Plugin comparison
Specs, price and the Dubspot Score, side by side — with our verdict on which synth to buy.
Independent score / workflow fit / buying signal
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Contenders
Chromaphone 3 is a two-voice acoustic object synthesizer using physically modeled acoustic resonators by Applied Acoustics Systems.
reFX Rippler is a dual-layer physical modeling synthesizer with 12 acoustic models, bi-directional energy coupling, and subtractive shaping.
Score verdict
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
| Signal | Chromaphone 3 | reFX Rippler |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $199 | €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.