amscan vs SPL Reference
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
amscan
Visualize room modes in 3D using LiDAR scanning. Capture room geometry to instantly calculate acoustic modes, aiding in sound design and optimization for audiophiles and professionals. Offers free basic calculations with an in-app purchase for advanced modes.
- LiDAR room scanning
- 3D room mode visualization
- Automatic 3D model creation
- Augmented Reality mode visualization
- Basic acoustic data (RT60, Schroeder Freq, Volume)
- Unlimited room scanning
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Acoustics just got easier. Scan your room with LiDAR, then see its room modes, simulate where a speaker could go, and export the geometry for your own simulation work. Part of the growing amcoustics-tools family, built on amroc THE room mode calculator. Capture your room's geometry once, and work from that one scan. It's a game-changer for anyone who has ever used the popular amroc and amroc pro calculators. For whom this app is for: audiophiles, home theater enthusiasts, home studio owners, and professional acousticians who want to see the acoustic behavior of a room in 3D without the hassle. Discuss listening positions, speaker placement, and absorber strategies while seeing the modal behavior of your room. A LiDAR-enabled iPhone or iPad is required to use scanning feature! How it works: 1. Open the app and scan your room with your device's Lidar sensor. 2. The app automatically creates a 3D model. 3. You can calculate the first 5 room modes for free. 4. From there, choose what you want to do with the room: see all relevant modes, run a speaker placement simulation, or export the geometry. 5. Each of those is an in-app purchase, calculated once for that room. What's included: - Free to Download: The app is completely free to install. No upfront charges, no login. Just install and use. - Unlimited Scanning: Scan as many rooms as you like. - 5 Free Room Modes: Instantly calculate and visualize your first five modes for every room you scan. - Basic Acoustic Data: Reverberation time estimate, Schroeder frequency, and room volume. - All Room Modes: Use the in-app purchase to get all relevant modes, up to roughly the Schroeder frequency. Sweep through the frequency range and play the selected mode through your speakers, so you can hear the resonance while you see it. - AR Preview: Place the scanned room and its modal pattern in front of you through the camera, and walk around the model. - Speaker Placement: Set your listening position, and the room is simulated from there. You get a map of how even the response would be at every point in the room, and you can place up to two speaker positions and compare their frequency response curves side by side. - Export Simulation Geometry: Download a low-polygon, closed, watertight and manifold mesh in OBJ, STL, DXF, STEP or DWG. This allows you to perform any type of simulation you desire later, in the software you already use. About the speaker placement: This is a simulation, not a measurement. It is calculated from the geometry we scanned, so it will not match a microphone in your room exactly. Use it to understand how your room behaves at low frequencies. Decide where to start from, then trust your ears. amscan transforms complex acoustic calculations into a simple, visual, and intuitive process. Stop guessing and start designing your sound. Privacy Policy: https://amcoustics.com/privacy Terms and Conditions: https://amcoustics.com/terms
SPL Reference
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Hear your system. See your room. SPL Reference combines sound-level measurement with Room Map, a new way for Hi-Fi enthusiasts to explore how bass changes across a listening room. Measure at several positions and see areas of relatively high and low sound pressure at the selected frequency, helping you investigate uneven bass and make more informed speaker and listening-position choices. EXPLORE YOUR LISTENING ROOM • Create a rectangular room and follow a guided 9- or 12-point survey, or customise your measurement positions. • Explore frequency-selectable heatmaps with 1/12- or 1/3-octave bands. • Use generated bass pink noise through your playback system, or a stable external pink-noise source. • Review individual points, capture-quality notes and a repeat measurement at the reference position. • Save maps in Sessions, organise them in projects and export the survey data. A COMPANION TO ROOM REFERENCE Use SPL Reference alongside the separately available Room Reference app to add measured spatial bass comparisons to your room investigation. We are working to integrate the two apps; direct integration is not included in this release. MEASURE WITH CONTEXT • Live A-, C- and Z-weighted measurements • Fast, Slow and Impulse time responses • LAeq, LAFmax, LCpeak and time-history views • Pause, resume, event markers and integrity evidence • Clear distinction between indicative readings and reference-calibrated chains ANALYSE AND DOCUMENT • 1/1- and 1/3-octave frequency analysis, spectrum and spectrogram history • Statistical exceedance levels from L1 to L99 • Noise-exposure assessment using NIOSH, OSHA and configurable models • Projects, notes, photographs and optional location evidence • Microphone profiles, acoustic calibration records and drift checks • Professional PDF reports for ordinary sound-level measurements Browse the public measurement archive from inside the app. Measurements are never uploaded automatically. START FREE. UPGRADE ONCE. The free tier includes the built-in microphone, five active measurement minutes per calendar month, two saved measurements and one project. Room Map and advanced features require Lifetime Professional Unlock, which removes the free limits with one purchase and no subscription. Room Map is included for existing Lifetime Professional owners. ABOUT YOUR RESULTS Room maps show the combined response of your speakers and room at one microphone height. Colours compare the selected frequency across measured positions. Uncalibrated maps display relative levels in dBFS. Results depend on the microphone, calibration, playback setup and measurement conditions. SPL Reference distinguishes indicative and calibrated workflows and does not claim that an unvalidated device is a certified sound-level meter. Occupational-noise results support assessment and documentation; they do not replace professional judgement or applicable legal requirements.
Screenshots
Verdict
amscan and SPL Reference are too close to call on the numbers: across 6 compared parameters — price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases among them — neither pulls far enough ahead to decide it. What separates them is feature set and interface, not measurable difference.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. amscan sells 2 one-off in-app purchases and SPL Reference sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
amscan ships an update every 11 days, SPL Reference every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 5, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | amscan | SPL Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.3 (6 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 50.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 6 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 11 days — better | Every 2 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 18.6 | 17.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 20 MB | 6 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 17+ |
| Developer | Dariush Majidi | Direct Sound Records Ltd |
In-app purchases
amscan
- Simulation Geometry$3.99
- Additional Room Modes$6.99
SPL Reference
- Lifetime Professional Unlock$39.99
Questions
Is amscan free?
Is SPL Reference free?
Do amscan or SPL Reference have ads?
Which is updated more often, amscan or SPL Reference?
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