Comparison

Synesthesia Synth vs IMPSY

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

Head to head
About

Synesthesia Synth

An experimental audio-visual instrument that allows users to sculpt evolving spatial audio by manipulating floating capsules. Position, rotation, and pulse changes affect tone, texture, and synchronized particle generation. It's a visual synthesizer, not a game.

Highlights
  • Experimental audio-visual instrument
  • Sculpt evolving spatial audio
  • Manipulate floating capsules
  • Control tone, texture, and particles
  • Visual synthesizer
Read full description

Synthaestesia is a free experimental audio-visual instrument. Three capsules float in space. Every contraction produces sound. Move them, rotate them, reshape their pulse — and sculpt evolving spatial audio. Position changes tone. Rotation alters texture. Delay generates synchronized particles. This is not a game. It’s a spatial synth you can see.

About

IMPSY

This app acts as an AI MIDI partner, improvising musical responses to your playing. It can be used as an AUv3 plugin in DAWs or standalone, offering customizable AI models and MIDI mapping.

Highlights
  • AI-powered musical improvisation
  • AUv3 MIDI Processor for DAWs
  • Standalone Core MIDI virtual ports
  • Customizable AI model loading
  • Extensive MIDI mapping options
  • VoiceOver and Dynamic Type support
Features
Read full description

Jam with an AI MIDI partner on iPad and iPhone. IMPSY listens to what you play and improvises musical responses. Load it as an AUv3 MIDI Processor in AUM, AudioBus, Cubasis or Logic Pro for iPad, play it from a USB or Bluetooth controller (or the on-screen faders), and route its output to any instrument app. IMPSY also runs on its own: it appears as Core MIDI virtual ports (IMPSY In / IMPSY Out) and connects directly to a plugged-in controller, so you can play it without a DAW. How it works IMPSY runs a Mixture Density Recurrent Neural Network (MDRNN) on-device. Every note, control change or pitch-bend you send becomes input to the model, which predicts what comes next, including the timing of the response. Shape the conversation with: • Threshold: how long IMPSY waits between your input and its reply • Sigma Temperature: randomness of pitch and control values • Pi Temperature: randomness of which musical "idea" the model picks • Timescale: speeds up or slows down the response • MIDI Thru: passes your own playing through to the output alongside IMPSY's Connect anything • Map each model dimension to any MIDI message (notes, CCs or pitch-bend) on any channel, independently for input and output • Connect a controller directly, or use the always-on IMPSY In / IMPSY Out virtual ports • Import and export your mappings as TOML, compatible with the IMPSY Python toolkit Custom models IMPSY ships with a default 9-dimensional model trained for general musical interaction, but you can load any .tflite model trained with the open-source IMPSY research toolkit: synths, drum machines, lighting rigs, or anything that speaks MIDI. Accessibility IMPSY is built to work with VoiceOver and Dynamic Type. Every control is labelled, the sliders are adjustable by VoiceOver, and status shows as text, not colour alone. Full statement: charlesmartin.au/impsy-auv3/accessibility.html Compatibility • AUv3 MIDI Processor, no audio I/O • Hosts in AUM, AudioBus, Cubasis and Logic Pro for iPad, or any other AUv3 host that supports midi processors. • Also runs standalone with Core MIDI virtual ports and direct device connection • Requires iOS 17 • MIDI stays on-device. No network, no telemetry

Screenshots

Synesthesia Synth2 screens
IMPSY4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Synesthesia Synth at 5.0 against IMPSY's 4.5. Synesthesia Synth also leads on update cadence (every 10 days vs every 4 months). On price, 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

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

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Synesthesia Synth holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2 and 2 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Synesthesia Synth ships an update every 10 days, IMPSY every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on October 3, 2026 and October 17, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 7 level
Synesthesia Synth versus IMPSY: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSynesthesia SynthIMPSY
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (2 ratings) — better4.5 (2 ratings)
Number of ratings22
Update frequencyEvery 10 days — betterEvery 4 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, Mac — better
Requires iOS16.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size141 MB18 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMICHELE ZACCAGNINICharles Martin

In-app purchases

None

Synesthesia Synth

No in-app purchases

None

IMPSY

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Synesthesia Synth free?
Synesthesia Synth is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is IMPSY free?
IMPSY is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Synesthesia Synth or IMPSY?
Synesthesia Synth is rated higher. Synesthesia Synth averages 5.0 out of 5 from 2 ratings, while IMPSY averages 4.5 from 2 ratings.
Do Synesthesia Synth or IMPSY have ads?
Neither Synesthesia Synth nor IMPSY shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Synesthesia Synth or IMPSY?
Synesthesia Synth ships an update every 10 days, and IMPSY every 4 months. Most recently, Synesthesia Synth was updated on October 3, 2026 and IMPSY on October 17, 2026.

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