ab vortEx X vs AuTranspose
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
ab vortEx X
This app is a stereo-only abstract spacetime designer for creating unique reverberations. It functions as an AUv3 plugin for compatible iOS hosts or as a standalone application, offering control over sound reflection spread.
- Stereo-only spatial audio algorithms
- AUv3 plugin compatibility
- Standalone application mode
- Touch screen interface
- Control over sound reflection spread
- Space, Time, Viscosity, Volumes controls
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'ab vortEx X' for iOS is a 'Light', stereo-only version of 'ab vortEx', an abstract spacetime designer for creating infinite variations of reverberations using our Spatial Audio algorithms under the hood. 'ab vortEx' for iOS comes as an AUv3 Plugin and is compatible with any iOS host that supports AUv3 (e.g. Garageband). The plugin contains a minimalist interface, compatible with Touch Screens - as you move through the screen, you can control how the algorithm works and how the reflections of the sound spread through time and space. 'ab Vortex X' also works as a stand-alone application (make sure you wear headphones or use a soundcard). 'ab vortEx X' supports Stereo signals and contains the most critical controls of 'ab Vortex' (Space, Time, Viscosity and Volumes) for providing quick ways to manipulate your sound.ab vortEx' for iOS works with Mono and Stereo signals.
AuTranspose
This utility plugin allows for simple pitch-shifting and detuning of audio. It offers a range of +/- one octave in semitones and +/- 100 cents detune. Note that it introduces audio latency, making it unsuitable for real-time performance where timing is critical.
- Pitch shifting +/- one octave
- Detune +/- 100 cents
- AUv3 effects plugin
- Standalone or host compatible
- Latency reporting on UI
- Simple and easy to use
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AuTranspose is a simple pitch-shifting / transpose utility plugin with a range of +/- one octave in semitones, and a +/- 100 cents detune (semitone up or down). Please note that AuTranspose has audio latency (see the PLEASE READ section below) so it is not really suitable for realtime pitch shifting in situations where timing is critical - for example, shifting the pitch of an instrument as you play it or syncing multiple tracks in a live performance. AuTranspose is an AUv3 effects plugin that can run standalone, or in any AUv3 compatible host such as Logic Pro, GarageBand or AUM. AuTranspose currently runs on iPadOS / iOS (iPad & iPhone) and macOS (Intel & Silicon) and is available as a Universal Purchase from the Apple App Store. If you’re planning on using AuTranspose on Mac / desktop, please ensure that your favourite DAW / host supports AUv3 (not just AU). PLEASE READ THIS SECTION CAREFULLY! AuTranspose uses a pitch shifting technique that adds latency (delay) to the processed audio. Please note that this is unrelated to your audio interface buffer size or sample rate. The quality of the pitch conversion is a compromise between low latency or decent quality results - unfortunately, you can’t have both. AuTranspose can get as low as around 25ms latency which is just about good enough for a guitar octaver type application, but will probably sound a bit “wobbly” / “lo-fi” on more general audio. If you’re interested in a more guitar-centric octaver, please check out OttavaBassa which uses similar DSP, but tuned for guitar. AuTranspose does not report its latency to the host! This is by design. Instead, the current latency is shown on the UI in samples (and ms) so you can decide yourself if you need to compensate for it - for example, when remixing projects and you need to re-sync tracks that aren’t going through AuTranspose. So what is it for, and why did I make it? In my own search for a simple pitch shifter, I found that the really simple ones didn’t sound so good, and the ones that did produce good results were fairly complicated and / or CPU intensive. So I tried to make something that was very simple to use, that produced reasonable results. When might AuTranspose be useful? Backing tracks: You might want to transpose up or down by a semitone or two to put the song in a more comfortable key to sing, or perhaps you tune your guitar to Eb. In these situations, you could probably transpose the whole track up or down and it’ll still sound OK. The only other thing to keep in mind is that the playback of the track will be delayed by the latency so as long as the backing track doesn’t have to sync with anything else, you should be fine. Remixing recorded projects: Perhaps you have a project that’s audio only and you’ve decided it needs to be in a different key. You could use AuTranspose to pitch-shift the tracks or stems that need to be in key, but leave the percussion tracks as they are. You can then add a sample length delay (*) to these tracks so that everything plays in sync. For convenience AuTranspose reports the number of samples to adjust by. And of course, you could simply use AuTranspose as an effect in itself, for example as a “Lo-Fi” pitch shifter for a retro vibe. There are a few examples in the factory presets to get you started. (*) In cases where you need to compensate for latency on tracks that aren’t using AuTranspose, add a sample delay plugin to those tracks and set the number of samples to what’s reported on the AuTranspose UI. There are several sample delay plugins available, although many of the free ones (Apple’s included) don’t go that high. By the time you read this, MicroLag should be available which supports longer delay times.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: AuTranspose at $2.99 against ab vortEx X's $12.99. AuTranspose also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.6) and review sentiment (100% vs 88%). ab vortEx X's advantage is ratings volume (8 vs 1) and iOS requirement (11 vs 13.0). 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
ab vortEx X costs $12.99 and AuTranspose $2.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
AuTranspose holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: ab vortEx X has 8 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 88% of ab vortEx X's written reviews are positive against 100% of AuTranspose's.
| Parameter | ab vortEx X | AuTranspose |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $12.99 | $2.99 — better |
| Rating | 4.6 (8 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 87.5% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 8 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | — |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better |
| Requires iOS | 11 — better | 13.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 7 MB | 18 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Alejandro Cabrera Zuniga | Rob Jackson |
Customer experience
ab vortEx X
AuTranspose
In-app purchases
ab vortEx X
No in-app purchases
AuTranspose
No in-app purchases









