Is playing recorded mantras or a mantra app as good as chanting myself?

listening is beneficial and creates a calm atmosphere, but your own chanting, even softly, is the practice the tradition means by japa.

Śravaṇa, listening to sacred sound and the names of God, is itself counted among the forms of bhakti in the Bhāgavata Purāṇa. So playing the Viṣṇu Sahasranāma, Hanumān Cālīsā or Vedic chanting at home is good: it fills the house with sacred vibration, helps you learn correct pronunciation and soothes the mind.

But japa is something you do. The repetition engages your breath, your tongue and your attention, and that personal effort is what the śāstras connect with the fruit of a mantra. A speaker playing “Om Namaḥ Śivāya” 108 times does not complete your japa for you.

A good approach is to use recordings as a teacher and companion: listen to learn, chant along, and then chant on your own. Keep the volume gentle and avoid playing sacred chants in inappropriate places such as the bathroom.

Source: Bhāgavata Purāṇa — śravaṇa is the first of nine forms of bhakti

Dharma Q&A — Jyotiṣa, scriptures & modern life · Ask a Jyotishi your own question