Comparison

MagicDeathEyeStereo compressor vs Retrocord

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

Head to head
About

MagicDeathEyeStereo compressor

This audio plugin offers a tube compressor with an integrated EQ circuit for mastering and bus compression. It emulates high-quality hardware, providing a smooth compression curve and EQ adjustments to finalize mixes.

Highlights
  • Tube compressor emulation
  • Integrated EQ circuit
  • Mastering and bus compression
  • Smooth compression curve
  • Boost-only EQ bands
  • Low-cut filter
Features
Read full description

Almost a year after the highly celebrated publishing of the first MagicDeathEye plugin, it is now time to present the “bigger brother” of Ian Sefchick’s first creation to the world: meet MagicDeathEyeStereo, a tube compressor with an integrated EQ circuit designed especially for all your mastering needs. We have taken everything we’ve learned from the first version and created a true emulation of what can only be described as a very fine piece of audio hardware. While similar in their overall signature sound, both products have their own dedicated areas of expertise: the “mono” version (well, not actually mono in plugin format) more on individual tracks, the stereo version to glue the whole mix together, with an even smoother compression curve, and lots of little goodies that will help you finalize your mix. The stereo compressor is two mono compressor circuits with some extras designed for mastering and buss compression duties. This new version has an added EQ section. There are two (boost only) bands with two frequency selections each. The EQ is worked into the Variable Mu tube gain structure. This means it is not before or after the compression section, it is within it! The EQ circuit is inductor based and has wide curves for giving program material that “little something”. There is also a two frequency low cut for tightening up out of control bass. The boost of the bands can be 5dB or 3dB split between 5 steps. I spent a lot of time shaping this EQ mastering everyday and fine tuning the components on the weekends. It sounds absolutely fabulous!

About

Retrocord

Features
Read full description

Retrocord is a retroactive multitrack audio recorder. It works like a tape that's always recording from your selected input, so when you play something worth keeping, you can save the last few minutes — after the fact. How it works Choose your audio input and a buffer length. Retrocord records silently in the background. When you want to keep what you just played, tap a duration to capture. The audio lands in your library as a recording you can play back, edit, organize, and export. Multitrack support Retrocord records every channel your audio input exposes, each as its own track. Connect a class-compliant multichannel USB audio interface — such as the Focusrite Scarlett series or similar — and capture individual inputs as separate stems. Mute and solo tracks during playback, then export them to your DAW to mix and arrange later. Edit before you export Retrocord lets you shape a capture without leaving the app: - Trim — set start and end points against a recording to keep only the part that matters - Split — cut a capture in two at the playhead to create separate recordings - Gain — adjust level in 3 dB steps, up to ±24 dB Your library, on every device Recordings live in an organized library — sessions hold captures, captures hold tracks — with waveforms, names, and durations at a glance. Your library syncs privately across your iPhone, iPad, and Mac through your own iCloud account. Lossless, and smaller Captures are stored as Apple Lossless (ALAC) — full 24-bit, 48 kHz quality at roughly half the size of uncompressed WAV. When it's time to move audio out, export individual tracks or a flattened mix as ALAC or 24-bit WAV, with your trim and gain applied. Use cases - Capturing jams and improvisations without arming a DAW - Recording stems from multichannel audio interfaces - Field recording, where the moment you want has already passed by the time you'd hit record - Interviews and spoken word, where restarting a conversation to get a clean take isn't an option - Practice sessions, rehearsals, and songwriting where good ideas surface unpredictably Details - Works with any class-compliant USB audio interface - Also supports the built-in microphone on iPhone and iPad - Stereo pairing toggle for interleaved L/R channels - Per-track mute and solo during playback - Non-destructive trim, split, and gain - Apple Lossless (ALAC) storage; export to ALAC or 24-bit/48 kHz WAV - Private iCloud sync across your devices, through your own iCloud account - No third-party account, no analytics — your recordings are yours

Screenshots

MagicDeathEyeStereo compressor2 screens
Retrocord4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Retrocord at $19.99 against MagicDeathEyeStereo compressor's $31.99. Retrocord also leads on update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 21 months). MagicDeathEyeStereo compressor's advantage is iOS requirement (9.3 vs 18.0). On ads, in-app purchases 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

MagicDeathEyeStereo compressor costs $31.99 and Retrocord $19.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

MagicDeathEyeStereo compressor ships an update every 21 months, Retrocord every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and November 9, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
MagicDeathEyeStereo compressor versus Retrocord: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMagicDeathEyeStereo compressorRetrocord
Price$31.99$19.99 — better
Rating4.8 (17 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews87.5% of reviews—
Number of ratings17 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 21 monthsEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaid—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS9.3 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size23 MB5 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperChristian SiedschlagRocamr Labs, LLC

In-app purchases

None

MagicDeathEyeStereo compressor

No in-app purchases

None

Retrocord

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is MagicDeathEyeStereo compressor free?
MagicDeathEyeStereo compressor costs $31.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Retrocord free?
Retrocord costs $19.99, with no in-app purchases.
Do MagicDeathEyeStereo compressor or Retrocord have ads?
Neither MagicDeathEyeStereo compressor nor Retrocord shows ads.
Which is updated more often, MagicDeathEyeStereo compressor or Retrocord?
MagicDeathEyeStereo compressor ships an update every 21 months, and Retrocord every 3 weeks. Most recently, MagicDeathEyeStereo compressor was updated on November 3, 2026 and Retrocord on November 9, 2026.

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