Comparison

AudioKit FM Player 2 vs Arc & Decay

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

Head to head
About

AudioKit FM Player 2

This app offers a classic 80s FM synth experience with a vast library of sounds, effects, and sequencing capabilities. It's designed for musicians and producers to explore award-winning tones and create music on their iPad.

Highlights
  • Classic 80s FM Synth, EP, and FM Tine sounds
  • Multi-sampled recordings of famous classic presets
  • Stand-alone, IAA & Audiobus, AUv3 support
  • Vintage Arp & 16-Step Sequencer
  • 200+ presets and 150+ multi-sampled PCMs
  • Vintage Stereo Phaser, Chorus, Flanger, Amp Simulator
  • MIDI in for keyboard control
Read full description

Beautiful iPad instrument featuring classic famous 80s FM Synth, EP, and FM Tine sounds. Featured by Apple. "BEST APPS OF 2017" - Electronic Musician Magazine "BEST iOS APPS – 2017" - Audio News Room (ANR) FM Player 2 is the secret weapon for major musicians and grammy-winning producers. Now, you can have all these award-winning sounds on your iPad. AWESOME FEATURES: - Faithful multi-sampled recordings of famous classic presets from original retro 80s FM Synthesizers - Stand-alone iPad Synth, plus IAA & Audiobus - Basic AUv3 Plugin support. We're working on upgrading Audio Unit support. - Vintage Arp & 16-Step Sequencer - 200+ presets and 150+ multi-sampled PCMs included! - NEW Vintage Stereo Phaser Effect - 1+ Gigabyte of sounds, compressed to under 300mb! - Dual layers per voice. KeyboardSplits. Morph between sounds - Full ADSR Envelopes for each Layer - 3 LFOs. Fun Routings. LFOs can modify other LFOs. - NEW FX: Vintage Chorus, Flanger, Amp Simulator, and more - Beautiful Reverb, Auto Pan, Bit Crush, Stereo Fatten, and more! - MIDI in (Play with a MIDI Keyboard) - Analog Tape Style Ping-Pong Delay - Mono glide & legato modes - Dual Independent Filters per layer - Tempo-sync controls & Ableton Link - GREAT for playing Live with a Keyboard: MIDI Mod Wheel, Pitch Wheel, Program Change, Velocity sensitive sounds, and Sustain Pedal support already added - All Knobs have MIDI Learn! NOTE: This app is amazing as a live instrument controlled with a MIDI Keyboard. The main Electric Piano and Full Tines sounds have 20+ layers for maximum expressiveness. Subscribe to access to premium app features; subscription details are the following: - Length: weekly or yearly - Free trial: only on selected subscriptions - Your payment will be charged to your iTunes Account as soon as you confirm your purchase - You can manage your subscriptions and turn off auto-renewal from your Account Settings after the purchase - Your subscription will renew automatically, unless you turn off auto-renew at least 24 hours before the end of the current period - The cost of renewal will be charged to your account in the 24 hours prior to the end of the current period - When canceling a subscription, your subscription will stay active until the end of the period. Auto-renewal will be disabled, but the current subscription will not be refunded - Any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when purchasing a subscription Terms & Conditions: [https://magic-cake-e95.notion.site/AudioKit-FM-Player-2-DX-Synth-Terms-Conditions-14bcf6557a0880dba5eceab2ca1068bb?pvs=4](https://www.notion.so/AudioKit-FM-Player-2-DX-Synth-Terms-Conditions-14bcf6557a0880dba5eceab2ca1068bb?pvs=21) Privacy Policy: [https://magic-cake-e95.notion.site/AudioKit-FM-Player-2-DX-Synth-Privacy-Policy-14bcf6557a0880be8468ecef6beb62c8?pvs=4](https://www.notion.so/AudioKit-FM-Player-2-DX-Synth-Privacy-Policy-14bcf6557a0880be8468ecef6beb62c8?pvs=21) Note: App may not work on older iPad 4 devices. - This app has no official affiliation with AudioKit Pro, LLC. It was built using the free AudioKit source code. - This app has no official affiliation with Yamaha or the DX7 or DX7II. FM Player is an open-source project to bring the joy of music making to the world. We appreciate Yamaha's beautiful instruments. - * This app has no official endorsement with any artist or producer named in the description (including Herbie Hancock, Jay-Z, Drake, etc). We are humbled they have used our apps. They have received no payment or otherwise compensation for using our apps. :)

About

Arc & Decay

Features
Read full description

Arc & Decay is a plasma arc distortion instrument for iOS, built on the physics of real xenon gas tube breakdown. Feed it any sound through the built-in microphone and it fires an electrical arc when your signal crosses the ionization threshold. The arc saturates and distorts with odd harmonics, crackles through marginal-zone sputter, and holds a long ionization tail that decays into electrical noise long after your sound stops. Six precision encoders control every dimension of the arc character: Voltage drives the current into the gap. Ignition sets the threshold. Instability introduces chaos and arc wander. Fizzle and Spark shape the crackle density and tail length. Mix blends dry signal with pure arc output. Reverb and delay extend the electrical space without losing the character. Record up to one minute of output and share directly from the app. Arc & Decay is not a guitar pedal. It is not a synthesizer. It is a plasma arc instrument that runs on whatever sound you give it. © 2026 Synthetic Pulse Industries.

Screenshots

Arc & Decay4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Arc & Decay at none against AudioKit FM Player 2's 8. Arc & Decay also leads on ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (daily vs monthly). AudioKit FM Player 2's advantage is iOS requirement (13.0 vs 17.6). On price and device support 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. AudioKit FM Player 2 sells 8 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per 7 days. Arc & Decay asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

AudioKit FM Player 2 ships an update monthly, Arc & Decay daily. The most recent releases landed on November 2, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
AudioKit FM Player 2 versus Arc & Decay: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAudioKit FM Player 2Arc & Decay
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (3.4K ratings) — better—
Positive reviews79.1% of reviews—
Number of ratings3.4K — better—
Update frequencyMonthlyDaily — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPadiPhone, iPad — better
Requires iOS13.0 — better17.6
Further details — not scored
Size357 MB11 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAudiobus Pty LtdTash Baycroft

Bugs and requests

AudioKit FM Player 2

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Crashes when switching presets
  • Midi playback not working consistently
  • Preset loading issues in some DAWs

Requested features

4 requests
  • Arpeggiator/sequencer functionality
  • Ability to save and load custom presets
  • Improved MIDI integration and mapping
  • Expanded sound library and more DX-style presets

Arc & Decay

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

8 purchases

AudioKit FM Player 2

Subscriptions8
  • Weekly premium$2.997 Days
  • Weekly premium7 Days trial$2.997 Days
  • Weekly premium7 Days trial$4.997 Days
Show 5 more
  • Weekly premium$4.997 Days
  • Yearly premium$9.991 Year
  • Weekly premium7 Days trial$9.991 Year
  • Yearly premium7 Days trial$29.991 Year
  • Yearly premium$29.991 Year
None

Arc & Decay

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is AudioKit FM Player 2 free?
AudioKit FM Player 2 is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Arc & Decay free?
Arc & Decay is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do AudioKit FM Player 2 or Arc & Decay have ads?
AudioKit FM Player 2 shows ads; Arc & Decay does not.
Which is updated more often, AudioKit FM Player 2 or Arc & Decay?
AudioKit FM Player 2 ships an update monthly, and Arc & Decay daily. Most recently, AudioKit FM Player 2 was updated on November 2, 2026 and Arc & Decay on October 25, 2026.

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