Review of most used streaming apps (HEOS, BluOS, Naim, LDS, Linn)


Hi all,

For folks planning to invest in a certain streaming platform, the decision will depend not only on the hardware but also on the quality of the controlling app. I found there are plenty of harware reviews but a neutral (as far as possible) review of the various apps that control these streamers seems lacking. The reviews or posts I came across tend to be either very shallow or rather opiniated.

For those among you who have experience with multiple apps I would appreciate some neutral feedback on the following factors:

  1. user friendlyness (intuitive operation, modern look & feel?)
  2. functionality (ability to search, playlists, etc. / capability of hi-res)
  3. quality (app stability, regularly updated by vendor?)


Would be great if we could briefly assess these factors for the most used apps:

  • HEOS (Denon, Marantz)
  • BluOS
  • Naim
  • Auralic Lightning DS
  • Linn

Thanks in advance for posting your experience!



kpg73
Post removed 
I’ve owned and used BlueOS, LUMIN, Heos, Cambridge CA Connect, and PlayFi.
All work well for me except PlayFi.
I put BlueOS at top. LUMIN and Heos about same a bit below BlueOS. Cambridge slightly below them. And PlayFi quite a bit lower.
Criteria useability and reliability and user friendliness.

Is this true..still? (I don't doubt you).  I was going to swap myNode2i for the Marantz.Heos NA6006 but I love my QoBuz service.  So..should I forget the Marantz?  I also read that  Android BubbleUPnP is a solution.  Any suggestions?
Biggest problem for me and Heos is it doesn't support Qobuz. Not sure why they can't come too an agreement
I like the BluOS. Also on android I use mconnectlite app. 
I like Yamaha MusicCast and HEOS  because not only does it support lossless, but also DSD and FLAC.  
 Orange Squeeze (Android) on top of piCorePlayer for Logitech Media Server is the best overall but you have to manually scan in an new or changed tracks.

 BluSound is friendly but the persistent play queue is a PIA and mp3s usually click intertrack unless you convert them to flac. It DOES feature Tidal Connect. At least it auto indexes.
 
 Volumio is easy to use but unless the builder supplies a custom version you have to pay to play services like Qobuz & Tidal. You can get around that using BubbleUPnP (free) but the cover art is usually missing.

 MoOde is serviceable but buggy and occasionally hangs up. No direct support for services, requiring BubbleUPnP.

Orange Squeeze ($5) is easily customizable, great art and it will play almost anything, all radio stations or services from Chromecast to Roon.