Home Assistant announces Music Assistant version 2.4 release with dozens of new features

Home Assistant has announced the release of the Music Assistant version 2.4. Music Assistant is a free-to-use, open-source media library manager. It enables Home Assistant users to stream music from many sources on smart home speakers.

Version 2.4 brings optimizations for streaming from Assist devices, like the recently released Home Assistant Voice Preview Edition. You can also use Assist voice commands to select a song or artist to play. There is support for external audio sources, making it compatible with Spotify Connect. However, it is worth noting that you need a Spotify Premium account for this feature. The company notes that it is planning to add an Apple AirPlay plugin at a later date.

Another addition is native support for podcasts and audiobooks via services like Subsonic, YouTube and Audible. When listening to an audiobook, you can track where you are, thanks to a progress bar with dots representing the start of each chapter. Since its last update, Music Assistant has also gained support for Apple Music, iBroadcast and SiriusXM. 

On top of this, a new configurable Digital Signal Processor (DSP) allows you to customize your listening experience, adjusting the input and output gain or using the Parametric Equalizer (PEQ) tool. The complete change log can be found on GitHub. Music Assistant version 2.4 is now available for all users, and you can install this add-on from your Home Assistant.