Sony | Music Center

What the app is for

Sony | Music Center is Sony's app for playing music at home or on the move, and for running compatible Sony audio equipment from a phone. It does two jobs: it plays files stored on the phone or elsewhere, and it changes settings on the speaker or receiver itself.

Controlling a device requires a compatible Sony audio product. The developer says devices that worked with the older SongPal app also work here, and points to a support site for the current compatibility list. It suits people who already own Sony audio gear and want one app for both playback and control.

Playing Hi-Res files from phone, CD and USB

The app plays Hi-Res tracks stored on the phone, which is the core playback function the developer describes. Music can also come from a CD, a USB drive or the smartphone itself, so one app covers several places a music collection might live.

Browsing a home music library over DLNA

You can browse or search music folders on a computer or NAS drive on your network using DLNA. This is useful for a large home library that is kept off the phone. The developer marks this feature as limited to compatible devices.

Multi-room, surround and device settings

The app can set up Multi-room, Surround and Stereo modes wirelessly across several speakers. Like the DLNA feature, this is limited to compatible devices.

It also changes settings on the audio device, including the equalizer, the sleep timer and network options. Those settings are reached from the phone rather than from the device's own controls.

Voice control, car audio and accessibility

Voice operation uses the phone microphone. The app opens automatically when it connects to a compatible device or during initial setup. With car audio, it checks the call status so that incoming text messages are not read aloud during a call. The developer also says the app supports TalkBack, Android's screen reader.