Spectro – Auto-detects fake lossless audio (upconverted MP3s in WAV/AIFF) on macOS | $39 Lifetime
Disclosure: I'm the developer. Transparency: https://getspectro.app/privacy · https://getspectro.app/terms Problem Record pools and digital stores regularly distribute MP3-encoded audio inside WAV or AIFF containers "fake lossless" or upconverted audio. The file size looks right, the extension looks right, but the spectral frequency cutoff gives it away. On a high-end system it's immediately audible. Finding these files manually means reading spectrograms one by one, which doesn't scale when you're checking 80 tracks before a gig. Comparison Spek the go-to spectrum analyzer for this, but abandoned since 2013. No batch analysis, no automatic verdict, manual reading required. iZotope RX precise but designed for audio repair, not library QA. Slow, expensive, and overkill for just checking whether a file is lossless. Spectro is purpose-built for this single use case: batch analysis with an automatic verdict, deep Finder integration, and nothing else in the way. Pricing: $39 USD, one-time, no subscription. Developer ID signed and notarized. Free Trial: Scan your first 100 tracks for free [more info: https://getspectro.app ] Batch analysis, three verdicts (Lossless / Lossy / Fake Lossless), FFT spectral detection, Quick Look plugin, right-click Finder integration, 100% offline, Apple Silicon + Intel, macOS 12+. Happy to answer questions about how the spectral detection works or anything else.
Collected discussion
You should mention this to the folks in https://www.reddit.com/r/musichoarder/
Thanks for the suggestion! Kind of difficult to post there, specially software but i’ll try!
Spek the go-to spectrum analyzer for this, but abandoned since 2013. No batch analysis, no automatic verdict, manual reading required. spek.cc (2023): "Beta versions of v0.8.5 installers for Windows and macOS are now available."
Interesting! I will check it out. I remember when I started as DJ really hard to read the spectrogram.
Great idea!!! Sharing with a friend
Thanks a lot! Let me know anything 😄
Nice app. I can’t speak to the accuracy of the results, as I don’t know much about sound from a technical point of view (which is why I’m interested in a tool like this). Somehow, I ended up getting the app for free after entering the discount code - it asked if I wanted it for free, along with a field for my email, so I went ahead. Still not sure what happened exactly but thank you - first time I’ve ever gotten something free. I loaded all 653 tracks from my “lossless” library into it (10 fake, 57 medium, 586 lossless), and it analyzed them quite quickly. The interface is nice - simple and straightforward. I like it a lot. I almost feel guilty since the app is genuinely useful to me.
I messed up with the discount code. i’m glad it worked specially with a big batch like that. :)
Just a quick note: when the app is set to its minimum width, the “All” label in the Music section gets cut off. See screenshot below.
Perfect! Thanks a lot for the feedback. There's anything that youre missing on the app?
I alerted the dev about the discount glitch after getting one free. I felt guilty as well since I had asked here about discounts. My license was disabled (i offered dev if they felt appropriate). Is yours still active?
Is it possible to create YouTube videos that claim to have lossless audio?
Yes, nothing stops someone from labeling a video "lossless audio" even if the source is a 128kbps MP3. The thing is youTube re encodes everything on their end anyway, so the claim is almost always unverifiable just by watching. The honest check is at the source file level, which is exactly what Spectro is for. If someone's selling or distributing those tracks as downloads, that's where the fake lossless detection kicks in.
Can you add a way to show the whole spectrum similar to Spek?
Hi! Thanks for the feedback. Sure, I can add that on the next version v1.3. Have you been using the app?
I have been using the trial intermittently, but so far it seems quite stable. I will say that the price point is a little steep for me at the moment, but I’ll definitely keep an eye out for future updates!
LMFAO this is genius!!!
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sure! 20SPECTRO for 20% off.
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Thanks a lot for this! 😄