Compare
Vespertine and Audirvana Studio / Origin, compared.
Both play FLAC and DSD with automatic rate switching and exclusive mode, and both play local surround files and SACD ISO. Vespertine is open source and documents Apple Spatial Audio for local surround; Audirvana Studio adds streaming-service integration.
Compared from each player’s own documentation or source code. “Not documented” means the vendor doesn’t say either way, not that the feature is missing. Table last updated 29 October 2026; its cells were checked 9 to 14 October 2026.
Feature by feature
The table.
| Feature | Vespertine | Audirvana Studio / Origin |
|---|---|---|
| Source code | GPL-3.0 | Closed |
| FLAC / DSD files | Yes / Yes | Yes / Yes |
| Automatic DAC rate switching | Yes | Yes |
| Exclusive (hog) mode | Yes | Yes |
| 16/24-bit PCM without sample changes | Conditions + tests | Vendor claim |
| Local surround files | Yes² | Yes |
| Apple Spatial Audio for local surround | Yes | Not documented |
| Hi-res file analysis | Yes | AudioScan |
| SACD ISO | Yes | Yes |
| Room correction | Measured in the app (USB mic), or REW / APO and impulse-response import | Via convolution (Origin: paid option) or Audio Units |
| Convolution / audio effect plugins | Yes (room correction) / No | Yes (Origin: paid option) / Audio Units |
| Streaming services | No | Studio: yes; Origin: no |
² Multichannel DAC output and receiver bitstream are experimental, untested on real receivers and multichannel USB DACs (one Sony TV over HDMI has been tested: see docs/DEVICES.md); reports wanted.
Which one
Which to choose.
Choose Audirvana Studio / Origin if…
- You want streaming-service integration: Audirvana Studio has it (Origin does not).
- You want to host Audio Unit plugins or a general convolution engine (Origin: a paid option). Vespertine’s convolution is for room correction only, and it has no plugin hosting.
Choose Vespertine if…
- You want source code you can read (Vespertine is GPL-3.0; Audirvana is closed).
- You want Apple Spatial Audio for your own surround files: Vespertine does it, and Audirvana’s documentation doesn’t mention it.
- You want room correction measured inside the app with a USB microphone, or REW / Equalizer APO filter import.
Vespertine is free and open source (GPL-3.0). Price isn’t part of this comparison, and sound quality isn’t ranked.
Sources
Where this comes from.
- Audirvana Origin product page
- Is Audirvana bit-perfect? (help center)
- Supported audio formats (help center)
- Plugins for EQ or acoustic correction (help center)
- Comparison sources and scope (docs/COMPARISON.md in the repository): the full list and what was checked.
A documented feature is not a Vespertine hardware test of Audirvana Studio / Origin. Something wrong or out of date? Open an issue and it will be corrected.
More
Other comparisons.
- All comparisons
- Vespertine and Roon
- Vespertine and Colibri
- Vespertine and Cog
- Vespertine and foobar2000 for Mac
- Vespertine and Apple Music (Mac)
- Vespertine as a hi-res audio player for Mac
Vespertine 0.15.1 is free, signed and notarized.
Download for Mac