Comparison

Mac Tools vs Impulso

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

Head to head
About

Mac Tools

This utility transforms your smartphone into a sound and vibration detection tool. It assists technicians in pinpointing issues in vehicles and machinery by analyzing rattles, squeaks, and grinding noises. Requires specialized hardware to function.

Highlights
  • Sound and vibration detection
  • Locates defective or worn parts
  • User-friendly interface
  • Analog and digital display options
  • Adjustable sound settings
  • Informative user guide
Features
Read full description

The Mac Tools SmartEAR1 Sound & Vibration Detection app was developed to help assist the service technician in locating and finding defective or worn parts in automobiles, heavy machinery or industrial equipment where vibration, rattles, squeaks and grinding sounds would be associated making the task very difficult or impossible to diagnose. When used with our specially designed hardware kits your smartphone will be transformed into a state of the art Sound & Vibration Detection Technicians Tool allowing for ease of locating and finding those troubled areas. NOTE: Additional hardware is required to use this app. For information on how to purchase hardware please contact your local Mac Tools Distributor or call 1-800-MAC-TOOLS Features: User friendly interface and intuitive operation. Sound level reading displays average, peak and real-time values. Sound level readings are displayed in either Analog or Digital. Analog and Digital readings have 2 display panels the user can choose from. Analog Meter or Analog Wave-Form. Digital Numeric or Digital Bar Graph. Background sound off-setting, sample rates, decibel off-setting can be manually be set. Reset/Refresh buttons reset/refresh values to default settings. Sound Level Reading Sampling Rate Decibel Off-set Master Volume Control User information guide includes informative facts about sound perception and permissible noise level exposure as well as a sound level comparison reference chart. Additional Information: Required: Any iOS device running iOS5.0+. Recommended: iPhone 4 and newer/ iPod Touch 4 and newer. Compatible: iPad 2 and newer.

About

Impulso

Measure your room's acoustic response and simulate improvements with acoustic products. Visualize reverberation time and optimize room acoustics for different room types. Supports internal or external microphones and impulse sources.

Highlights
  • Acoustic response measurement
  • Reverberation time visualization
  • Acoustic product simulation
  • Room dimension input
  • Room type optimization
  • Internal/external microphone support
Read full description

Impulso Lite allows you to measure the acoustic response of your room using your iPhone. You can visualize the measured reverberation time (RT) in octave bands and then simulate how the acoustic response of your room will be improved when adding artnovion acoustic products. You can enter room dimensions and select the type of room you are designing for. The app will then tell if your room meets the expected RT and you can select products to optimize the response accordingly. Impulso Lite allows you to take a measurement with an internally generated signal if you are able to play it via a loudspeaker system, or using an external impulse source, such as a balloon, if you don’t. Compatible with built-in or external microphones. Check out Impulso Pro for detailed plots of energy time curves, to check for undesirable reflections, a frequency plot, which you can zoom in and a table with the acoustic parameters of your measurements such as C80, D50, STI and Bass Ratio. Impulso Pro also adds tramlines to the RT plot so you can fully optimize the response to meet the criteria for the room type selected. You can also display the spectral response of the microphone input using the new Real Time Analyzer. Check more at www.artnovion.com

Screenshots

Mac Tools4 screens
Impulso2 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Mac Tools at 2.3 against Impulso's 1.7. Mac Tools also leads on review sentiment (50% vs 12%). Impulso's advantage is update cadence (every 3 months vs every 22 months) and ratings volume (15 vs 3). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Mac Tools holds the better App Store score, 2.3 against 1.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Impulso has 15 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 50% of Mac Tools's written reviews are positive against 12% of Impulso's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Mac Tools ships an update every 22 months, Impulso every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on September 11, 2026 and September 21, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Mac Tools versus Impulso: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMac ToolsImpulso
PriceFreeFree
Rating2.3 (3 ratings) — better1.7 (15 ratings)
Positive reviews50.0% of reviews — better11.5% of reviews
Number of ratings315 — better
Update frequencyEvery 22 monthsEvery 3 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.012.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size12 MB24 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperJS Products, Inc.Artnovion LDA

Customer experience

Mac Tools

All ratings3 ratings
Positive33.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative66.7%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%

Impulso

All ratings15 ratings
Positive13.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative86.7%
Written reviews26 reviews
Positive11.5%
Neutral11.5%
Negative76.9%

In-app purchases

None

Mac Tools

No in-app purchases

None

Impulso

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Mac Tools free?
Mac Tools is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Impulso free?
Impulso is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Mac Tools or Impulso?
Mac Tools is rated higher. Mac Tools averages 2.3 out of 5 from 3 ratings, while Impulso averages 1.7 from 15 ratings.
Do Mac Tools or Impulso have ads?
Neither Mac Tools nor Impulso shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Mac Tools or Impulso?
Mac Tools ships an update every 22 months, and Impulso every 3 months. Most recently, Mac Tools was updated on September 11, 2026 and Impulso on September 21, 2026.

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