Comparison

Drum vs KQ Audio Player

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

Head to head
About

Drum

This app recreates the distinctive sound of early 1980s electronic drum modules combined with sampled real cymbal sounds. It offers a virtual analog engine for drum synthesis and a separate engine for realistic cymbal playback, providing a unique sonic palette for music production.

Highlights
  • Virtual analog engine for 80s drum sounds
  • Sampled real cymbal sounds
  • Dual sound engines for drums and cymbals
  • Multiple output options
  • Built-in effects (limiter, delay, reverb)
  • Unlimited program storage
Features
Read full description

Please note: 1) This App comes with an AUv3 plugin extension. 2) To play the cymbal samples, a separate download (free, in-app) of ~180 MB is required. The App also works without the cymbal samples. INSTRUMENT BACKGROUND We all know and use electronic drums today, but at the beginning of the 80's the first electronic drums were a real novelty that revolutionized not only the sound of music of those years, but also the workflow in the recording studio. Many producers preferred to record the sound of electronic drums rather than acoustic drums because it saved time and money, avoiding having to mount microphones, find the right positions, spend hours equalizing and correcting the recorded material. With an electronic drum set it was quicker: it was enough to connect the cables and maybe find the right sound for the song, which was a perfect scenario especially for many low-cost productions, for example those of pop music. The first electronic drums were completely analog, they generated the sounds of the drums using only a few elements such as an oscillator and a white noise generator, plus a couple of envelopes and a filter. The sound wasn't exactly realistic but it was peculiar, and perfect for creating certain sounds never heard before. The downside was that electronic drums could only generate the sound of drums but not cymbals. For this reason, the sound of real cymbals was recorded alongside the sound of electronic drums. This kind of setup was also used live quite often. It was common to see a drummer on stage playing the typical hexagonal pads but combined with a set of real cymbals. GSi Drum-80 reproduces that exact scenario. It contains two separate sound engines that can play at the same time. One engine recreates the sounds of the famous electronic drum module known as the Simmons SDS-V (very similar to the later SDS-8 model); at the same time, the exclusive GSi WLF Engine plays a multi-sample of real cymbals recorded exclusively for Drum-80. Main features - Virtual Analog Engine based on the famous SDS-V drum module - Optional VCO phase reset - Supports multiple outputs (one stereo mix, six individual drum synth channels, one stereo channel for Cymbals) - Sampled Cymbal sounds (Hi-Hat, Ride, 4 Crashes, 3 Splashes) provided by the exclusive GSi WLF Engine - Full Polyphony - Separate section with adjustments for Cymbal sounds (tuning, leveling and EQ) - Stereo 1176-Style Limiter - Stereo Delay effect - Stereo Reverb effect - Built-in programmer with unlimited Programs - Embedded user's manual - Available as Stand-alone application and audio plugin (AUv3 for iPad) - Very low CPU and RAM usage Visit home page for audio and video demos.

About

KQ Audio Player

A music player designed for practice and everyday listening. Offers advanced playback controls like speed and pitch adjustment, along with library management and custom settings for individual tracks. Supports various audio file formats.

Highlights
  • Music playback
  • Library folders
  • Playlist creation
  • Playback speed control
  • Pitch adjustment
  • Marker Function
  • A-B Repeat Between Markers
  • Equalizer function
Features
Read full description

KQ Audio Player is a simple yet feature-rich music player, designed to provide greater comfort in your music life. The app is also good for practice. You can change the playback rate and pitch. How about using this app as your everyday music player? Key Features - Music playback: Enjoy smooth and seamless playback of your favorite songs - Shake to change the playback speed. - Library folders: You can freely specify folders for song libraries. - Playlist creation: Easily create and manage your own playlists - Playback speed control: Adjust the tempo of tracks as needed - Pitch adjustment (Available when not using the system default engine) - Marker Function: Set markers at any point in a track (Available when not using the system default engine) - A-B Repeat Between Markers (Available when not using the system default engine) - Equalizer function (Available when not using the system default engine) - Play Audio Files: Supports playback of .m4a, .mp3, .flac, .wav, .mid files (Available when not using the system default engine). - MIDI file playback (Available when not using the system default engine) - Single-track playback mode: Automatically stops after playing one song - Per-song custom settings: Save individual equalizer and playback speed settings (Globe/3-Sliders Icon) - The volume in this app is independent from the device's volume (Only when not using the system default engine) - Hi-res support: Up to 192kHz (Only when not using the system default engine) Settings: - Playback Rate - Pitch Adjustment* - Repeat Mode - Volume (Independent from Device Settings*) - Song Libraries* (Specify folders) - Equalizer* - Motion* - Reduce Stereo Width* - Time Interval between Songs* - Start Delay* - Sample Rate* - Ping before Playing* - Keep Audio Session Active* - Prevent Sleep - Skip Time - Sort Order - Show Wave View* - Use File Name as Title* - Detect Infinite Loop* (for MIDI files) - Use System Engine *Available when not using system engine. Important Notes - Using the system default engine allows playback of DRM-protected and online music, but some features will be restricted. By default, the system engine is disabled. - Changing the playback speed, changing the pitch, using the equalizer, or MIDI file playback will increase battery consumption. - Settings cannot be fully restored from backups, and exporting playlists to other devices is not supported. I recommend that you use the system music app's playlists. This app and its description contain automatically generated text. This app does not contain any songs.

Screenshots

Drum3 screens
KQ Audio Player3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: KQ Audio Player at $4.99 against Drum's $14.99. KQ Audio Player also leads on update cadence (every 5 days vs every 7 months) and review sentiment (100% vs 80%). Drum's advantage is ratings volume (5 vs 1) and iOS requirement (11.0 vs 17). 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Drum costs $14.99 and KQ Audio Player $4.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

KQ Audio Player holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Drum has 5 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 80% of Drum's written reviews are positive against 100% of KQ Audio Player's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Drum ships an update every 7 months, KQ Audio Player every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 12, 2026 and October 4, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Drum versus KQ Audio Player: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDrumKQ Audio Player
Price$14.99$4.99 — better
Rating4.8 (5 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews80.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings5 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 7 monthsEvery 5 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS11.0 — better17
Further details — not scored
Size7 MB16 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperGenuine SoundwareRyouta Kira

Customer experience

Drum

All ratings5 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews5 reviews
Positive80.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative20.0%

KQ Audio Player

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Drum

No in-app purchases

None

KQ Audio Player

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Drum free?
Drum costs $14.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is KQ Audio Player free?
KQ Audio Player costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Drum or KQ Audio Player?
KQ Audio Player is rated higher. Drum averages 4.8 out of 5 from 5 ratings, while KQ Audio Player averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Drum or KQ Audio Player have ads?
Neither Drum nor KQ Audio Player shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Drum or KQ Audio Player?
Drum ships an update every 7 months, and KQ Audio Player every 5 days. Most recently, Drum was updated on October 12, 2026 and KQ Audio Player on October 4, 2026.

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