WebSDR vs Dial Upstrum
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
WebSDR
This Audio Unit plugin allows musicians to incorporate live radio broadcasts into their music. It accesses Software Defined Radio streams from servers worldwide, offering unique audio textures for performances and mixes.
- Plays Software Defined Radio streams
- Integrates live radio audio into music
- Accesses global radio servers
- Supports various radio modes (LSB, USB, CW, AM, FM)
- Provides unique audio textures for mixes
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WebSDR is an Audio Unit Plugin that plays audio from Software Defined Radio (SDR) streams. It allows you to incorporate the sound of live radio into a live music performance. WHAT IS SOFTWARE DEFINED RADIO? A software defined radio is a device with an antenna that connects to a computer and allows it to receive live radio broadcasts. It features a wide variety of protocols; in addition to standard AM and FM modes found in most consumer radios it typically includes modes for LSB, USB, CW and other settings used to listen in on the CB radios used by taxi drives, marine weather stations, air traffic control towers, amateur radio enthusiasts and many other types of radio broadcasts. The signals you can access using this app are not your own local radio stations; rather they are the radio stations in the vicinity of a collection of free servers, many of them operated by universities. These servers are positioned in many different countries around the world so using this plugin you can listen in on a variety of radio signals in a wide variety of languages and cultures. WHAT DO PEOPLE USE THIS PLUGIN FOR? The crackly sound of an old-style AM broadcast or a conversation between taxi drivers on a CB radio is a musical flavour that can not be replicated with other plugins. If you are looking for some really unique and interesting material to include in your performances or mixes, this plugin will supply. LIMITATIONS This plugin requires Javascript in order to play sound. Unfortunately that means that the UI must be open the entire time you are using it. When the UI is closed Javascript stops running, similar to the way a website stops playing audio when you close a tab in your browser. NOTE: THIS IS AN AUDIO UNIT PLUGIN. IT RUNS INSIDE A HOST APP SUCH AS GarageBand.
Dial Upstrum
Transform classic modem sounds into a unique musical instrument. Explore phase and pitch variations to create distinctive audio and visuals, and integrate with AUv3 hosts for advanced music production.
- Play 56k modem handshake sounds as an instrument
- Adjust phase and pitch of sounds
- Modify visuals alongside audio
- AUv3 plugin support
- Inspired by ZX Plectrum
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Boot up that beige box, hear the sweet symphony of your 56k modem screeching into life, and prepare to surf the information superhighway like it's 1999! Play the 56k DialUp handshake sounds as a musical instrument on your iPhone or iPad! Change the modem sounds (and visuals) phase and pitch to make some weird, wonderful and familiar sounds! Plugin to your favourite AUv3 host and make unique music unlike anything else. Log on. Dial in. Based on the critically acclaimed ZX Plectrum! (but with more sounds and flexibility!) What people say about ZX Plectrum: "As seen on TV" on Dara O Briain's Go 8 Bit Used by multi-Platinum band Placebo in their live events. "ZX Plectrum lets you make music Spectrum style on your iPhone" pocket-lint.com "Utterly pointless but also utterly engaging" bamm.tv "For Nostlagia lovers of a very specific demographic this will sound like heaven" calmdowntom.com "The Greatest iPad App of ALL TIME" conoroneill.net
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Dial Upstrum at 3.7 against WebSDR's 2.4. Dial Upstrum also leads on price ($3.99 vs $5.99). WebSDR's advantage is review sentiment (21% vs 0%) and ratings volume (27 vs 3). On ads, in-app purchases, monetization model 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
WebSDR costs $5.99 and Dial Upstrum $3.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Dial Upstrum holds the better App Store score, 3.7 against 2.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: WebSDR has 27 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 21% of WebSDR's written reviews are positive against 0% of Dial Upstrum's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
| Parameter | WebSDR | Dial Upstrum |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $5.99 | $3.99 — better |
| Rating | 2.4 (27 ratings) | 3.7 (3 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 20.6% of reviews — better | 0.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 27 — better | 3 |
| Update frequency | Every 11 months | — |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 14.5 — better | 18.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 20 MB | 43 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Blue Mangoo Consulting Company Limited | Dave Sapien Ltd. |
Customer experience
WebSDR
Dial Upstrum
In-app purchases
WebSDR
No in-app purchases
Dial Upstrum
No in-app purchases









