Comparison

Magic Switch vs PaulXStretch

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

Head to head
About

Magic Switch

This audio effect plugin provides a lush, one-button chorus inspired by analog synthesizers. It adds dimension and depth to music tracks with a dark, detuned character. A mix slider allows for blending the effect to your preference.

Highlights
  • One-button lush chorus effect
  • Juno-60 analog chorus inspiration
  • Dark and detuned character
  • Adds dimension and depth
  • Mix slider for blending
  • Based on Super VHS plugin's 'Magic' button
Features
Read full description

Since its original release, Baby Audio's Magic Switch has been one of the most popular free plugins on the desktop market. Now it's finally available as an AUv3 plugin. Features: * Lush one-button chorus effect loosely inspired by the Juno-60 analog chorus * Dark and detuned character, perfect for adding dimension and depth to your tracks * Mix slider lets you blend the effect to taste * Based on the "Magic" button in Baby Audio's award-winning Super VHS plugin Note: This is an Audio Unit Effect Plugin (AUv3), which requires a host such as AUM or Audiobus – or a DAW such as GarageBand or Cubasis.

About

PaulXStretch

Transform audio into extended ambient soundscapes with this powerful time-stretching tool. Ideal for sound design and ambient music creation, it can stretch short clips into hours of audio. Capture sounds or load files, then manipulate parameters for radical sonic transformations.

Highlights
  • Extreme time stretching algorithm
  • AUv3 plugin support
  • Radical sound transformation
  • Ambient music and sound design focus
  • Capture audio or load files
  • Offline rendering and live recording
  • Adjustable looping and parameters
Features
Read full description

This application and AUv3 plugin is based on the PaulStretch algorithm, (Paul’s Extreme Time Stretch, originally developed by Nasca Octavian Paul), and specifically the PaulXStretch version from Xenakios. The UI has been updated and adapted for various platforms and screen sizes. The plugin/application is most suitable for radical transformation of sounds. It is *not* designed for subtle time or pitch corrections! Ambient music and sound design are probably the most suitable use cases. It can turn any short audio into an hours long ambient soundscape without batting an eye! You can get audio into it either by using the "Capture" feature, or by loading an existing audio file. Once you have something in there, then you can start tweaking all the parameters, choose the portion of the audio to use and loop over, etc. Be sure to press the play button inside to enable the processing. To get your audio out, you can do an offline render of the output to a file (where all parameters are fixed), or you can do a live recording of your session to capture the output as you hear it. Either way, you can then share or access the saved audio from the Files app or by sharing it. The AUv3 plugin version has the same capabilities, except you can feed it the live input of your choice (to capture internally for stretching). This software is free, please enjoy it!

Screenshots

Magic Switch1 screens
PaulXStretch4 screens

Verdict

The call

Magic Switch and PaulXStretch both sit at 4.8 stars, but that hides the real split: 94% of PaulXStretch's written reviews are positive against 83% of Magic Switch's. PaulXStretch also leads on iOS requirement (9.3 vs 11.0). On price, rating, ratings volume and ads 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Magic Switch against 4.9 for PaulXStretch. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 33 and 75 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 83% of Magic Switch's written reviews are positive against 94% of PaulXStretch's.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Magic Switch versus PaulXStretch: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMagic SwitchPaulXStretch
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (33 ratings)4.9 (75 ratings) — better
Positive reviews83.3% of reviews94.1% of reviews — better
Number of ratings3375 — better
Update frequencyEvery 10 months—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS11.09.3 — better
Further details — not scored
Size10 MB17 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBaby Audio Inc.Sonosaurus LLC

Customer experience

Magic Switch

All ratings33 ratings
Positive97.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative3.0%
Written reviews6 reviews
Positive83.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative16.7%

PaulXStretch

All ratings72 ratings
Positive98.6%
Neutral0.0%
Negative1.4%
Written reviews34 reviews
Positive94.1%
Neutral0.0%
Negative5.9%

In-app purchases

None

Magic Switch

No in-app purchases

None

PaulXStretch

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Magic Switch free?
Magic Switch is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is PaulXStretch free?
PaulXStretch is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Magic Switch or PaulXStretch?
PaulXStretch is rated higher. Magic Switch averages 4.8 out of 5 from 33 ratings, while PaulXStretch averages 4.9 from 75 ratings.
Do Magic Switch or PaulXStretch have ads?
Neither Magic Switch nor PaulXStretch shows ads.

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