AirMusic: AirPlay, Cast & DLNA

Review by eFreeware

AirMusic is an Android app from the developer AirMusic - stream all audio to everywhere, and its purpose is narrow and clear: it takes the audio your phone is already playing and sends it over Wi-Fi to speakers, TVs and receivers on the same network. Rather than being a music player itself, it sits between the apps you already use and the hardware you already own.

That is the main reason to consider it. You keep Spotify, YouTube Music, Apple Music, Amazon Music, Deezer, TIDAL, Qobuz or whatever else you listen with, and AirMusic handles the delivery to AirPlay, AirPlay 2, Sonos, Google Cast, DLNA, HEOS and other compatible receivers. There is no separate catalog to browse and no service to sign into.

It has been on Google Play since September 2020 and currently sits at a 4.2 average from 1,482 ratings, with more than 10,000 installs. Those numbers suggest a modest but established audience rather than a mainstream one, which fits an app solving a specific problem for people with networked audio gear.

Who tends to need something like this

The people I would expect to get the most from AirMusic are those with a mix of playback hardware that does not naturally talk to each other. A HomePod in the living room, a Sonos speaker in the kitchen and a Chromecast on the TV are three separate ecosystems, and this app is built to bring them under one Android interface.

It also suits anyone whose listening lives inside an app that has no casting support of its own. If the audio you care about plays on your phone and nowhere else, routing it to a receiver over the local network is the whole point.

The app assumes you have compatible receivers already. It is a bridge between an Android device and hardware you own, not a replacement for that hardware, so its value depends entirely on what is already on your network.

What it can send audio to

The receiver list is the heart of the app, and it is broad. AirPlay and AirPlay 2 cover HomePod and HomePod mini, including stereo pairs, along with Apple TV, AirPort Express, speakers that carry AirPlay support and AV receivers that are compatible. Sonos speakers and groups are supported, and the same goes for Google Cast hardware such as Chromecast, Google TV, Android TV and speakers with Cast built in.

Beyond those, AirMusic handles DLNA and UPnP gear, which takes in smart TVs, network streamers and compatible AV receivers, and HEOS, covering Denon Home and HEOS speakers along with compatible Denon and Marantz receivers. Roku players and Roku TVs are supported through their built-in AirPlay 2 receiver, and Fire TV Sticks, Fire TV Cubes and TVs with Fire TV built in are on the list as well.

AriaCast handles software receivers like Music Assistant, and Samsung Multiroom or WAM devices are covered too. AirPlay 2 multi-room playback is supported with synchronized compatible receivers, and HomePod stereo pairs get their own mention. For a household that has accumulated gear over several years, that spread is the practical appeal.

How playback and control work

The workflow the developer describes is deliberately undemanding. You pick one or more receivers inside AirMusic, then play music, podcasts, radio, videos or other audio as usual in whichever app you already use. No special integration is required on the source side, and the app relies on Android's audio-capture capabilities to pick up that output.

Once audio is flowing, receivers can be added or removed while playback continues, which matters if you decide mid-album that the kitchen should join in. Per-receiver volume and mute controls are available where the connected device supports them, and track metadata and cover artwork appear where supported.

AirMusic also keeps streaming in the background while you do something else or the screen is off, and it offers latency options plus manual delay correction for the different protocols involved. For people who automate their homes, Tasker and MacroDroid integration is included, and no root access is needed for normal use.

The equalizer and sound shaping

A 10-band equalizer is built in, and it processes the Android audio output before that audio is streamed onward. You can choose from tuned presets or adjust the ten frequency bands yourself, which is a reasonable amount of control for anyone who wants more bass, clearer vocals or adjusted treble without touching the source app.

The equalizer also includes volume compensation and clipping protection, two details that matter when you are boosting bands and do not want distortion creeping into the signal. Because the processing happens before transmission, the shaping applies to whatever is being sent to your receivers rather than to one specific app.

This is the part of the app that has seen recent attention: the current release adds the 10-band equalizer alongside improved audio processing and playback stability, expanded receiver compatibility and general Android compatibility work.

What it costs and what that buys

AirMusic is a paid app at $6.99. There are no ads and no in-app purchases, so the price you see is the price you pay, and there is nothing further to buy inside the app.

The developer also states that no AirMusic account and no subscription are required, and that audio is transmitted over your local network. That combination is worth noting for anyone who has grown tired of audio tools that want a login before they will do anything.

The one caveat that comes with the purchase is compatibility. AirMusic works with most audio apps, but a small number block Android from passing their sound on to other apps, and that behavior can change when those apps update. The developer offers AirMusic Trial so you can check whether your own apps and receivers work before committing, which is the sensible route given that the app's usefulness depends on your particular setup.

How it compares with the alternatives

The obvious comparison is with the casting features built into individual music services. Those tend to work well inside their own catalogs but stop at the edge of them, so they will not carry a podcast app, a radio stream or a video's audio to a receiver. AirMusic is aimed at the gap between those silos.

Hardware makers offer their own multi-room systems too, and those usually keep you inside one brand's speakers. AirMusic's value is in spanning AirPlay, Sonos, Google Cast, DLNA, HEOS and the rest rather than replacing any one of them.

There is also the option of a dedicated streaming device attached to a receiver. That approach can be simpler for a single room, but it does not follow the audio playing on your phone, which is the specific trick AirMusic performs. If your listening is spread across several apps and several brands of speaker, the app is doing something the alternatives generally do not.

A focused tool for mixed speaker setups

AirMusic is a straightforward proposition: pay $6.99 once, install it, and use your Android phone as the source for whatever speakers and receivers are already on your network. The 10-band equalizer, the ability to add receivers mid-playback and the background streaming all support that single job rather than distracting from it.

It is best suited to people with networked audio hardware from more than one ecosystem, or with a listening habit that lives in an app without casting support. If that describes your setup, the trial is the obvious first step, since the app's worth depends on whether your specific apps and devices cooperate.

The 4.2 rating from 1,482 reviewers suggests a user base that is broadly satisfied rather than uniformly enthusiastic, which is about what I would expect from a utility whose results vary with the gear it meets. For the right household, it replaces a tangle of brand-specific apps with one place to manage the output.

What's new

- Added a powerful new 10-band Equalizer: Customize the sound manually or choose from carefully tuned presets - Improved audio processing and playback stability - Expanded compatibility with AirPlay, AirPlay 2, Sonos, Google Cast and DLNA receivers - Improved Android compatibility and overall stability In case you have any questions or issues, please contact us at [email protected].