Music Visualizer vs Retro Spectrum
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Music Visualizer
Transform audio into dynamic music videos with beat-synced visuals and customizable lyrics. Generate original songs from text descriptions and visualize them instantly. Export videos in various formats for social sharing.
- Create music videos from imported audio
- Beat-reactive visual styles
- AI-generated original songs
- Synced and editable lyrics
- Multiple export formats
- Cross-device project syncing
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Turn any song into a music video that moves to every beat. Import your track, pick a visual style, add synced lyrics, and export a video that's ready to share. No song yet? Describe an idea and Tunely's AI creates an original song for you, then turns it into a video too. MAKE A MUSIC VIDEO FROM YOUR AUDIO • Import songs, beats, demos, and voice recordings • Choose from beat-reactive visual styles like Neon Terrain, Spectrum City, Aurora Ribbon, and Star Forge • Visuals respond to the bass, the beat, and the shape of your song as it plays • Lyrics are detected from your track and synced to the music, and you can edit any line • Add your song title and artist name • Export square, widescreen, or vertical videos for any feed, channel, or story CREATE ORIGINAL SONGS WITH AI • Describe any idea, like "a country song about my dog" or "a birthday song for my wife" • Or start from a theme: love, birthday, party, breakup, confidence, diss track, and more • Write your own lyrics, or let AI write them for you • Every new song is ready to visualize the moment it's done ON IPHONE, IPAD, AND MAC Your projects stay in your library, so you can come back, try a new style, and export again anytime. FREE AND PREMIUM Create and export videos for free in 720p with a small Tunely watermark. Tunely Plus adds AI song creation, watermark-free HD export, and lyrics in your exported videos. Tunely Pro adds 4K export and more AI songs each month. SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION Tunely subscriptions automatically renew unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Payment will be charged to your Apple ID account at confirmation of purchase. Manage or cancel your subscription anytime in Settings > Apple ID > Subscriptions. Terms of Use: https://tunely.com/terms Privacy Policy: https://tunely.com/privacy
Retro Spectrum
Transform your phone into a retro audio visualizer for your car or desk. It analyzes sound from your speakers in real-time, displaying dynamic visuals inspired by classic 80s-90s car stereos. Enjoy multiple retro skins and track identification for a unique audio-visual experience.
- Real-time spectrum analyzer
- Retro 80s-90s car stereo style
- Listens via microphone to any speaker source
- Multiple retro skin options
- Now Playing song identification
- Desk mode with clock and date
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Retro Spectrum turns your phone into a retro audio display for your car or your desk. Mount your phone, play music through your speakers, and watch a real-time spectrum analyzer light up in the style of classic 80s–90s car stereos. Built for JDM and neo-classic car fans, and just as good as an always-on visualizer on your desk. NEW: VU METER SKINS Three skins that put VU meters and a spectrum analyzer on one screen. A VU meter follows the overall loudness, while a PEAK meter catches the loudest band instantly—so you can read how the music moves. When a song is recognized, its artwork shows behind the spectrum. • Analog VU — a classic car-stereo display with dot-matrix text, fan-shaped LED VU/PEAK meters, and an amber spectrum • LED Matrix — the whole screen is one LED board, artwork included • Racing HUD — a tachometer-style VU gauge and shift lights, straight out of a racing game MOTION SKINS Skins that don't just react to your music—they travel with it. They estimate the genre from what the mic hears and use song info when available, so no two shows are ever the same. • Rezolution — fly nonstop through a wireframe cyberspace. As the music builds, detail and distant views emerge, and at top speed it hits OVERDRIVE. • Rezonance — cruise an endless foggy highway under a clean white HUD. Pure chill for the long drive home. Motion skins are graphically intensive and may run warm on older devices. HOW IT WORKS Retro Spectrum listens through your device's microphone and analyzes the sound in real time. Because it uses the mic, it reacts to ANY source playing through your speakers—streaming, radio, CD, anything. No cables, no pairing. Important: it responds to sound from SPEAKERS, not headphones or earphones. Point your phone toward the speakers and turn the volume up. RETRO SKINS Switch between display styles inspired by legendary in-dash stereos: • VFD Green — a fluorescent-tube display (included free) • Plasma Orange — spinning-CD deck with artwork and a big clock • JDM Night — KENWOOD-style dual-zone EQ with 7-segment clock • Bubble Grid — synthwave neon grid with a perspective floor • Wireframe LCD — Y2K retro-future tunnel HUD • Gaming RGB — flowing RGB bars with mirror reflections Every skin works in both portrait and landscape. NOW PLAYING See the song that's playing right now. When you use Apple Music, the title, artist, and artwork are read directly from the system for instant accuracy. For any other source, Retro Spectrum identifies the track from the mic using Shazam technology. Double-tap to look up a song on demand. SHARE THE MOMENT Tap the artwork to turn your current skin and song into a share card for Instagram Stories and more. DESK MODE A built-in clock, date, and battery readout make Retro Spectrum a great always-on display for your desk setup—a glowing retro visualizer and clock in one. Choose 24-hour or 12-hour time with AM/PM. PRIVACY Microphone audio is analyzed on your device and is never recorded or saved. Song recognition can be turned off anytime. See our privacy policy for details. FREE + THREE PACKS The app and the VFD Green skin are free. The other skins come in three packs, each a one-time purchase: • Skin Pack #1 — five retro skins • Skin Pack #2 — three VU meter skins • Motion Pack — Rezolution and Rezonance The three packs are sold separately.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Music Visualizer at every 4 days against Retro Spectrum's every 3 weeks. Music Visualizer also leads on device support (3 vs 1). Retro Spectrum's advantage is review sentiment (100% vs 88%) and iOS requirement (16.0 vs 26.4). On price, rating, ratings volume and ads 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
Both are free to download. Music Visualizer sells 8 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and Retro Spectrum sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for Music Visualizer against 4.8 for Retro Spectrum. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 17 and 8 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 88% of Music Visualizer's written reviews are positive against 100% of Retro Spectrum's.
Music Visualizer ships an update every 4 days, Retro Spectrum every 3 weeks. Both last shipped on November 5, 2026.
| Parameter | Music Visualizer | Retro Spectrum |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.9 (17 ratings) — better | 4.8 (8 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 87.5% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 17 — better | 8 |
| Update frequency | Every 4 days — better | Every 3 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 26.4 | 16.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 37 MB | 5 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | William Richards | TAKUMA FUJITSUKA |
Customer experience
Music Visualizer
Retro Spectrum
In-app purchases
Music Visualizer
- Tunely Supporter Monthly$4.991 Month
- Tunely Plus7 Days trial$14.991 Month
- Tunely Pro7 Days trial$24.991 Month
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- Tunely Supporter Yearly$39.991 Year
- Plus Yearly7 Days trial$149.991 Year
- Pro Yearly7 Days trial$249.991 Year
- 20 Custom Songs$8.99
- 50 Custom Songs$19.99
Retro Spectrum
- Skin Pack$1.99
- Motion Pack$2.99
Questions
Is Music Visualizer free?
Is Retro Spectrum free?
Which has better reviews, Music Visualizer or Retro Spectrum?
Do Music Visualizer or Retro Spectrum have ads?
Which is updated more often, Music Visualizer or Retro Spectrum?
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