APM Sweep vs BetterAudio

APM Sweep is the successor of the well known APM Tool: it let you quickly measure the acoustical performance of a room (reverberation time, clarity, etc. in octave and third octave bands), check if that room is well suited for its purpose and, if not, choose which materials can improve the acoustical quality. Everything still there but with an exciting improvement: now you can use all the power of the Exponential Sine Sweep technique for the measurement process, so your results can be extremely precise and accurate. You can also, save, load and export results in common spreadsheet format. The app can also generate pdf reports with photos. A tutorial slideshow explains the app use. Required at least iOS 11.0

The room is the first loudspeaker. BetterAudio turns your iPhone or iPad into an acoustic measurement tool. Using the LiDAR scanner and the microphone together, it builds a 3D model of your listening space and tells you exactly where to place your speakers for the cleanest stereo image and the tightest bass. WHY ROOM PLACEMENT MATTERS Most of what you hear from a pair of speakers is your room, not the speakers. A 5-degree turn, twenty centimeters from a wall, the wrong seat position — any of these will smear imaging, exaggerate bass, and kill detail. Studios spend thousands on treatment for a reason. BetterAudio gives you the same starting point in a few minutes, for free. WHAT IT DOES • Captures a full 3D model of your room with Apple RoomPlan and LiDAR. • Records ambient noise and broadband acoustic energy through the mic during the scan. • Computes the optimal speaker positions using the proven 38% rule and equilateral-triangle geometry. • Identifies the first-reflection points on each side wall — the spots where you should put absorbers or diffusers. • Reports your noise floor, peak SPL, bass/treble energy balance, and an environment classification (quiet, moderate, noisy). • Renders an interactive 3D scene showing your walls, ceiling, floor grid, furniture, doors, and windows, plus the recommended L/R speakers, sweet spot, and listening triangle with exact distances. • Gives you plain-language recommendations: aspect-ratio warnings, low-ceiling alerts, bass-rumble flags, toe-in guidance, and treatment suggestions. 1. Tap BEGIN SCAN. 2. Walk slowly around the room. The app guides you with on-screen prompts ("MOVE CLOSER TO WALL", "SLOW DOWN"). 3. Tap END SCAN. 4. Read the analysis. Move your speakers and your seat. Listen to the difference. REQUIREMENTS • A device with a LiDAR scanner (iPhone 12 Pro / Pro Max and later Pro models, iPad Pro 2020 and later). • Microphone access (used only during scanning, never recorded to disk). • iOS 26 or later. PRIVACY The scan and the audio analysis run entirely on device. No room data, no audio, and no measurements ever leave your iPhone. Nothing is uploaded, nothing is shared, no account required. BetterAudio is a tool, not magic. It cannot replace acoustic treatment in a difficult room, and it does not perform full impulse-response measurement. What it does is take the most expensive variable in any audio chain — the room — and make its rules visible.