Launched this week
Spectro
Detect fake lossless audio files before they ruin your set
9 followers
Detect fake lossless audio files before they ruin your set
9 followers
As a DJ, I got tired of record pool tracks that looked like WAVs but were actually upscaled MP3s. On a proper sound system, the high-end distortion is obvious. So I built Spectro: a macOS app that instantly tells you if a file is Lossless, Lossy, or Fake Lossless. Batch analysis, Finder integration, Quick Look support, and 100% offline. Perfect for checking unreleased promos before a gig. $39 one-time purchase.
Hey PH 👋 I'm the maker of Spectro — and the reason I built it is embarrassingly simple: I got burned.
I played a gig with what I thought were clean WAV files from a record pool. Two tracks sounded brittle and harsh on the club's Funktion-One system. Turned out they were 192kbps MP3s wrapped in WAV containers — "fake lossless." Common practice in digital distribution, rarely talked about.
The existing tools to catch this are either abandoned (Spek hasn't been updated in years) or massive overkill (iZotope RX is incredible but you're not opening it to check 60 tracks the night before a gig).
So I built Spectro: drag a folder, get verdicts in seconds. Three states — Lossless, Lossy, Fake Lossless. It uses spectral analysis to detect the frequency cutoff that upconversion can't hide.
A few things I'm particularly happy with:
The Finder integration — right-click any file, get a verdict without opening the app
Quick Look plugin — spacebar on a track shows the spectrogram inline
It's fully offline. If you're scanning unreleased promos, nothing leaves your machine.
It's $39 one-time, no subscription. Free Trial of 100 tracks. I think audio tools shouldn't be rentals.
You can use the discount code: SPECTROXPH to get 20% OFF
Would love feedback from anyone who works with audio — especially if you've hit this problem before and have edge cases I should test. AMA 🎵