Spectroid

Carl Reinke

About this app

Spectroid is a real-time audio spectrum analyzer with reasonable frequency resolution across the the entire frequency spectrum.

💬 FAQ 💬

Q: Why are the dB values negative?
A: Spectroid uses dBFS (Full Scale) where 0 dB is the maximum power that the microphone can measure, so the decibel values are negative because the measured power is less than the maximum power.

Q: Can I zoom in on the spectrum plot?
A: Yes, do a two-finger pinch-to-zoom gesture.

Q: Why are there discontinuities/gaps in the spectrum plot and waterfall?
A: Spectroid uses multiple FFTs overlapped in frequency in order to provide better frequency resolution at lower frequencies than a single FFT. The caveat of this method is varied impulse response and minor discontinuities in frequency. The upside is that it can efficiently produce a spectrum that better matches the frequency resolution of human audio perception. It's still probably not as good as your ears though!

Q: Can I export the spectrum data?
A: Spectroid doesn't make your device a calibrated instrument. If you need the spectrum data then you should be using an actual spectrum analyzer rather than an app on your mobile device.

Ratings and reviews

I was looking for exactly this app today and I'm so glad I found it! but if there was one thing missing that would make this completely perfect for what I am using it for, it would be an optional setting to display the current peak frequency as the closest musical note instead of / in addition to the numerical frequency. Could also just be accomplished with simple labels on the x axis of the spectrum - I'll just do it manually with a marker for now though, haha.

Carl Reinke has as one person put it, gifted the world with his totally free application. Once you figure out how to set it up. It shows the river of sound that surrounds us. There's absolutely zero advertisements. It works online as well as offline. You don't even have to have any internet whatsoever. I will say that it is better to use multiple phones. Because some have better microphones than others. I would tell everyone that uses this to try using all of the phones that you own. Best app.

This is how apps should be. It does what it says, is intuitive, performance is good and it uses barely any storage on my device. It sits happily in the background, it doesnt constantly demand updating and it isnt constantly trying to squeeze revenue out of its users, or send them marketing emails or updates to terms of service every 3 months. Thank you developer, i love your work.

What's new

◆ Improve usability on high-density displays