Ear Training Mandala vs Aether Synth
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Ear Training Mandala
This app offers drone-based interval ear training with real human voices. It features multiple key and mode combinations, two unique visual layouts, and customizable solfege or note name displays. Choose between training and testing modes to master musical intervals.
- Drone-based interval ear training
- Real human voices (male/female)
- Customizable keys and modes
- Two visual perspectives (Fan/Curtain)
- Solfege or note name display
- Training and testing modes
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Have you ever heard a song you really liked, wished you could play it, but got frustrated trying to figure it out? Have you ever been on the outskirts of a jam session wishing you had the know-how and so the confidence to join in? Have you ever had a melody in mind, and wished your fingers could spontaneously conjure it from your instrument? Have you ever wondered what secret formula, what arcane wizardry, what sparkly abracadabra could make the impossible possible? Listen...it's called ear training! Download the app to begin exploring! Ear Training in The Mandala includes: Level 1 (complete)- The Fan & The Curtain (simple intervals) Level 2 (lite) - The Tower (intervals, chords, and connections) Level 3 (lite) - The Moons (chords and chord progressions)
Aether Synth
This music creation app offers a professional synthesizer engine with dual-layer sound design and rhythmic motion. It can be used as a standalone workstation or as an AUv3 instrument within compatible iOS hosts for recording and production.
- AUv3 instrument support
- Standalone synth workstation
- Dual preset layering
- Melodic and drum sequencers
- Sampler tools
- Multitrack audio workspace
- Arpeggiator and motion controls
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Aether Synth is an AUv3 synthesizer, sequencer and sampler for iPhone Duo, iPhone and iPad, built for creating expressive sounds that move. Start with a sound, combine two sounds into something new, introduce motion, build a pattern, capture a sample, or simply play. Aether brings synthesis, sequencing, sampling and performance together in one instrument designed to keep ideas moving. CREATE YOUR OWN SOUND Build rich synth patches for pads, basses, leads, textures, atmospheres and evolving sounds. Aether is designed to make sound creation immediate. Shape a patch directly, explore presets for inspiration, or use Random Sound to discover combinations you might not have reached manually. The result can become a finished sound or the starting point for something completely different. DUAL — TWO SOUNDS BECOME ONE Dual lets you combine two independent sounds into a new composite instrument. Choose a sound for A. Choose another for B. Blend between them and shape the result. The two sides can complement each other, contrast with each other, or create something that neither patch produces alone. Save your favorite Blends and return to them later. MAKE SOUNDS MOVE Aether is built around motion as part of the instrument. Use Motion and Random Motion to animate sound over time and create patches that evolve rather than remain static. Movement can be subtle and organic or become a major rhythmic part of the sound. This makes Aether especially suited to evolving pads, shifting textures, rhythmic sounds and patches that respond like performances rather than snapshots. SEQUENCE IDEAS Turn sounds into patterns with Aether's built-in sequencer. Create melodic and rhythmic phrases, experiment with different rates and musical feels, and develop ideas without leaving the instrument. The arpeggiator provides another immediate way to transform held notes and chords into movement, while tempo synchronization keeps rhythmic material locked to the music. SAMPLING Capture and work with audio directly inside Aether. Use sampling alongside synthesis to bring recorded material into the same creative environment as your patches, patterns and performances. A sample can become part of a larger musical idea instead of living in a separate workflow. PERFORM Aether is designed to be played. Use the keyboard and performance controls to shape sounds in real time, then connect a MIDI controller when you want a more traditional playing experience. Velocity, sustain and expressive controls allow patches to respond dynamically instead of behaving like static presets. DISCOVER INSTEAD OF SEARCHING Sometimes you know exactly what sound you want. Sometimes you don't. Random Sound and Random Motion make exploration part of the workflow. Generate a new direction, keep what works, reshape it, combine it with another sound in Dual, and continue from there. The goal is not randomness for its own sake. It is getting from a blank idea to something musically useful quickly. STANDALONE OR AUV3 Use Aether as a standalone instrument on iPhone and iPad, or load it as an AUv3 instrument inside compatible hosts and DAWs. That means the same sound-design environment can work as an instrument on its own or become part of a larger mobile production setup. BUILT FOR MUSICIANS Aether brings together: • Synthesizer sound design • Dual layered instruments and saved Blends • Motion and evolving sound • Random Sound and Random Motion • Preset exploration • Sequencing • Arpeggiation • Sampling • Performance controls • MIDI • Standalone operation • AUv3 plugin support Whether you're designing an evolving ambient texture, building a bass or lead, creating a rhythmic patch, experimenting with layered sounds, or starting a new musical idea from scratch, Aether is designed to keep the distance between inspiration and sound as short as possible. Create a sound. Make it move. Turn it into music.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Ear Training Mandala at Free against Aether Synth's $0.99. Ear Training Mandala also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 71%) and rating (5.0 vs 4.7). On ratings volume, update cadence, 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
Ear Training Mandala is free to download; Aether Synth costs $0.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Ear Training Mandala holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 9 and 10 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 100% of Ear Training Mandala's written reviews are positive against 71% of Aether Synth's.
Ear Training Mandala ships an update every 4 days, Aether Synth every 5 days. Both last shipped on November 5, 2026.
| Parameter | Ear Training Mandala | Aether Synth |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $0.99 |
| Rating | 5.0 (9 ratings) — better | 4.7 (10 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better | 71.4% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 9 | 10 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 4 days — better | Every 5 days |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 35 MB | 35 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Paul Russell | Jacob Kirk |
Customer experience
Ear Training Mandala
Aether Synth
In-app purchases
Ear Training Mandala
No in-app purchases
Aether Synth
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Ear Training Mandala free?
Is Aether Synth free?
Which has better reviews, Ear Training Mandala or Aether Synth?
Do Ear Training Mandala or Aether Synth have ads?
Which is updated more often, Ear Training Mandala or Aether Synth?
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