Pentaton 1.0 is out!

We are very excited to launch Pentaton, an audiophile music player for iOS. We’ve built it because we were not satisfied with what was out there.

We’ve spent three decades collecting music and have no desire to switch to streaming. We believe everybody should be able to pick their own poison wether that is some obscure genre or crazy high-resolution audio. With Pentaton, we’re giving you the control to enjoy your own music library, organized any way you like in whatever quality you prefer.

But how is this not a solved problem?

Well, in some ways, it is. If you’re okay using iTunes on a Mac, you can copy whatever you want to your iOS device and use the Music app to play it back. But don’t expect it to play back anything exotic (like DSD) or to allow for custom organization. If you find a reliable way of getting your library onto your device, you can use Neutron Player or Onkyo’s app to play back more formats. They however, look very dated and out of place on iOS. If you want to enjoy your own music on iOS in a nice native-like way, there is just nothing out there.

So what makes Pentaton special?

We’re building Pentaton to be just as polished as the first-party Apple iOS apps, while opening up more control than Apple is willing to. Just pick some folders from the Files app and you can start listening, no scanning and waiting. It supports all formats imaginable and all playback modes iOS allows us, there is nothing to configure or set up. Want to use an external DAC? Just plug it in, Pentaton will make sure to set it up properly. Want to stream via AirPlay? Just select the target and Pentaton will make sure you’re music is streaming in the highest possible quality.

On the other hand, Pentaton is very peculiar about playback controls. It does not support playlists, doesn’t do shuffling, heck it doesn’t even have a scrubber. That is because we believe in albums and we love the journey through the tracks. We are certain you’ll love it too.

Lastly, we care deeply about our craft. Software used to be like magic and we long for the days where we weren’t fighting against it. Pentaton was built (and then rebuilt, and then rebuilt again) to be great at what it does. To play back a wide variety of formats without issues, to avoid any unnecessary processing of your audio files, to support DACs and AirPlay, and to do all this while using virtually no battery.

If you’re into music, own your collection and want a polished experience, Pentaton might just be perfect for you. Give it a try.