performs no resampling. No cross-family conversions are ever forced on your music. • True gapless playback — Sample-accurate transitions between tracks of the same format, so albums by Pink Floyd, Tool, Daft Punk, live sets, and classical recordings flow without a single gap. • Network play — Discover UPnP/DLNA receivers on your network (Denon, HEOS, and friends) and stream the original file straight to them, with gapless hand-off on receivers that support it. Network devices sit right next to your DACs in the output picker. • Track analysis — A built-in lab for every file: a whole-track waveform with peak, RMS, and dynamic-range readouts; EBU R128 / BS.1770 integrated loudness with ReplayGain; a long-term spectrum that exposes upsampled "hi-res" and lossy-sourced "lossless" files; a full spectrogram; plus live spectrum, level meters, and a stereo goniometer — each with a plain-language verdict. • On-device search — A private, persistent index of your saved locations, with filters by file type and metadata field (title, artist, album, genre, composer, label, year, format). Nothing leaves your device. • Built for huge libraries — Folder-first browsing that behaves like a high-performance file browser, not a slow database. Lazy-loaded discovery means no full-library scan before you can press play, even across 50,000+ tracks. A topology view classifies your folders into artists, albums, EPs, singles, live sets, compilations, box sets, and discs. • NAS-aware — Add SMB shares directly or through the Files app. Remote tracks start instantly while a background copy makes seeks immediate, and the next track is prefetched for seamless rotation. • Playlists — Organize your music into groups and playlists saved as portable .m3u8 files in a folder you choose. Point every device at the same folder — including a NAS share added through the Files app — and your playlists stay in sync across Mac, iPhone, and iPad. Build them from tracks, whole folders, or the current queue, then reorder and edit them anywhere. • Background playback — On iPhone and iPad, playback keeps going when you lock the screen or switch apps, with working lock-screen and Control Center transport — including while streaming to a network receiver. • Flexible volume — On iPhone and iPad the slider follows your device's system volume; on macOS, choose software gain, your DAC's own hardware volume (bit-perfect at any level), or a fixed 100% for maximum purity. An optional limiter caps the level across every output — even against the hardware volume buttons — to prevent accidental loud jumps. • Exclusive (hog) mode — Optionally take exclusive ownership of your DAC during playback on macOS. • Flexible output routing — On macOS, choose the exact CoreAudio output device (USB DAC, built-in, and more); your choice is remembered across launches. On iPhone and iPad, send audio to AirPlay, Bluetooth, or wired outputs with the system route picker. • Deep technical transparency — Inspect format, sample rate, bit depth (with FLAC/ALAC recovery), channel count, codec, and a live signal-path view showing source rate, output rate, and bit-perfect / resampling / exclusive status. • Memory-friendly — Tracks are streamed from disk frame-by-frame, never decoded whole into RAM, so even 24/192 material stays light on resources. SUPPORTED FORMATS FLAC, ALAC, MP3, AIFF, WAV, and AAC today. The engine is format-agnostic, with DSD and SACD ISO planned.
ARPJAM Player
This app allows you to queue music tracks and set individual playback durations. It automatically fades out the current track and transitions to the next, ensuring consistent loudness and background playback. Explore a library of published tracks or import your own.
- Queue and time music tracks
- Automatic track fading and transition
- Matched loudness for consistent volume
- Background playback with screen off
- Browse and import music library
- Dynamic music generation engine
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ARPJAM Player is a device for leaving your JAMs running. Line up the JAMs you want to hear and give each one a play time. When the time is up it fades out on its own and hands over to the next one. Nothing else to do. ■ For as long as you like Play times run from one minute to twelve hours, set on a reel. Leave one JAM running all afternoon, or cut them short and keep moving. It is built for the kind of listening that lasts a whole opening shift. ■ Matched loudness JAMs vary in level. Each one is measured once when you add it, and matched on playback — the loud ones come down, the quiet ones come up. No sudden jump when the next one starts. Nothing chases the level while the music plays, so the volume never moves mid-performance. ■ With the screen off Background playback is supported. Lock the screen and it keeps going. Play, pause and skip from the Lock Screen or Control Center. ■ JAM Library Open the JAM Library from inside the app and add published JAMs directly. Browse by genre and see the artist, the notes, the BPM and the key. Official JAMs and submitted JAMs sit side by side. You can also import .arpjam files stored on your device, including files written by the earlier ARPJAM. ■ It never plays the same way twice The ARPJAM engine is not playing back a fixed score. It builds the performance as it goes, following rules. The same JAM sounds different every time you play it, so it does not become a loop you get tired of — even after hours. Same engine as ARPJAM Studio. ■ Made for · Saunas, spas, treatment rooms · Cafes, shops, galleries · Working, studying, winding down · Exhibitions and installations — — ARPJAM Player does not create JAMs. To make them, use ARPJAM Studio.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: ARPJAM Player at every 2 days against Nyquist Player's every 2 weeks. ARPJAM Player also leads on iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.6). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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.
Nyquist Player ships an update every 2 weeks, ARPJAM Player every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 4, 2026 and October 10, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Nyquist Player | ARPJAM Player |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | — | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | — | 1 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks | Every 2 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 17.6 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 13 MB | 78 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Jose De Jesus Garfias | Takashi Tsunoda |
Customer experience
Nyquist Player
ARPJAM Player
In-app purchases
Nyquist Player
No in-app purchases
ARPJAM Player
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Nyquist Player free?
Is ARPJAM Player free?
Do Nyquist Player or ARPJAM Player have ads?
Which is updated more often, Nyquist Player or ARPJAM Player?
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