Comparison

Play vs Roon ARC

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

Head to head
About

Play

Wirelessly stream high-fidelity audio throughout your home using Wi-Fi. Control music from various sources, including streaming services, radio, and your device's library. Easily set up and manage multiple speakers for a whole-home listening experience.

Highlights
  • Whole-home wireless audio
  • Wi-Fi streaming
  • Multiple music sources
  • Speaker group management
  • Volume control
  • DLNA server support
Features
Read full description

Breakthrough DTS Play-Fi(R) technology powers simple, great-sounding whole-home wireless audio systems for smartphones and tablets. You can stream your favorite tunes over Wi-Fi right from the Play-Fi app to speakers from DTS Play-Fi product partners. It's a huge step up from Bluetooth - the audio quality and reliability are outstanding, and you can enjoy music from your phone in one room, or all your rooms. The "Hi-Fi over Wi-Fi" listening experience is just a touch away, thanks to this handy app. Choose a speaker, choose a song, and your favorite tunes are streaming all through the house. The app offers built-in streaming options: stream from worldwide music services; use AM/FM and Internet radio, connect to DLNA servers, or play anything from your device's music library, including your iTunes playlists. The app automatically organizes and indexes the music for you. The app also handles set-up for your speakers, and gives you full control of volume and speaker selection. Choose one, set up speaker groups, or stream to all of them at once. Manage speaker groups for Spotify Connect, too. IMPORTANT NOTE: If you have a Play-Fi product from Polk Audio, Definitive Technology or Phorus, please search for and download the custom Play-Fi app for your audio brand. Please also note that the Play-Fi app is companion software to audio products enabled with Play-Fi technology. It is not intended as a stand-alone audio player.

About

Roon ARC

Access your entire Roon music library and streaming services on the go. Enjoy personalized recommendations, offline listening, and advanced audio controls with a familiar interface.

Highlights
  • Access Roon library anywhere
  • Stream TIDAL, Qobuz, KKBOX
  • Offline music downloads
  • Personalized recommendations
  • Advanced audio controls (MUSE)
  • Car integration
Features
Read full description

*** Roon ARC requires a valid Roon subscription *** ARC puts the best possible on-the-go music experience in your pocket and lets you enjoy your Roon library and all of Roon's immersive features wherever you are in the world. ARC is a custom-built streaming service powered by your Roon system at home. Explore your complete collection of artists, albums, playlists, and personal music files, plus TIDAL, Qobuz, and KKBOX streams. Discover added content from Roon's music experts and smart features, such as staff-curated playlists, Daily Mixes, New Releases for You, personalized recommendations, and Roon Radio. You can add albums to your collection, build playlists, set favorites, create tags, and more, just as you can in Roon. Offline listening lets you download your personal music files to keep the music playing wherever your adventures take you – even if you're off the grid entirely. ARC offers remote access to Roon's captivating library of in-depth artist bios and album articles, revealing the stories that take us deep into the heart of our favorite music. And there's more… Ready to hit the road? Your Roon library is too! Roon's browsing and discovery features fully integrate into your car's controls for safe and convenient playback. With ARC within easy reach of the wheel, every road you take is a journey in sound. ARC makes the driver's seat feel like your listening chair at home. ARC is designed to look and feel just like Roon. You get the same intuitive, aesthetically rich Roon interface you know and love, fully optimized for your phone. No more switching between streaming apps; ARC compiles all your music in one place for easy access and maximum enjoyment. And now, Roon's audio shaping suite and pristine sound quality have arrived in ARC - with bold styling never before seen in a mobile app! MUSE delivers the precision audio control of Roon when you're on the go or running a streamlined mobile setup with ARC. It places radically unique EQ handling, optimized balance control, precision volume leveling, FLAC, DSD & MQA support, crossfeed, headroom management, and sample rate conversion in the palm of your hand. You can customize sonic qualities to your specific tastes with MUSE, then save or apply them with a few clicks. To top it all off, MUSE even remembers your presets and reapplies them when you reconnect to a known device. The MUSE Signal Path display provides complete audio signal transparency as the music flows through your device - from source media all the way to your speakers. ARC offers artful design, sound quality, and a music listening experience unmatched by any other music app. Best of all, it's included free with your Roon subscription.

Screenshots

Play4 screens
Roon ARC4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Play at 4.5 against Roon ARC's 3.3. Play also leads on ratings volume (3.5K vs 199) and device support (4 vs 2). Roon ARC's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and monetization model (free vs ad-supported). On price 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Play holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 3.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Play has 3.5K ratings behind it against 199, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 25% of Play's written reviews are positive against 36% of Roon ARC's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Play ships an update every 2 months, Roon ARC monthly. Both last shipped on October 24, 2026.

Scorecard8 real differences · 2 level
Play versus Roon ARC: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPlayRoon ARC
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (3.5K ratings) — better3.3 (199 ratings)
Positive reviews25.5% of reviews35.7% of reviews — better
Number of ratings3.5K — better199
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsMonthly — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationAd-supportedFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS13.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size285 MB122 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperDTS, Inc.Roon Labs

Customer experience

Play

All ratings3,465 ratings
Positive87.8%
Neutral6.6%
Negative5.6%
Written reviews208 reviews
Positive25.5%
Neutral13.5%
Negative61.1%

Roon ARC

All ratings196 ratings
Positive54.6%
Neutral8.7%
Negative36.7%
Written reviews224 reviews
Positive35.7%
Neutral11.2%
Negative53.1%

User reviews

Play

From 3.5K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Works well
  • 🔒 Integrates well with amplifier
  • 👍 Keeps improving with updates

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Buggy, glitchy, and unreliable
  • 👎 Limited features and functionality
  • 🔌 Constant connection issues
  • 💤 Slow to load and connect
  • 🤯 Frustrating user experience

Roon ARC

From 199 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Seamless integration with Roon
  • 🌍 Access music library anywhere
  • 🔊 High-quality audio playback
  • 👍 Intuitive and user-friendly
  • 💡 Useful feature additions like EQ presets

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent crashes and connection issues
  • 🔋 Drains battery quickly
  • 🤖 Unreliable performance, especially on mobile networks
  • 📱 Lack of iPad-optimized interface
  • 🔌 Requires complex network setup for remote access

Bugs and requests

Play

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Drops connections frequently
  • Fails to recognize devices
  • Resets music playback unexpectedly
  • Issues with volume control and balancing
  • Incompatible with recent firmware/software updates

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add support for Apple Music
  • Improve Spotify integration
  • Implement gapless playback
  • Provide better interface and navigation
  • Add search functionality for local music libraries

Roon ARC

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Corrupted media files
  • Disappearing playlists
  • Inability to select external storage for downloads
  • Inconsistent connectivity to Roon server

Requested features

5 requests
  • Native iPad app
  • Siri integration for voice control
  • Improved browsing and search capabilities
  • Automatic offline downloads
  • MQA decoding support

In-app purchases

None

Play

No in-app purchases

None

Roon ARC

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Play free?
Play is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Roon ARC free?
Roon ARC is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Play or Roon ARC?
Play is rated higher. Play averages 4.5 out of 5 from 3.5K ratings, while Roon ARC averages 3.3 from 199 ratings.
Do Play or Roon ARC have ads?
Play shows ads; Roon ARC does not.
Which is updated more often, Play or Roon ARC?
Play ships an update every 2 months, and Roon ARC monthly. Most recently, Play was updated on October 24, 2026 and Roon ARC on October 24, 2026.

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