RTA vs SW array
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
RTA
Analyze audio frequencies, test speakers, and tune rooms with this professional-grade acoustical analysis tool. It offers octave and 1/3 octave modes, peak hold, and averaging, with automatic microphone compensation for accurate results.
- Real-time acoustical analysis
- Octave and 1/3 Octave modes
- Peak Hold and Average modes
- Automatic microphone compensation
- Save, recall, and export graphs
- Interactive touch GUI
- Noise curve overlays
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A Real Time Analyzer for the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. Test your speakers, tune your room, do acoustical analysis work or just have a better understanding of audio frequencies. RTA is a professional-grade acoustical analysis tool. All filters meet or exceed ANSI and IEC Class 1 specifications. Includes Octave and 1/3 Octave modes, with selectable decay times, as well as Peak Hold and true linear Average mode. *** iOS Microphones We have analyzied every iOS device, including all of the iPads, all iPhones, and iPod touches, and have created microphone compensation files that are applied automatically. You can trust the results you are getting, often within just a few dB of a far more expensive analyzer. Calibration is updated regularly, automatically, from our cloud-based calibration database. Upgrade to our iTestMic or iAudioInterface2 to bring your system up to full professional specs. *** Save and Recall Graphs You can save and recall graphs, marked with the GPS location, date & time, and your comment, as well as store the image to your photo roll. Export the data as an XLS formatted file to your computer for inclusion in reports or further analysis. *** Max and Min Bars You can also turn on resettable Max/Min bars (see image #4) to capture peaks. Double-tap to reset the bars. *** Specifications and Devices The internal iPhone mic has a noise floor near 30 dB, and if your are running iOS 6, clips around 120 dB. *** Touch GUI Fully interactive touch GUI features includes scroll up/down, pinch to zoom or compress the vertical dB scale, or swipe horizontally to get a cursor that reads out the exact dB level and frequency across the screen. To make the cursor disappear, swipe it off the graph to the left. The landscape-mode display flips 180 degrees so that you can face the internal mic in either direction. *** Overlay Curves Also included are optional noise curve overlays, in NCB, RC, PNC, NC, X-Curve and NR mode. See picture #2 for an example. Use this feature to get a quick reading on the noise levels in a room. Also includes the cinema large-room X-curve overlay. *** Calibration RTA can be fully calibrated, whether you are using it with the internal iOS microphone, or one of our professional test & measurement mic solutions. And, if you are using iTestMic, the mic calibration is transmitted directly to the app, so you are always calibrated. *** RTA or FFT? If you are wondering if you should download this app or our FFT app, check out our website, we have a page devoted to this topic. See our other acoustics and audio apps, including AudioTools.
SW array
This tool simplifies calculations for speaker arrangements, offering guidance for various configurations like Cardioide, End Fire, and Arc Delay. It processes data internally without exporting user information, ensuring privacy.
- Cardioide arrangement calculations
- End Fire array configurations
- Straigth array setups
- Arc Delay with coverage angles
- Internal data processing
- No user data export
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O Subwofer Array (SW array) é uma ferramenta para facilitar os cálculos dos arranjos. Usa como referência caixas “omnidirecionais” e indica os dados para auxiliar montagens dos arranjos: -Cardioide (com caixas opostas e caixas em mesma direção) -End Fire (1/4 λ até 4 caixas) -Straigth (2/3 λ 4,6,8,12 caixas) -Arc Delay (Delay/Físico com cobertura aproximada: 15o, 30o, 45o, 60o, 90o, 120o Aviso “O SW array é uma ferramenta para facilitar os cálculos, portanto, não tem o objetivo de ensinar as técnicas e não se responsabiliza por danos aos equipamentos. ” Os dados inseridos no aplicativo são processados internamente. Não há qualquer exportação de informações do usuário ou mesmo dos dados inseridos. Não há acesso externo.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: SW array at 5.0 against RTA's 3.9. SW array also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 61%) and in-app purchases (none vs 2). RTA's advantage is update cadence (every 3 months vs every 88 months) and price ($4.99 vs $8.99). On ads, device support and iOS requirement 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
RTA costs $4.99 and SW array $8.99 up front. RTA sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. SW array asks for nothing beyond the download.
SW array holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: RTA has 26 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 61% of RTA's written reviews are positive against 100% of SW array's.
RTA ships an update every 3 months, SW array every 88 months. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 19, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | RTA | SW array |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $4.99 — better | $8.99 |
| Rating | 3.9 (26 ratings) | 5.0 (2 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 60.7% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 26 — better | 2 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months — better | Every 88 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases — better | Paid |
| Best chart rank | #82 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 15.1 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 29 MB | 29 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Andrew Smith | Ebert Marques |
Customer experience
RTA
SW array
Bugs and requests
RTA
Reported bugs
18 issues- App crashes after iOS updates (iOS 13, 15, 16, 17, 18)
- App freezes or crashes on startup
- App only displays half the screen
- App does not save analysis readings to photo roll
- App stops working on older iPads after updates
Show 13 moreShow fewer
- Accessory found/removed loop with iTestMic 2
- App continues to run in background, draining battery
- Calibration not supported for specific iPad models
- App not installing after purchase/update
- App not opening on iPhone 4 after update
- dB/input level is useless after update
- Screen not expanding after updates
- App not compatible with iOS 7
- App crashes when saving screen
- App not working with iMM-6 microphone
- App overcompensates for low frequencies
- App crashes on 3G S after update
- Low frequency response cut due to voice recognition
Requested features
8 requests- Add German language support
- Add NC and NR curves
- Make background mode optional
- Improve compatibility with newer iOS versions
- Add option to overlay readings
Show 3 moreShow fewer
- Add zoom functionality for frequencies
- Improve calibration for external mics
- Add pink noise output
SW array
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
RTA
- STC -- Transmission Loss$9.99
- Reference Curve Files$9.99
SW array
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is RTA free?
Is SW array free?
Which has better reviews, RTA or SW array?
Do RTA or SW array have ads?
Which is updated more often, RTA or SW array?
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