Comparison

Soundwaves vs Sound Room

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

Head to head
About

Soundwaves

Connect your iOS device to your Subsonic music server for a simple and seamless audio and video streaming experience. Enjoy your media library at home or on the go, even with limited bandwidth. Supports various audio and video formats, and compatible with other Subsonic API servers.

Highlights
  • Subsonic music server client
  • Audio and video streaming
  • Bandwidth-limited connection support
  • CarPlay compatibility
  • FLAC, Opus, Ogg Vorbis playback
  • Plays movies from server
Features
Read full description

Soundwaves is a client for the Subsonic music server. Soundwaves focuses on simplicity, making it the ideal client to connect your iPad or iPhone to your home theater setup. Optionally setting a suitable max bit rate, enables Soundwaves to work well even over a bandwidth limited connection (e.g. a mobile connection). It will also play nicely with your car radio, connected via USB, Bluetooth or CarPlay. In addition to audio formats natively supported by iOS (e.g. mp3, AAC), Soundwaves can also play FLAC, Opus and Ogg Vorbis content. Soundwaves can also play movies from your Subsonic server, as long as they are in a supported format (.mov, .mp4, .mpv, .3gp) or a proper transcoding has been configured on the server. Soundwaves works with other media servers which implement the same Subsonic API's, such as Madsonic, Airsonic, Supysonic, LMS or Ampache. Note about privacy: tracking only happens when using the free, ad-supported version. Removing ads via the in-app purchase also stops tracking and data collection.

About

Sound Room

Stream your personal music library from a Subsonic-compatible server with synced playback for shared listening experiences. Customize the app's appearance and behavior, and download tracks for offline access. Enjoy your music collection with advanced features and privacy controls.

Highlights
  • Synced playback (Jam)
  • Shared listening queue
  • Multi-account and server support
  • Theme and layout customization
  • Offline downloads
  • Optional transcoding
  • Lyrics support
Features
Read full description

Modern Subsonic client with shared listening, multi-account support, and deep customization. Features include Jam(synced playback), shared queue, theme and layout customization, multiple server support, and a fast, responsive music experience. Now optimised for iPhone, iPad and MacOS. Multi Account: now use app with multi account and multi server. JAM: LISTEN TOGETHER (OUR SIGNATURE EXPERIENCE) Start a Jam, share a jam link, and keep everyone on the same queue with synced playback. Built for listening parties, road trips, and “you have to hear this” moments. PRIVACY BY DESIGN Your music does not pass through the Jam service. Audio files and your server credentials stay between your iPhone and your Subsonic-compatible server (such as Navidrome). The Jam server does not receive your library, passwords, or audio. WHAT JAM SHARES The Jam service only coordinates the session, room membership, who is in the session, and playback state. YOUR LIBRARY. YOUR SERVER. Sign in once and browse your collection. Sound Room does not include music or hosting. You need a Subsonic-compatible server you own or use (for example Navidrome or another), and valid credentials. Features depend on your server’s capabilities and configuration. LISTEN WITH INTENTION Stream with queue, shuffle, repeat, a full Now Playing experience, and lyrics when your server provides them. When streaming quality is set to original, Sound Room is built so lossless and high resolution playback from your library can flow smoothly; full, detailed sound without the app getting in your way. What you hear still depends on your tracks, server, and network. Optional transcoding is there when you want to save bandwidth. When metadata is available, Now Playing can show codec or format details. SHARE Share: long-press a song or tap the share button on any album, artist, or playlist to copy a link. Share: links open the app directly and play or navigate to that content. Share: songs and albums also support a Subsonic server link anyone can open in a browser. YOUR MUSIC, ORGANIZED Explore Home, Library, and Search: songs, albums, artists, genres, years, playlists, favorites, and shortcuts like recently played, most played, and recently added. OFFLINE WHEN YOU NEED IT Download tracks for offline playback. Manual downloads and auto-cache are clearly separated, with storage limits, progress, and batch actions so Downloads and Cache stay under control. TUNED TO YOU Adjust audio (including optional transcoding), library behavior, appearance, and Jam settings so the app fits how you listen. Sound Room Pro adds subscription management in Settings, a clearer paywall and “What’s included” style overview, and storefront-accurate pricing for subscription products where the store provides it. MAKE THE LAYOUT YOURS Pick an accent color for a consistent look across the app. Customize Home and Library (which sections you see and their order). Reorder main tabs and choose which tab opens on launch. Settings are grouped for account, appearance, playback, and library and storage so everyday changes are easier to find. ARTISTS AND SEARCH Richer artist browsing, optional song lists on artist screens, sharper artwork where your server allows it, and better behavior when the server merges multiple artists (including choosing which artist page to open). Open artists from tracks with smoother navigation. Search prioritizes songs, then albums and artists, when you are hunting a specific track. IMPORTANT Sound Room does not include music or hosting. You need a Subsonic-compatible server and valid credentials. Features depend on your server’s capabilities and configuration. Privacy Policy https://soundroom.valaki.in/privacy-policy Terms of Use (Apple Standard EULA for apps) https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Soundwaves1 screens
Sound Room4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Sound Room at Free against Soundwaves's $3.99. Sound Room also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.1) and review sentiment (100% vs 60%). Soundwaves's advantage is ratings volume (12 vs 2) and iOS requirement (15.6 vs 18.6). On ads, in-app purchases, monetization model 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

Sound Room is free to download; Soundwaves costs $3.99 up front. Soundwaves sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Sound Room sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per year. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Sound Room holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Soundwaves has 12 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 60% of Soundwaves's written reviews are positive against 100% of Sound Room's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Soundwaves ships an update every 2 months, Sound Room every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Soundwaves versus Sound Room: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSoundwavesSound Room
Price$3.99Free — better
Rating4.1 (12 ratings)5.0 (2 ratings) — better
Positive reviews60.4% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings12 — better2
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 2 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.6 — better18.6
Further details — not scored
Size4 MB8 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSimone TelliniAlpesh Valaki

Customer experience

Soundwaves

All ratings12 ratings
Positive75.0%
Neutral8.3%
Negative16.7%
Written reviews48 reviews
Positive60.4%
Neutral12.5%
Negative27.1%

Sound Room

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Soundwaves

One-time1
  • Ads-free Edition$3.99
5 purchases

Sound Room

Subscriptions1
  • Sound Room Premium3 Days trial$9.991 Year
One-time4
  • Thanks$2.99
  • Thanks so much$5.99
  • Generous thanks$9.99
Show 1 more
  • Huge thanks$14.99

Questions

Is Soundwaves free?
Soundwaves costs $3.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is Sound Room free?
Sound Room is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Soundwaves or Sound Room?
Sound Room is rated higher. Soundwaves averages 4.1 out of 5 from 12 ratings, while Sound Room averages 5.0 from 2 ratings.
Do Soundwaves or Sound Room have ads?
Neither Soundwaves nor Sound Room shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Soundwaves or Sound Room?
Soundwaves ships an update every 2 months, and Sound Room every 2 days. Most recently, Soundwaves was updated on October 23, 2026 and Sound Room on October 24, 2026.

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