Comparison

volumeCTRL vs AU Studio

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

Head to head
About

volumeCTRL

Gain precise control over your device's audio levels with this utility app. Adjust volume by percentage or dBFS, fine-tune with incremental steps, and temporarily dim or mute sound. Ideal for music, podcasts, and late-night media consumption.

Highlights
  • Precise volume adjustment by percentage or dBFS
  • Keypad for exact value input
  • Fine-tune volume with customizable step sizes
  • Temporary dim and mute functions
  • Seamless integration with device volume controls
  • Universal app for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch
Read full description

volumeCTRL is a simple utility that works alongside your iPhone/iPad’s built-in volume controls to give you precise control over its level. It is designed for anyone who needs or wants tighter, repeatable control over volume level. volumeCTRL lets you set the volume level using either Percent or dBFS (decibels from Full Scale). You can key in exact values with a handy on-screen keypad. Fine tune your setting using buttons which change the value in small steps. Dim or Mute the sound when you get interrupted temporarily. volumeCTRL is the perfect iPad Split View or Slide Over companion for listening to music, audiobooks, or podcasts. Use it with your favorite music app, such as Apple Music, Spotify, Qobuz, TIDAL Music, or Pandora. With volumeCTRL, you can get your late night listening level just right when you stream movies or TV shows while everything else is quiet. If you're picky about exactly how loud your device audio is, volumeCTRL is the right app for you. FEATURES - volumeCTRL lets you set your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch volume precisely + New Favorite Volume options let you set preferred volumes for various listening cases - Selectable Units: Percent (%) or Decibels from Full Scale (dBFS) - Virtual Keypad allows you to key in exact values - Volume Up/Down Buttons let you change the volume in fine-grained 0.5 % or about 0.5 dB steps + New in Version 1.1 You can customize the step size - Dim and Mute Buttons let you temporarily lower the volume and easily get back to your previous level - Dim lowers the volume by a fixed amount (Customizable, Default: 18 dB) Super handy for quieting down loud commercials! - Mute silences the audio completely - volumeCTRL peacefully coexists with the device’s built-in volume controls — use either and the other follows seamlessly - Supports both Dark and Light Mode Appearances - Supports Hardware Keyboards connected to iPads - volumeCTRL is a Universal App - it works on iPad, iPhone, & iPod touch - User Guide embedded in App - no internet connection required to read it - auDSPr strives to design Apps for Everyone - Languages: All auDSPr audio apps support for 简体中文, Español, русский, 日本語, Français, Deutsch, Svenska, Latviešu - Accessibility Features - VoiceOver screen reader support assists visually impaired users APPLICATIONS - Setting impactful yet safe listening levels when using headphones or in-ear monitors - Setting repeatable reference volumes for studio control rooms or audiophile listening rooms - Setting precise levels for hearing aid intelligibility SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS - BUYER BEWARE: Some Bluetooth devices have coarse volume implementations (see picture above). The coarse hardware volume defeats volumeCTRL’s fine software volume setting and prevents performance from behaving optimally! - volumeCTRL is verified to work beautifully with Apple AirPods - Compatible with iOS 11.0 & up (iPhone 5S, iPhone SE (1st Generation), iPod touch (6th Generation) & up) - Compatible with iPadOS 11.0 & up (iPad (5th Generation), iPad Pro (1st Generation), iPad Air (1st Generation), iPad mini 2,& up)

About

AU Studio

This app acts as a dedicated host for Audio Unit extensions, allowing musicians and developers to inspect, audition, and test installed audio plugins. It provides detailed information about each unit's capabilities and behavior without requiring a full digital audio workstation.

Highlights
  • Scan and catalog installed Audio Units
  • Filter plugins by developer, type, and status
  • Load AUv3 interfaces or use detailed inspector
  • Inspect registry identity, MIDI support, and parameters
  • Route CoreMIDI sources and audition audio effects
  • Monitor runtime CPU and memory usage
  • Built-in manual for guidance
Read full description

AU Studio is a focused Audio Unit host, not a DAW. Open the plug-ins you already own, hear them in seconds, and see exactly what they expose. Made for musicians, sound designers, and Audio Unit developers who need a fast, honest test bench. No session to build, no tracks to arm. Pick a unit from your catalog and its interface opens in a panel of its own, named and sized to the plug-in, with your host controls in a bar above it. Key features: - Scan the instruments, effects, music effects, generators, and MIDI processors already installed on your device: AUv3 on iPhone, iPad, and Apple Vision Pro, plus AUv2 on Mac. - Filter by developer, type, or search text, and hide Apple built-ins to focus on third-party gear. - Open a plug-in's own interface when it ships one, and fall back to a metadata view when it doesn't, with the full inspector always one tap away. - Inspect identity, four-character codes, version, sandbox and cached validation status, MIDI support, busses, parameters, presets, latency, and tail time. - Step through factory presets, then save your own working state without leaving the interface. - Play instruments from the floating MIDI keyboard: notes, pitch bend, mod wheel, auto, mono or poly voicing, a shiftable range, and one-tap panic for stuck notes. Your hardware controller lights up the on-screen keys as you play. - Run a guitar, a microphone, or any channel of your interface through a loaded effect. Pick the device, pick mono or stereo, pick the channels. - Load a track into the floating media player, scrub the waveform, loop a section, and play along with your live input at the same time. - Check a signal path in seconds with the built-in test tone. - Route external CoreMIDI sources in, and send generated MIDI back out to a CoreMIDI destination. - Test MIDI 2 units with automatic, MIDI 1, or MIDI 2 protocol selection: high-resolution notes, registered and per-note controllers, per-note pitch bend, discovered MIDI-CI Profiles, and a monitor showing raw or decoded MIDI going in and coming out. - Choose your output device on Mac, and set sample rate, buffer size, and which MIDI sources are enabled. - Keep host-process CPU and memory in view while you work. - Open unfamiliar plug-ins with less risk. AU Studio asks first when the system does not mark a unit sandbox-safe, and a peak limiter sits across the host output. - Read the built-in manual, fully searchable: discovery, routing, presets, hardware input, floating tools, troubleshooting, and developer notes. What AU Studio is: A focused host for discovering, opening, auditioning, and inspecting the Audio Units already on your device. It answers the practical questions: Is the unit visible? Does it load? Does it have an interface? What busses, parameters, presets, and MIDI capabilities does it expose? Does MIDI reach it? Does audio pass through it? What AU Studio is not: It is not a DAW. No multitrack recording, clip launching, timeline arrangement, piano-roll sequencing, MIDI learn, automation lanes, song export, or mastering tools. AU Studio ships no Audio Unit of its own — no instrument, no effect, no DSP engine. It hosts the units other apps provide and wraps them in host-owned routing, auditioning, and inspection. Discovery uses the system Audio Unit registry. If a provider app is not installed, not enabled, or not visible to the platform, AU Studio cannot invent it. Interface behavior, presets, parameter meaning, MIDI mapping, and DSP results belong to each Audio Unit.

Screenshots

volumeCTRL3 screens
AU Studio4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: AU Studio at 4.5 against volumeCTRL's 3.2. AU Studio also leads on update cadence (monthly vs every 9 months). volumeCTRL's advantage is price ($4.99 vs $9.99) and iOS requirement (11.0 vs 17.0). On review sentiment, ratings volume, ads and in-app purchases 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

volumeCTRL costs $4.99 and AU Studio $9.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

AU Studio holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 3.2. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 9 and 4 respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 50% and 50% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

volumeCTRL ships an update every 9 months, AU Studio monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 5, 2026 and October 1, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
volumeCTRL versus AU Studio: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParametervolumeCTRLAU Studio
Price$4.99 — better$9.99
Rating3.2 (9 ratings)4.5 (4 ratings) — better
Positive reviews50.0% of reviews50.0% of reviews
Number of ratings9 — better4
Update frequencyEvery 9 monthsMonthly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, Mac, Vision Pro — better
Requires iOS11.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size22 MB7 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperauDSPrChristian Thompson

Customer experience

volumeCTRL

All ratings9 ratings
Positive55.6%
Neutral0.0%
Negative44.4%
Written reviews12 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral8.3%
Negative41.7%

AU Studio

All ratings4 ratings
Positive75.0%
Neutral25.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral50.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

volumeCTRL

No in-app purchases

None

AU Studio

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is volumeCTRL free?
volumeCTRL costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is AU Studio free?
AU Studio costs $9.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, volumeCTRL or AU Studio?
AU Studio is rated higher. volumeCTRL averages 3.2 out of 5 from 9 ratings, while AU Studio averages 4.5 from 4 ratings.
Do volumeCTRL or AU Studio have ads?
Neither volumeCTRL nor AU Studio shows ads.
Which is updated more often, volumeCTRL or AU Studio?
volumeCTRL ships an update every 9 months, and AU Studio monthly. Most recently, volumeCTRL was updated on October 5, 2026 and AU Studio on October 1, 2026.

Other comparisons