SoundHound Review

FreeJun 2011 iPhone, iPad

Stuff says 4

Shazam may have the lockdown on music recognition, but SoundHound’s superior listening skills win out

SoundHound

Want to know what song is playing in the bar? There’s an app for that. It’s called Shazam. You point it at the speaker, it listens, consults a database and spits back the answer at you. Amazing, brilliant and all the rest. Except that it’s flawed: Shazam tags very precisely – it’ll let you know that it’s the 1972 live version, for instance.

Even more impressive for that, you might think, and you’d be right. But in that bar, it struggles to recognise music if there’s too much hubbub. All too often in a noisy environment it draws a sonic blank.

That’s where SoundHound comes in. It might not be able to pinpoint exactly which rare bootleg you’re listening to (in fact, both apps struggle with more obscure titles), but it’ll make a decent fist of recognising whatever you throw at it. You don’t even need to play the record.

SoundHound listening

Sing the chorus of Yellow Submarine and, in seconds, it returns the well-known version from The Beatles Revolver album, plus a Hit Crew cover and a tribute band’s effort. You don’t – this reviewer can attest honestly – even have to sing well.

You can also search by text or speech (like Google’s Voice Search) to find artist and record information. Don’t know the words? Just hum. Fine, it’s not as accurate as Shazam, but it’s stacks more fun (though you’ll probably feel stupid humming at it in public) and it’s vagueness can be more useful than Shazam’s flat denial. For our money (it’s free), SoundHound’s got a bright future.

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Comments

  1. satyen4uall

    39 weeks ago

    wow! nice. I would say no compromise in sound quality

  2. katebrooke

    51 weeks ago

    I am sure that what you have said will definitely pierce the ears of your readers and make them think more deeply about it,Way ta go pal! You really showed them!

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  3. katebrooke

    51 weeks ago

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  4. doibi

    1 year ago

    wow.. this is an awesome review and thanks for that at least I know now. video to Flash converter / hulu to ipad / ipad 3 converter

  5. markjohnson

    1 year ago

    SoundHound, which provides mobile applications that use the device microphone to "listen" to the song playing nearby, then use the connection to the Internet to identify them, has teamed up with Spotify to provide new services by both companies. Spotify on-demand music streaming service that recently Europe across the sea to the United States after much waiting.Golf Auction

  6. JamesCoward

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    It is great to have the opportunity to read a good quality article with useful information on topics that plenty are interested on.
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  7. Fast work

    1 year ago

    I might by this SoundHound, It is much better then other sound player.
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  8. marygrace

    1 year ago

    oh great. Thanks so much for the reviews and I do have an idea now if I am going to have it or not. furnace repair indiana

  9. inter4522

    1 year ago

    The quality of this sound is so amazing. You cannot go wrong with it at all. There is so much to get from it. It is a must have. actos bladder cancer

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