Comparison

Spectrojam vs Cymatics Lab

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Spectrojam

This app transforms sounds from your microphone into dynamic colors and shapes on your screen. It visualizes the frequency composition of everyday noises and musical tunes, allowing you to see sound signatures and even translate them into musical notes.

Highlights
  • Real-time sound to color/shape visualization
  • Musical note display for pitch accuracy
  • Chord and harmony analysis
  • Adjustable gain for volume control
  • High-resolution premium visualizer
  • Color modulation effects
Features
Read full description

Spectrojam® listens to your microphone and turns the sound it hears into colors and shapes on your screen. If you speak, for example, you will see the individual frequencies emitted by your voice. If you whistle, you will see shapes and colors move and change on the screen in perfect sync with your tune. You will be amazed to see the frequency composition of the sounds in your everyday life. Each noise has a unique signature, and now you can see it all! The Musical Note Display can translate the sounds you make into musical notes. This allows anyone to sing a perfect "A" without even hearing a reference note. Spectrojam® can display up to 3 musical notes at the same time, allowing you to pick apart chords and harmonies. It works great with the human voice and musical instruments. Unlock Premium mode to access a high-resolution sound visualizer which displays up to 12.3 million samples simultaneously (8,192 frequencies * 1500 time slices) for extremely high precision and maximum clarity. The Color Modulator smoothly cycles through your color selections, producing stunning visuals. If your environment is loud, simply use the Gain slider to reduce the overall input volume, or boost it if you want to detect whispers, breathing, and quiet background music. Explore your world in a whole new way. Download Spectrojam® today!

About

Cymatics Lab

Visualize sound as intricate, shifting geometric patterns created by sand particles. Explore different modes, use your microphone or music library as a sound source, and customize the visual effects. Share your creations with a community or use it for live performances.

Highlights
  • Real-time sand particle simulation driven by sound
  • Multiple visualization modes (Square, Circle, Cavity, Lissajous, Quasicrystal)
  • Sound input via microphone, music library, or frequency engine
  • Extensive customization of physics, visuals, and art effects
  • Beat-reactive effects synced to music
  • Community feed for sharing and remixing creations
  • Record videos and take photos for sharing
Features
Read full description

Watch thousands of sand particles arrange themselves into geometric patterns in real time, driven entirely by the physics of sound. Cymatics Lab simulates a vibrating plate with accurate physics. Drop particles, play music or speak into your mic, and watch the sand migrate to the stillest points on the surface, forming intricate, shifting geometric shapes. The same science that fascinated Chladni in the 1700s, now running on your phone. 5 WAYS TO SEE SOUND Square — The classic Chladni plate. Rectangular nodal patterns shift and evolve with your sound. Circle — Circular plate with Bessel function eigenmodes. Concentric rings bloom outward like a cymbal frozen in slow motion. Cavity — A 3D resonant chamber. Sand moves through depth, not just across a flat surface. Lissajous — Orbital particle paths inspired by Lissajous figures. Hypnotic, looping geometry. Quasicrystal — Patterns that repeat forever but never tile. Five-fold and higher symmetries in motion. ANYTHING CAN BE A SOUND SOURCE Mic Input — Speak, sing, clap, play an instrument. The sand responds instantly. Apple Music & Spotify — Connect your streaming library and visualize your favorite tracks. Music Library — Play songs stored on your device. Frequency Engine — Dial in exact Hz values and watch the sand snap into resonance. Stack harmonics. Sweep through ranges. MAKE IT YOURS Main Panel — Control sand count, particle size, force sensitivity, and bloom. Physics Panel — Adjust vibration modes, resonance sharpness, frequency multiplier, sand collisions, and experimental effects. View Panel — Orbit the camera freely. Choose skybox environments, room lighting, and plate appearance. Art Panel — Layer on symmetry reflections, energy glow, particle trails, bloom, and color palettes. Studio Panel — Save and load presets. Enable beat-reactive effects that sync to the music: bloom pulses, gravity shifts, burst explosions, sweep waves, color cycling, depth warping, shimmer, ripple, and dissolve. CREATE AND SHARE Publish to the Waves community feed. Browse what others have made and remix their settings as a starting point. Take photos and record videos directly in the app. Use Presentation Mode to cast to a TV or projector for live performances and installations. FREE VS PRO Free includes Square mode, mic input, and basic controls — enough to experience real cymatics. Cymatics Lab Pro unlocks everything for a one-time purchase of $9.99. No subscription. No ads. Yours forever. — All 5 visualization modes — Apple Music, Spotify, and Music Library input — Frequency Engine tone generator — Full Physics, View, Art, and Studio panels — Beat-reactive effects — Community publishing to Waves — All current features Try Pro free for 24 hours before you decide. WHO IS THIS FOR? — Everyone. Browse the Waves community and get lost in patterns others have created, Just scroll and enjoy with your own sounds or music. — Musicians and visual artists who've always felt their sound was something to be seen. Connect your music and watch it take shape. — The curious who want to watch physics happen in real time. Change one setting and see how sound behaves differently. — Educators teaching acoustics, resonance, and wave phenomena. A living, interactive demonstration. — DJs and performers who want a live visual companion on stage or on screen. Cymatics Lab is built by a single developer who cares about the science as much as the art. No ads. No subscriptions. Just sound made visible. See what your music has always looked like.

Screenshots

Spectrojam4 screens
Cymatics Lab4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Cymatics Lab at 100% against Spectrojam's 69%. Cymatics Lab also leads on update cadence (every 5 days vs every 3 months). Spectrojam's advantage is rating (3.9 vs 3.7) and ratings volume (25 vs 3). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Spectrojam sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Cymatics Lab sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Spectrojam holds the better App Store score, 3.9 against 3.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Spectrojam has 25 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 69% of Spectrojam's written reviews are positive against 100% of Cymatics Lab's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Spectrojam ships an update every 3 months, Cymatics Lab every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 20, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Spectrojam versus Cymatics Lab: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSpectrojamCymatics Lab
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.9 (25 ratings) — better3.7 (3 ratings)
Positive reviews69.2% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings25 — better3
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 5 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size67 MB152 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperNonsequential Time LabsKiefer Studio LLC

Customer experience

Spectrojam

All ratings25 ratings
Positive72.0%
Neutral4.0%
Negative24.0%
Written reviews13 reviews
Positive69.2%
Neutral7.7%
Negative23.1%

Cymatics Lab

All ratings3 ratings
Positive66.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative33.3%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Spectrojam

One-time1
  • Premium$2.99
1 purchases

Cymatics Lab

One-time1
  • Cymatics Lab Pro$9.99

Questions

Is Spectrojam free?
Spectrojam is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Cymatics Lab free?
Cymatics Lab is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Spectrojam or Cymatics Lab?
Spectrojam is rated higher. Spectrojam averages 3.9 out of 5 from 25 ratings, while Cymatics Lab averages 3.7 from 3 ratings.
Do Spectrojam or Cymatics Lab have ads?
Neither Spectrojam nor Cymatics Lab shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Spectrojam or Cymatics Lab?
Spectrojam ships an update every 3 months, and Cymatics Lab every 5 days. Most recently, Spectrojam was updated on October 20, 2026 and Cymatics Lab on September 24, 2026.

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