Uploaded May 2022 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
In this video we compare a Volumio HiFi music player to an Arylic S50 Pro Plus. These devices allow connection of multiple network audio sources to a stereo system. That stereo system could be an older receiver or amplifier, or outdoor powered speakers, or even simultaneous multi-room playback. Volumio is free and can be installed on a Raspberry Pi, as we have shown in a previous video. Here we review Arylic's higher end S50 Pro+ as well as the more affordable Up2Stream Mini V3. I am a big fan of Volumio, but with all the positive buzz around Arylic I decided to give it a try. Each platform has its own strengths and weaknesses. In my opinion, here are the "winners" in several feature categories:
Ongoing Software Cost: Arylic
User Interface: Volumio
Music File Playback: Volumio
Streaming Services: Arylic
Automation Capability: Volumio
Multiroom: Arylic*
* Compared to the free version of Volumio
Our original Volumio review from over a year ago is here: youtube.com/watch?v=PhFXgiklTMU
0:00 Introduction
0:20 Digital Music Streamers
0:42 A look at the boxes
1:05 Quick Impression
1:20 Cost of Hardware
2:00 Ongoing Software Cost
2:24 Plug-In Policy Made me Unplug!
2:45 Browser Specific Web UI
3:16 Using the 4Stream App
3:35 An Unbalanced Balance Control?
3:57 Local File Playback
4:27 Unplayable MP3 Files?
4:55 Streaming Services
5:25 Arylic Multi-room Demo
6:40 Cassette Multiroom Streaming!
7:37 API Control and Automation
8:25 Sloppy Software Examples
9:08 Conclusion
In this video we compare a Volumio HiFi music player to an Arylic S50 Pro Plus. These devices allow connection of multiple network audio sources to a stereo system. That stereo system could be an older receiver or amplifier, or outdoor powered speakers, or even simultaneous multi-room playback. Volumio is free and can be installed on a Raspberry Pi, as we have shown in a previous video. Here we review Arylic's higher end S50 Pro+ as well as the more affordable Up2Stream Mini V3. I am a big fan of Volumio, but with all the positive buzz around Arylic I decided to give it a try. Each platform has its own strengths and weaknesses. In my opinion, here are the "winners" in several feature categories:
Ongoing Software Cost: Arylic
User Interface: Volumio
Music File Playback: Volumio
Streaming Services: Arylic
Automation Capability: Volumio
Multiroom: Arylic*
* Compared to the free version of Volumio
Our original Volumio review from over a year ago is here: youtube.com/watch?v=PhFXgiklTMU
0:00 Introduction
0:20 Digital Music Streamers
0:42 A look at the boxes
1:05 Quick Impression
1:20 Cost of Hardware
2:00 Ongoing Software Cost
2:24 Plug-In Policy Made me Unplug!
2:45 Browser Specific Web UI
3:16 Using the 4Stream App
3:35 An Unbalanced Balance Control?
3:57 Local File Playback
4:27 Unplayable MP3 Files?
4:55 Streaming Services
5:25 Arylic Multi-room Demo
6:40 Cassette Multiroom Streaming!
7:37 API Control and Automation
8:25 Sloppy Software Examples
9:08 Conclusion
