PAcalculate vs FFTWave
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
PAcalculate
This app provides 28 calculators and reference information for professional audio sound reinforcement and lighting. It covers acoustics, audio electronics, cabling, and lighting calculations, making it a valuable tool for audio and lighting professionals.
- 28 calculators for pro-audio and lighting
- Acoustics calculations (SPL, air absorption)
- Audio electronics calculations (dBu/dBV, Q/B/W)
- Cabling calculations (speaker cable loss)
- Lighting calculations (DMX, RGB/CMY)
- Reference info (pinouts, graphs)
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28 calculators (47 calculations) for pro-audio sound reinforcement and lighting, as well as reference info and utilities. A super handy tool for people dealing with PA, sound reinforcement, sound systems, electro-acoustics, pro-audio and lighting Acoustics - SPL (sound pressure level) - SPL sum with phase, distance or time difference - Air absorption attenuation for a given humidity, temperature, frequency and distance - Ceiling speaker coverage - Time «» Distance - Audio frequency «» Wavelength (includes lambda/2 and 2*lambda/3 for line arrays or subwoofer arrays) - Transition distance for line arrays (near to far field) - End-fire and broadside array subwoofer modelling Audio electronics - dBu «» dBV «» Volts - Q «» B/W (bandwidth) - Limiter threshold, attack&releases times - Amplifier gain Cabling - Speaker cable: low impedance, high impedance (constant voltage line, 70V/100V). Calculates energy and level loss, system damping factor Lights DMX channel, RGB/RGBW/RGBA and CMY Useful reference info such as pinouts (proaudio and lighting) and graphs Utilities: Inclinometer, Flashlight / light with selectable intermittence (uses camera permission) Latest news from DoctorProAudio.com
FFTWave
Visualize sound from your microphone as a waveform and spectrum analysis. Identify frequency characteristics, detect peaks, and analyze howling with pinch-to-zoom gestures. Ideal for sound adjustment and analysis.
- Microphone waveform display
- Spectrum analysis via Fourier transform
- Frequency characteristic checking
- Peak detection and hold
- Pinch zoom gestures
- Howling analysis
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This app displays the waveform of the sound from the microphone. In addition, it can display a spectrum by Fourier transform. You can check the frequency characteristics of the sound. There are functions of peak detection, peak hold. Supporting the Pinch Zoom Gestures. It help sound adjustment and howling analysis.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: PAcalculate at 5.0 against FFTWave's 4.3. PAcalculate also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 77%) and update cadence (every 4 months vs every 15 months). FFTWave's advantage is iOS requirement (11.0 vs 13.0). 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
PAcalculate holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 7 and 15 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 100% of PAcalculate's written reviews are positive against 77% of FFTWave's.
PAcalculate ships an update every 4 months, FFTWave every 15 months. The most recent releases landed on June 8, 2026 and September 17, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | PAcalculate | FFTWave |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (7 ratings) — better | 4.3 (15 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better | 76.9% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 7 | 15 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months — better | Every 15 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 | 11.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 3 MB | 8 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Jose Brusi | Eisaku Nozu |
Customer experience
PAcalculate
FFTWave
In-app purchases
PAcalculate
No in-app purchases
FFTWave
No in-app purchases
