Comparison

Pixound vs SGA Phoenix

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

Head to head
About

Pixound

Transform any image into a musical instrument and create unique songs. Explore a deep musical experience with extensive controls, over 127 instruments, and various scales. It's a fun and educational tool for all ages, allowing you to play live video and record your performances.

Highlights
  • Turn any picture into music
  • Play live video as an instrument
  • Record performances with touch playback
  • Over 65 scales and modes
  • 127+ instruments for four voices
  • Save and share creations
  • MIDI export
Features
Read full description

"Pixound Turns Photos into Musical Instruments, and It’s Better Than You Think" — Gizmodo "Pixound is a trippy music app for iOS that allows users to turn any snap into a song." — MTV Hive Enjoyed by top musical artists including: Herbie Hancock, David Byrne (Talking Heads), Mark Mothersbaugh (DEVO), Michael Shrieve (Santana) and many more. Have you ever jammed on Saturn's Rings with a whammy bar? Have you ever played the rainbow? What about you're dog's nose? What does it sound like? How about creating your own music just by dancing? With Pixound you can do all this and much more! Pixound is a revolutionary form of musical entertainment! Pixound provides a deep musical experience that lets YOU instantly create music using any picture. It's pure fun to play (at any age) and deep because it can be used to play music like you've never heard before. It's so much fun that artist Peter Max bought an iPhone just to have Pixound! Since there is no limit to what pictures you can play from art and graphics to photos and they can be combined with thousands of different musical settings, there is no limit to the music you can create and enjoy. You owe it to yourself to try Pixound!!! By the way, you will learn a lot about music just playing with Pixound so it's also an educational tool, sometimes referred to as a Deep Toy. Features: • Play any picture from snaps to outer space to art masterpieces • Play Live Video (in-app purchase) so that reality becomes a musical instrument • Record audio or use effects processors via Audiobus 2.1 or Inter-app Audio • Record performances including where you touched in the photo that plays back for others to see. • Play in any key or scale (over 65 scales/modes) • Add Bass and Drums from lots of choices • Tons of musical controls to create a huge variety of great music • Select from many different autoplay styles including device tilt • Add harmony voices • Add Song Progressions from basic to classical and more • Select from over 127 instruments for four voices R, B, G and bass • Import samples using AudioShare™ • Save your own settings to Banks and share with others via community or email • Built-in Reverb • Save MIDI files and go direct out to MIDI synthesizers (in-app purchase) • Access and share your creations with the Pixound Community

About

SGA Phoenix

This app provides authentic analog preamp sounds for music production. It simulates various triode and JFET circuits in real-time to add warmth, color, and depth to mixes and masters. EQ can be adjusted before or after the preamp, with auto gain and oversampling for professional results.

Highlights
  • Authentic analog sound simulation
  • Triode and JFET preamp models
  • Adjustable EQ placement
  • Auto Gain control
  • Automatic oversampling
  • Wet/Dry mixing
Read full description

SGA Phoenix brings the authentic sound of five analog preamps to your AUv3 compatible host. Each preamp derives its unique sonic character from a different active element (12AX7, 12AT7, and 12AU7 triodes, and J201 and 2N5457 JFET transistors). To achieve the most authentic analog sound, each preamp circuit is simulated in real time using Shattered Glass Audio’s state-of-the-art circuit simulator. Use Phoenix to add color, warmth, dirt, depth, and vibe to your mixes and masters or as a saturation compressor. Key features: - Authentic analog sound through real-time high-performance circuit simulation. - Three preamps featuring triodes 12AX7, 12AT7, and 12AU7. - Two preamps featuring JFET transistors J201, 2N5457. - Multiple types of EQs. - EQ can be taken out of the signal path or placed either before or after the preamp. - Auto Gain - Automatic 4x oversampling to control aliasing - Wet/Dry mixing. Phoenix is primarily an AUv3 effect. To use Phoenix as a plug-in, you will need an AUv3 compatible host such as Garageband, AUM, etc. Phoenix application is there to provide a user manual and a chance to use Phoenix with the microphone input. You can try Phoenix on a macOS or a Windows based, machine by downloading the demo version of the plug-in (VST3, AUv2, AAX) from our website https://www.shatteredglassaudio.com and running it in a DAW of your choice. Sonically speaking there are no differences between the iOS and macOS/Windows versions of Phoenix.

Screenshots

Pixound4 screens
SGA Phoenix2 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Pixound at $0.99 against SGA Phoenix's $24.99. Pixound also leads on update cadence (monthly vs every 14 months). SGA Phoenix's advantage is rating (5.0 vs 4.1) and in-app purchases (none vs 2). On ratings volume, ads, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Pixound costs $0.99 and SGA Phoenix $24.99 up front. Pixound sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. SGA Phoenix asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

SGA Phoenix holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.1. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 8 and 4 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Pixound ships an update monthly, SGA Phoenix every 14 months. The most recent releases landed on August 12, 2026 and September 9, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Pixound versus SGA Phoenix: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPixoundSGA Phoenix
Price$0.99 — better$24.99
Rating4.1 (8 ratings)5.0 (4 ratings) — better
Positive reviews72.2% of reviews—
Number of ratings8 — better4
Update frequencyMonthly — betterEvery 14 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationPaidPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.6 — better15.8
Further details — not scored
Size1.1 GB5 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTechné MediaShattered Glass Audio

Customer experience

Pixound

All ratings8 ratings
Positive75.0%
Neutral12.5%
Negative12.5%
Written reviews18 reviews
Positive72.2%
Neutral0.0%
Negative27.8%

SGA Phoenix

All ratings4 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Pixound

One-time2
  • Pixound Live Video$1.99
  • Pixound MIDI Features$2.99
None

SGA Phoenix

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Pixound free?
Pixound costs $0.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is SGA Phoenix free?
SGA Phoenix costs $24.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Pixound or SGA Phoenix?
SGA Phoenix is rated higher. Pixound averages 4.1 out of 5 from 8 ratings, while SGA Phoenix averages 5.0 from 4 ratings.
Do Pixound or SGA Phoenix have ads?
Neither Pixound nor SGA Phoenix shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Pixound or SGA Phoenix?
Pixound ships an update monthly, and SGA Phoenix every 14 months. Most recently, Pixound was updated on August 12, 2026 and SGA Phoenix on September 9, 2026.

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