Soundwaves vs TraceSonic
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Soundwaves
This app connects your iOS device to your Subsonic music server, allowing you to stream audio and video content. It supports various audio formats and can also play movies, making it ideal for home theater setups or car audio systems.
- Connects to Subsonic music servers
- Streams audio and video content
- Supports FLAC, Opus, Ogg Vorbis
- Plays movies from server
- Works with other Subsonic API servers
- Adjustable max bit rate for limited connections
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Soundwaves is a client for the Subsonic music server. Soundwaves focuses on simplicity, making it the ideal client to connect your iPad or iPhone to your home theater setup. Optionally setting a suitable max bit rate, enables Soundwaves to work well even over a bandwidth limited connection (e.g. a mobile connection). It will also play nicely with your car radio, connected via USB, Bluetooth or CarPlay. In addition to audio formats natively supported by iOS (e.g. mp3, AAC), Soundwaves can also play FLAC, Opus and Ogg Vorbis content. Soundwaves can also play movies from your Subsonic server, as long as they are in a supported format (.mov, .mp4, .mpv, .3gp) or a proper transcoding has been configured on the server. Soundwaves works with other media servers which implement the same Subsonic API's, such as Madsonic, Airsonic, Supysonic, LMS or Ampache. Note about privacy: tracking only happens when using the free, ad-supported version. Removing ads via the in-app purchase also stops tracking and data collection.
TraceSonic
Transform images into unique sounds by drawing on a spectral canvas. This app uses brush strokes and imported images to generate additive synthesis, offering a creative way to craft musical instruments and soundscapes.
- Draw on spectral canvas
- Import images to create sound
- 128 additive oscillators
- Multiple brush types
- Pitch snapping to scales
- MIDI note input
- Save custom patches
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TraceSonic turns pictures into sound. Paint directly on a spectral canvas and hear each mark become part of a playable additive instrument: horizontal position is time, height is pitch, and brightness controls the level of each partial. Start with an empty canvas and draw with solid, soft, textured, tapered, or harmonic brushes. Fill the canvas with generated patterns, or import an image and turn its brightness into sound. Pitch snapping keeps freehand marks on your selected scale. Shape your sound with: • 128 additive oscillators spanning four octaves • Seven classic waveforms and 12 built-in wavetables • Forward, reverse, and ping-pong scanning • Adjustable pass length and tempo-synchronized loops in compatible Audio Unit hosts • MIDI note input for retuning the complete canvas • More than 60 factory patches, including tones, sequences, gestures, textures, drones, and sound effects • User patches that save the canvas and its synthesis settings • Solid, harmonic, soft, textured, and tapered brush families • Undo, redo, erasing, pitch snapping, and scale selection Use TraceSonic as a standalone instrument on iPhone, iPad, and Mac, or load its AUv3 instrument in a compatible host.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: TraceSonic at 5.0 against Soundwaves's 4.1. TraceSonic also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 1) and update cadence (every 9 days vs every 2 months). Soundwaves's advantage is price ($3.99 vs $7.99) and ratings volume (12 vs 1). On ads, monetization model and device support 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
Soundwaves costs $3.99 and TraceSonic $7.99 up front. Soundwaves sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. TraceSonic asks for nothing beyond the download.
TraceSonic holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Soundwaves has 12 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.
Soundwaves ships an update every 2 months, TraceSonic every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on November 9, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Soundwaves | TraceSonic |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $3.99 — better | $7.99 |
| Rating | 4.1 (12 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 60.4% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 12 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 9 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, Mac |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 4 MB | 7 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Simone Tellini | r6 appz |
Customer experience
Soundwaves
TraceSonic
In-app purchases
Soundwaves
- Ads-free Edition$3.99
TraceSonic
No in-app purchases









