ImpulseDie is a €9.99 semi-modular drum synth for desktop and iOS, with four patchable voices, tape loopers, and a SOMA Pulsar-23-inspired signal domain.
Plugin comparison
ImpulseDie vs XO
Specs, price and the Dubspot Score, side by side — with our verdict on which drum machine to buy.
Independent score / workflow fit / buying signal
Contenders
The side-by-side
Sampler / XLN Audio
XO
8.6Great
XO by XLN Audio is a drum sampler and beat-making plugin that visually organizes one-shot samples and lets you build and audition drum patterns.
Technical matrix
Specs compared
| Signal | ImpulseDie | XO |
|---|---|---|
| Price | €9.99 | — |
| Dubspot Score | — | 8.6 |
| Formats | Standalone, VST3, AU, AAX, AUv3 | VST, VST3, AU, AAX, Standalone |
| Developer | Diego Capoccitti | — |
| Voices | 4 (BD, BASS, SD, HHT) with touch-following envelopes | — |
| Patching | 122 pins (133 patch points), any output to any input, normalling | — |
| Loopers | 4 tape-style loopers, 4 banks each, record timing and pressure | — |
| Clock | ~1 to 1500 BPM, 7 dividers, DAW/MIDI sync or free | — |
| Random | SHAOS generator: 4 outputs, step lengths 63/16/217, 16-step memory | — |
| Effects | Delay + reverb (band-pass, double echo, pitch shifter); parallel distortion | — |
| Outputs | Mono summing bus plus 6 separate outputs | — |
| Presets | 148 factory presets, user .imp files shared with iOS | — |
| Formats | macOS VST3/AU/AAX/standalone; Windows VST3/AAX; iOS AUv3/standalone | — |
| Systems | macOS 12+, Windows 10 64-bit, iOS/iPadOS 15+ | — |
| Price | €9.99 desktop (iOS sold separately); 15-day demo | — |
| Included sounds | — | 8700+ one-shot samples |
| Beat presets | — | 240+ fully editable beat presets |
| Plugin formats | — | 64-bit VST, VST3, AU, AAX, plus standalone application |
| macOS requirement | — | macOS 10.13 or later (64-bit) |
| Windows requirement | — | Windows 10 or 11 (64-bit) |
| Installation | — | Internet connection required during installation |
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