Land Waves vs Virtual ANS 3
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Land Waves
This app generates sound waves from a 1D reaction-diffusion system simulation. It translates pixel brightness into audio frequencies, creating complex soundscapes from simple mathematical models found in nature.
- 1D reaction-diffusion system simulation
- Sonification of pixel brightness
- Generates complex soundscapes
- Mathematical models of natural fluid behaviors
- Translates pixel values to audio frequencies
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Raw sonification of a 1D reaction diffusion system. Reaction diffusion systems are mathematical representations of the behaviours of fluids that can be found in nature. A key characteristic of these systems is that the initial parameters are simple but the resulting process can be extremely complex. Here, each pixel brightness affects the brightness in the corresponding pixel line. Frequencies of the sound waves are the sonification of these pixel values.
Virtual ANS 3
This app simulates a unique photoelectronic musical instrument, allowing users to draw music as spectrograms. It functions as a graphics editor to convert sound to images and vice versa, enabling the creation of atmospheric sounds and microtonal music.
- Unlimited pure tone generators
- Sonogram editor for drawing and playing spectra
- Convert sound to image and vice versa
- MIDI device support
- Polyphonic synth mode with MIDI mapping
- Audio Unit Extension (AUv3) and Audiobus support
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Virtual ANS is a software simulator of the unique Russian synthesizer ANS - photoelectronic musical instrument created by Evgeny Murzin from 1938 to 1958. The ANS made it possible to draw music in the form of a spectrogram (sonogram), without live instruments and performers. It was used by Stanislav Kreichi, Alfred Schnittke, Edward Artemiev and other Soviet composers in their experimental works. You can also hear the sound of the ANS in Andrei Tarkovsky's movies Solaris, The Mirror, Stalker. The simulator extends the capabilities of the original instrument. Now it's a full-featured graphics editor where you can convert sound into an image, load and play pictures, draw microtonal/spectral music and create some unusual deep atmospheric sounds. This app is for everyone who loves experiments and is looking for something new. Key features: * unlimited number of pure tone generators; * powerful sonogram editor - you can draw the spectrum and play it at the same time; * any sound (from a WAV file or a Microphone/Line-in) can be converted to image (sonogram) and vice versa; * support for MIDI devices; * polyphonic synth mode with MIDI mapping; * supported file formats: WAV (only uncompressed PCM), PNG, JPEG, GIF; * Audio Unit Extension (AUv3), Audiobus; * many new features compared to version 2.3; see the full list: https://warmplace.ru/soft/ans/changelog.txt Homepage, user manual and versions for other systems: https://warmplace.ru/soft/ans
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Land Waves at Free against Virtual ANS 3's $5.99. Land Waves also leads on iOS requirement (8.0 vs 12.0). Virtual ANS 3's advantage is rating (4.8 vs 4.3) and update cadence (every 3 months vs every 31 months). On ads, in-app purchases 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
Land Waves is free to download; Virtual ANS 3 costs $5.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Virtual ANS 3 holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 12 and 57 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 60% of Land Waves's written reviews are positive against 88% of Virtual ANS 3's.
Land Waves ships an update every 31 months, Virtual ANS 3 every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on August 23, 2026 and September 28, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Land Waves | Virtual ANS 3 |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $5.99 |
| Rating | 4.3 (12 ratings) | 4.8 (57 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 60.0% of reviews | 87.5% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 12 | 57 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 31 months | Every 3 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free — better | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 8.0 — better | 12.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 6 MB | 31 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Agoston Nagy | Alexander Zolotov |
Customer experience
Land Waves
Virtual ANS 3
In-app purchases
Land Waves
No in-app purchases
Virtual ANS 3
No in-app purchases









