On Wednesday , SRS Labs , manufacturing business of audio enhancement hardware and app , released an updated adaptation of its MyTunes music web web browser and player , and added an iPad - compatible version for the first clock time . MyTunes Pro ( iPhone and iPod pinch ) and MyTunes Pro HD ( iPad ) are blood-related to Apple ’s Music app , but admit options for fine-tune the sound of your music . ( I ’ve been prove the MyTunes Pro HD iPad app for several calendar week , and my observation that follow relate to that version , although the feature are almost entirely the same on the non - HD app — the non - HD version has a motor feature for easier app navigation . )
The free app admit you to use its advanced features for 10 minute a day is available for free ( think of it as a demo of the real app ) . The Premium Package costs $ 10 , via in - app leverage . For that $ 10 ( or $ 7 for the iPhone / iPod touch version ) you earn full access to the Wow HD sound enhancement , EQ , TruSpeed speed dominance , TruVolume volume leveling , and Party and Workout mixer lineament . The app to boot contain some limited support for iTunes peer tracks . These are my first impressions .
Why another music browser?
Not everyone who owns an iPad is satisfied with Apple ’s Music app . While its album - cover view is attractive , it becomes clumsy to navigate when you have a large medicine collecting . And it becomes less attractive when you have unmatched album artwork — leading to score of generic icons — which can easily happen with iTunes Match content .
Although MyTunes Pro HD video display artwork in the Album and Playlists views , every other vista — Song , Artists , Genres , Composers , Audiobooks , Podcasts , and Compilations — is a tilt . These lists are n’t almost as sexy as album cover , but I ’ve found they get you to where you want to go more quickly than scroll through screen after screen of album art . Unlike the Music App , MyTunes Pro HD offer a miscellany of attractive generic album art , which is assigns randomly to those albums that lack artwork .
Another payoff with the iPad ’s Music app is that its clothes designer emphasize artwork to the point where the fun control are on the minor side . MyTune Pro HD offer much gravid period of play controls as well as larger button for engaging such features as shuffle , loop , full - screen , bulk , and access to the app ’s sound enhancement battery-acid .
MyTunes Pro HD in Albums view
MyTunes Pro HD in Albums see
The music enhancements
SRS is bonk primarily for the sound sweetening technology that lend space and depth to euphony in everything from home amusement system to mobile devices . In its marketing copy SRS uses the phrase “ mend natural sound is our passion . ” Some audio purists would suggest that the sound of SRS ’s technologies is anything but natural and I ’d agree — the sounds that this technology produces are unlikely aligned with the auditory sensation intended by the music ’s Lord , applied scientist , and manufacturer . But while it may be unnatural , it can be very pleasing — particularly when you ’re playing music through belittled speakers or not - rottenly - high - faithfulness components . I wish having the greater definition and soundstage that this technology provides , but not everyone may .
The enhancement you call back of when seeing the SRS name is the Wow HD component . This is the one that adds space and definition to the iPad ’s sound . When you call it up you ’ll see eight presets — Small Speaker , Medium Speaker , Large Speaker , Internal , In Ear , Earbud , Over Ear , and Car . All but the Internal preset are for the devices you ’d attach to the iPad ’s Headphone or dock connector interface or devices you access via AirPlay ( which is support by the app ) . The interior preset is tuned for euphony played through the iPad ’s internal speaker .
The Wow HD effect
The Wow HD effect
Next to the natural selection of presets is a heavy telephone dial . You use this to adjust how much of the event is apply . Even when the dial is turned all the way to the left hand , some of the impression is still there . If you desire to swap it off entirely for comparison purposes , merely tip the Power button within the burden pane to switch it off . You ’ll likely be startled at how flat your music sound without the effect .
If you do n’t wish for one of the presets , simply tap the My Custom Tuning button and a pane appear where you may correct the result ’s space , TruBass , Definition , and Vocal controls . Regrettably there ’s no alternative for economize your presets . Rather , you just create the one you like and die the gist . Your options will continue .
Again , I wish the gist and used it when the iPad was connect to small talker and meretricious headphones . It also greatly better the sound of the iPad ’s loudspeaker system — that speaker sounded puny without it . Even with better component it can sound quite salutary provided you do n’t dial up the effect too much . dial up toward the utmost end with these components I found the mellow frequencies and unnatural breakup grating .
MyTunes Pro HD’s Transitions pane
The app offers three other enhancements — EQ , automobile - bulk , and Speed . EQ is what you ’d expect — a 3- or 10 - band counterpoise for accentuating or fall particular audio frequency . Tap the Presets button in this dose to select from several EQ options including Loudness , three-fold Boost , Rock , Classical , Vocal , and Live .
Auto - book , like iTunes ’ Sound Check feature , set about to automatically line up your iPad ’s audio track so that all track play back at a similar book . I found it to be effectual .
And the Speed enhancement is for the most part mean for podcast and audiobook data track . It admit you to force tracks to play back quicker or slower without touch the rail ’s pitching , thus allowing you to dash through these recordings yet still understand what ’s being articulate . It ’s not a great upshot to utilize with music if you adjust it more than a yoke of per centum point either way — you’ll definitely take heed artifacts . ( However , even with the artifacts , it ’s not a bad pecker for musician who want to slow up down a get to guitar solo to help learn just how it was put together . )
This is a pane you see a lot when using iTunes Match
Mixers and transitions
MyTunes Pro HD includes two sociable modes — Party Mixer and Workout Mixer . The first will take any playlist or group of tracks ( in an record album , for instance ) and rearrange that play list so that it matches a “ groove ” that you ’ve gear up up for the play list . For example you might tap Party Mixer and then choose Rise . This should rearrange the playlist so that mellower strain are placed at the beginning of the playlist and severe drive tracks seem later . Cycle has an “ M ” pattern — so rise , fall , ascent , fall . I tried this feature of speech with a couple of playlists and I ’m not entirely sure I agree with the app ’s appraisal of just how not bad each track is , but it ’s still a fun way to put runway in an parliamentary procedure you might not have think of .
I ’m more leery of the Workout Mixer . The idea here is that you solicit out the pace of your workout in beat per minutes ( so rap 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 to accompany your footfall on a treadmill ) and the app will adjust the swiftness of the tracks in the play list to slay near this tempo . Personally , while I may not be persnickety about enhancements like Wow HD , I ’m more particular about a Sung ’s tempo . Some lead just do n’t fathom correctly step on it up or slacken down . But then I do n’t mind to a lot of the music that citizenry toy during their workout . If you hear to club music while sweating off at the club , you may find the feature of speech helpful .
MyTunes Pro HD ’s Transitions pane
And then there are the transitions . Tap the Transitions icon next to the track data field and you may choose from a handful of transitions — the effects used to move between one racecourse and the next . Some are fairly standard — a crossfade between one caterpillar track and the next , for instance — while others are edgy and yet others something that ’s cute one metre only . you may audition transitions by play a track , pick out one of the transition , exit the Transitions pane , and then tapping the Start Transition push . In a small over 10 second you ’ll move to the next track using the changeover you choose .
About iTunes Match
If you ’ve configured your iPad to use iTunes Match ( you switch this setting on the Music configurations screen door ) , MyTunes Pro HD will display the contents of your iTunes Match subroutine library in the cloud . Regrettably , this is about all it ’s good for . Unlike with the Music app , you ca n’t download multiple tracks with the tap of a button . Rather , you must tap on a rails , tap through a dialog box that severalize you that the runway is download , and waitress while the track downloads . Unfortunately in my testing , that running did n’t initiate playing automatically and the icon that indicates that the caterpillar tread has finished download did n’t always work decent . So you keep intercept frolic until it finally get wager . alas , again , the track may not actually be fully downloaded to the app ’s expiation so the enhanced sound recording features wo n’t work with it until such time that the app believes it ’s fully on board the machine .
This is a pane you see a lot when using iTunes Match
And play list are n’t useful because you ca n’t knock the first track in a playlist and expect the succeed tracks to download as their turn come up in the queue . Nor will the mixer tools work out because , again , the selected track is n’t on your iPad . An SRS voice I spoke to suggested that if you want to have a satisfactory experience with iTunes Match tracks you open up the Music app , download the tracks you need , return to MyTunes Pro HD , and then meet the track with any music enhancements you ’ve choose . give how little direct support the app has for iTunes Match , it might have been practiced to leave it out whole rather than frustrate users who expect it to work well than it does .
Worth it?
Despite the issues with iTunes Match and the fact that some of the lineament are gimmicky — the mixer and transitions , in particular — this is still an attractive app given its $ 10 price . If you need just the Wow HD effect on your iPad previously , you ’d have pay $ 70 for SRS ’s iWow 3-D for iPod , iPhone & iPad audio adapter ( ) . That ’s no longer necessary provided that you fiddle your medicine within the MyTunes Pro HD app .
The time - define detached version is abominably clock time - define at just 10 minutes a mean solar day . But those 10 minute should give you enough clock time to adjudicate if MyTunes Pro HD is a upright fit for you and your music .
