Comparison

EQ550b vs Fair Limiter

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

Head to head
About

EQ550b

This audio effect plugin emulates a classic American equalizer from the late 1960s, offering four bands of equalization with selectable frequencies and proportional Q. It provides a wide range of tonal variations for professional audio manipulation and can be used as a standalone app or an AUv3 plugin.

Highlights
  • Modeled vintage EQ
  • Four bands of equalization
  • Selectable frequency centers
  • Proportional Q filter
  • Stereo, Mid, or Side EQ modes
  • AUv3 plugin compatibility
Read full description

EQ550b AUv3 plug-in — comes as time-limited Demo-version for you to try. It gives you 5 minutes of Free play time. (You can reload the EQ550b AUv3 plug-in as many times as you want, thereby you get the Demo period again and again.) Unlimited version of EQ550b AUv3 plug-in comes as In-App Purchase. Based on Classic American EQ from the late '60s, the EQ550b is a continuation of the EQ that played a major role in the history of music recording, but with an additional filter band and several new frequencies. With a surprisingly wide range of tonal variations, the EQ550b is an invaluable and professional audio tool with great flexibility and excellent sonic ability. Features: • Standalone and AUv3 plug-in; • Precise port of Rack Extensions plug-in; • Modeled vintage EQ; • Four bands of classic American equalization; • Each band offers seven selected frequency centers; • 15 dB of boost/cut per band; • EQ band 1 and 4 offer shelf/peak switching; • Proportional Q narrows filter Q at extremes; • Stereo (Mono), Mid or Side EQ modes; • Undo/Redo; • A/B comparison; • 2x/4x/8x Upsampling; • Macro controllers; • Built-in Gain Match; • Scalable GUI. Rather than offer a huge assortment of complex features, the EQ550b provides exactly the right number of controls. Its four EQ bands are overlapped significantly to aid in dual roles as problem solver and sweetening device with each band offering seven switchable filter frequencies that span four-to-five octaves. These frequencies, purposely selected to be musical rather than numeric. Making use of Proportional Q intuitively widens the filter bandwidth at minimal settings and narrows it at higher settings without the need for additional bandwidth controls. This unique feature minimizes the «phase-shift» sound found in many equalizers. The EQ550b extends the features of the original hardware and joins the flexibility of the digital world to the character of the analog processing. Allows you to choose between equalizer modes (Stereo, Mid, Side) and remove analogue saturation from the processing circuit to deliver pure digital sound. To use EQ550b as a plug-in, you need an AUv3-compatible host app like GarageBand, Auria, AUM, Cubasis and more — EQ550b will appear in the list of Audio Unit extensions for effect plug-ins in the host app.

About

Fair Limiter

This audio unit plugin emulates the classic Fairchild 670 tube compressor and limiter, offering its renowned sonic character. It provides comprehensive controls, including sidechain filters and boost, for detailed audio shaping. A free version is available for testing, with a one-time purchase to remove limitations.

Highlights
  • AUv3 plugin for DAWs
  • Fairchild 670 emulation
  • Sidechain filters and boost
  • Variable-Mu compression
  • Stereo or Mid/Side setup
  • 6386 tube simulation
Features
Read full description

Fair Limiter is an AUv3 audio unit plugin that digitally replicates the Fairchild 670, a legendary and highly esteemed tube compressor/limiter renowned for its outstanding audio quality and unique sonic character. Features: - Use as an AUv3 plugin in GarageBand, Logic Pro, AUM, or other DAW - Digital emulation of the Fairchild 670 - Features all the controls of the legacy Fairchild 670 - Adds additional control with the sidechain filters and boost - Variable-Mu compression - Fast attack, slow release times - 6386 tube simulation - Stereo or Mid/Side setup - Linking of stereo controls and sidechain output The free version allows you to test Fair Limiter completely, but every minute the limiter will be silent for 3 seconds. To remove these limits there is a one time in-app purchase.

Screenshots

EQ550b4 screens
Fair Limiter4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: EQ550b at 100% against Fair Limiter's 50%. EQ550b also leads on rating (4.8 vs 4.4) and update cadence (every 2 weeks vs monthly). On price, ratings volume, ads and in-app purchases 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. EQ550b sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Fair Limiter 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

EQ550b holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 13 and 8 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 100% of EQ550b's written reviews are positive against 50% of Fair Limiter's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

EQ550b ships an update every 2 weeks, Fair Limiter monthly. The most recent releases landed on September 1, 2026 and August 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
EQ550b versus Fair Limiter: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterEQ550bFair Limiter
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (13 ratings) — better4.4 (8 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews — better50.0% of reviews
Number of ratings13 — better8
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks — betterMonthly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better
Requires iOS10.0 — better14.0
Further details — not scored
Size19 MB32 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperRRS, OOOJan Maes

Customer experience

EQ550b

All ratings13 ratings
Positive92.3%
Neutral7.7%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Fair Limiter

All ratings8 ratings
Positive75.0%
Neutral12.5%
Negative12.5%
Written reviews4 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral25.0%
Negative25.0%

In-app purchases

1 purchases

EQ550b

One-time1
  • RRS EQ550b Unlimited$4.99
1 purchases

Fair Limiter

One-time1
  • Fair Limiter Activation$11.99

Questions

Is EQ550b free?
EQ550b is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Fair Limiter free?
Fair Limiter is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, EQ550b or Fair Limiter?
EQ550b is rated higher. EQ550b averages 4.8 out of 5 from 13 ratings, while Fair Limiter averages 4.4 from 8 ratings.
Do EQ550b or Fair Limiter have ads?
Neither EQ550b nor Fair Limiter shows ads.
Which is updated more often, EQ550b or Fair Limiter?
EQ550b ships an update every 2 weeks, and Fair Limiter monthly. Most recently, EQ550b was updated on September 1, 2026 and Fair Limiter on August 31, 2026.

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