Guide · Honest comparison
REW on the go — what a phone can and can't do
REW is the deeper tool, and we use it ourselves. Stain Acoustics and
Simple Sweep don't replace REW on the bench — they replace the
laptop-microphone-soundcard rig for the jobs you do standing up, and they
export .frd and .wav so you can finish any session
in REW or VituixCAD.
Where each wins
| Job | Phone (our apps) | REW on a PC |
|---|---|---|
| Room RT60 / decay at the listening position | One sweep, ISO 3382 T20, per-octave bars — no rig to carry | Deeper: full Lundeby, waterfall control, RT60(f) overlays |
| Quick speaker frequency response + FRD | Sweep → chart → FRD in under a minute | More control (gating, windows), needs interface + mic |
| Subwoofer placement | Sub Crawl ranks spots as you walk | Possible, but you're carrying a laptop around the room |
| Speaker polarity / wiring checks | Phase Analyser + the Flip Test, in-pocket | Manual sweep-compare workflow |
| Live RTA / SPL check | Analyzer — open the app, read the room | Needs the rig set up first |
| Crossover design measurements | Capture + FRD export on the spot | The actual design work happens here / VituixCAD |
| EQ filter generation, SPL targets, house curves | Not a feature | REW's home turf |
The honest caveats
- A phone mic is not measurement-grade. Decay ratios are safe; absolute SPL and fine FR detail want the calibration wizard or a USB mic with a
.calfile. - In-room measurements include the room below ~500 Hz on any tool — phone or PC.
- Our measurements export to REW formats; the reverse (importing REW data into the apps) isn't a feature.
Compare the two apps — Simple Sweep ($5.99, single-speaker) and Stain Acoustics ($10.99, the full suite). Offline, no accounts, one-time purchase.