What is Audio Lounge?
An elegant music player for people who own and care about their music. Audio Lounge 1.1.1 is available for Mac, and Audio Lounge Air 1.1.1 is available for iPad.
Audio Lounge FAQ
Questions,
answered plainly.
Practical answers about the library, SMB Direct, HALO, formats, and the playback path.
General
Is Audio Lounge Air a Mac remote?
No. It is the iPadOS edition of Audio Lounge, with its own library and playback experience.
Is there a subscription?
No. Start free; a one-time purchase unlocks unlimited playback.
Library organization
How are album and artist counts calculated?
Counts reflect Audio Lounge’s organized library view rather than a simple raw-file count. Tracks that belong to one grouped release are counted as that release, so the number can differ from the number of folders or files on disk.
How are multi-disc releases handled?
Discs that belong to the same release are grouped into one album when the available metadata identifies them as one release.
What happens to loose tracks in one folder?
Loose tracks that belong together can be grouped as one album/library item rather than creating unnecessary separate entries.
Does Audio Lounge modify my music files?
No. Audio Lounge builds its library view around the locations you choose and leaves the original music files in place.
SMB Direct
Does SMB Direct require Finder or Files app mounting?
No. Audio Lounge connects directly to the SMB share. See the complete NAS playback guide for the available Mac and iPad paths.
What is the difference between Share and Folder inside share?
The Share is the SMB resource exported by the NAS, such as Music. Folder inside share is an optional subfolder within it, such as Classical.
What should I enter for Domain?
Most home NAS users should leave Domain blank. Enter it only when the SMB server or managed network specifically requires one.
What happens if the NAS is temporarily offline?
The library location becomes unavailable until the share is reachable again; Audio Lounge does not move the source library to its own cloud service.
Where is the setup guide?
HALO Network Audio
Does HALO require a server or core?
No. Audio Lounge remains the player. HALO Endpoint is a lightweight output endpoint.
Which endpoint platforms are supported?
64-bit Linux on ARM64 and x86-64. DietPi, Raspberry Pi OS 64-bit and Ubuntu are the recommended platforms.
What stays in Audio Lounge?
The library, queue, decoding, optional PCM upsampling and DoP preparation stay on the Audio Lounge side. HALO extends the resulting audio path to the DAC.
Does HALO change the Mac’s normal system output?
No. HALO is selected inside Audio Lounge, so the normal system output can remain assigned to another device.
Where is the installation guide?
Technical
Which formats are supported?
FLAC, ALAC, WAV, AIFF, APE, WavPack, AAC, MP3, CUE, DSF, DFF and SACD ISO. Read the SACD ISO guide for details about ISO images, DSF files, stereo and multichannel content.
Does Audio Lounge decode DST-compressed SACD ISO?
Yes. Audio Lounge reads SACD ISO directly and decompresses DST audio before playback while preserving the decoded DSD stream. No DSF extraction is required.
What does bit-perfect mean in Audio Lounge?
On supported hardware and output configurations, Audio Lounge can send the decoded audio without sample-rate conversion or other processing. Enabling optional processing such as PCM upsampling intentionally changes that path.
Does Audio Lounge switch sample rate automatically?
Yes, on supported output paths and devices, Audio Lounge can match the hardware sample rate to the source.
How are Native DSD and DoP handled?
Audio Lounge supports DSF, DFF and SACD ISO. Compatible USB DACs can receive Native DSD or DoP, while DSD-to-PCM conversion remains available where appropriate. With compatible endpoint hardware and DACs, HALO supports Native DSD up to DSD512 over the network. The DSD playback guide explains each output path.
Does Audio Lounge support PCM upsampling?
Yes. PCM upsampling is optional; when enabled, the Transparent Audio Path shows the resulting output format and sample rate.
Does Audio Lounge support gapless playback?
Yes, for compatible tracks and formats.
What is Transparent Audio Path?
It shows the source format, playback/processing path, selected output and final sample rate in real time, including HALO when used.
Does HALO support Native DSD?
Yes. HALO supports Native DSD up to DSD512 over the local network when the HALO Endpoint and USB DAC support the requested DSD rate. DoP remains available for compatible setups, and DSD-to-PCM conversion can be used when needed.