8.4Great
Chromaphone 3 is a two-voice acoustic object synthesizer using physically modeled acoustic resonators by Applied Acoustics Systems.
Plugin comparison
Chromaphone 3 vs reFX Rippler
Specs, price and the Dubspot Score, side by side — with our verdict on which synth to buy.
Independent score / workflow fit / buying signal
Contenders
The side-by-side
8.5Great
reFX Rippler is a dual-layer physical modeling synthesizer with 12 acoustic models, bi-directional energy coupling, and subtractive shaping.
Score verdict
Which should you buy?
On the Dubspot Score, reFX Rippler comes out ahead (8.5). That said, the right pick depends on your workflow and budget — read both reviews before deciding.
Technical matrix
Specs compared
| Signal | Chromaphone 3 | reFX Rippler |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $199 | €99 intro (regular €129) |
| Dubspot Score | 8.4 | 8.5 |
| Formats | VST2, VST3, AU, AAX Native, NKS, Standalone | VST3, AU, AAX |
| Synthesis | Two-voice multitimbral, based on physically modeled acoustic resonators | — |
| Resonator types | Eight: beam, marimba, open tubes, closed tubes, string, drumhead, plate, membrane | — |
| Factory library | 1,090+ presets (421 new plus 676 remastered Chromaphone 2 sounds) | — |
| Effects | Reverb, delay, distortion, phaser, chorus, flanger, filters, equalizer, compressor, guitar amplifier, tremolo across three independent racks | 13 on master bus, 12 per layer, modular chain |
| Tuning | Supports Scala scale file format and reference note frequency tuning for microtonal music | — |
| RAM | Less than 256 MB per instance | — |
| Type | — | Dual-layer physical modeling + subtractive synthesizer |
| Acoustic models | — | 12 (String, Drumhead, Beam, Djembe, Squared, Vibraphone, Bell, Marimba, Membrane, Open Tube, Plate, Closed Tube) |
| Layer routing | — | Parallel or serial, with bi-directional energy coupling |
| Sound sources | — | 2 oscillators, 2 filters, 32 exciter samples |
| Modulation | — | Envelopes, LFOs (64 shapes), Mod Mapping curves, MPE, aftertouch, microtuning (Scala/MTS) |
| Presets | — | 441 factory presets, 10 arpeggiator presets |
| Formats | — | AU, VST3, AAX |
| Platforms | — | Windows 10/11; macOS 10.13+ (Intel or Apple Silicon), 8GB RAM |
See the full plugin database for more comparisons.