Ambiance App Reviews

Given the price of this app relative to other products on the App Store, I expected a lot, but Ive found several problems and bugs. First, although the sound samples are high quality, many are very short and the "loop" mode doesnt seem to work. The app exits when you press the red close button on the top corner of the app, instead of hiding the window like other Mac apps. Ive acidentally stopped my sounds quite a few times now. The Library doesnt always show all your tracks, Ive had to exit and re-load the app for them to appear. The concept is amazing, the sounds are great, but the overall implementation leaves a bit to be desired. Id wait for an update.

app is a little klunky - takes a bit to figure out repeat/timer function the search function hasnt seemed to work for me either its expensive !!!

The app uses many non-standard Mac controls, making you say "Hmmm, thats weird." Its buggy. Repeat doesnt often work. Theres no way to see how far through an audio clip you are or how long it is. That being said, the sounds are beautiful and the selection is substantial.

fine sounds, creative system. Take time to learn new system. those who says the app bad just too lazy to figure out the way the system runs

It looks like a blown-up version of the iOS app. SO MANY great sounds to choose from, but why can’t you support the retina display?

Ive had their app on my iPhone for some time and barely sleep a night without listening to it. But not all the sounds in their huge library are suitable for sleeping or relaxation, and so I never had a use for them. With Ambiance on my iMac, I can listen to the kind of stuff that will keep me awake, or merely make a stimulating backdrop. Want to feel like youre sitting in a Parisian café? How about a Parisian café while its raining softly? Add a blackbird singing somewhere, or perhaps a street musician? You can combine any number of sounds to create the exact environment you want, and with the exception of a few Premium sounds (iPhone only for now), theyre all free. One feature Id like to see: the ability to sync the Ambiance sounds library on my iPhone with the app on my Mac.

I am quite disappointed at this application. I bought it in a heartbeat because I love their iPhone Ambiance app. But this is a very different beast. It will kill your batterly life because it is constantly consuming CPU. The UI is very confusing and sounds disappear from the UI very easily. It is impossible to see whats downloading too… But the main issue for me is that I cannot use it while on battery as it will drain very fast. The iPhone app rocks though!

Have it on all of my devices now :)

I cant comment on any possible battery life issues given that I am running the software from my Mac on AC power. And, yes, the UI has a few rough edges. However, overall Ambiance for the Mac is a great app. For someone like me who works from an office at home, I cant put a price tag on the value of having a limitless collection of ambient soundscapes. I do wish it would sync with the iOS side of things. Overall, highly recommended!

This is great alternative to listening to music while on my iMac. I can choose wherever I want this ap to take me and how close I want to be. (volume) I like the variety of sounds and combinations and especially <3 all the rain sounds.

This app is totally what I needed. I use it to study to drown out noise that would other wise distract me. Ive also started using it for yoga. Thank you so much for the app!!

This is a nice app. It gives you an endless supply of ambient sounds that are of a good quality, and it can be quite relaxing to have it playing in the background. Unfortunately, one of its primary functions isnt working like it should. Playlists should let you select a few loops and string them together just like a song playlist, but its a buggy function that will refuse to move on to the next sound unless you fiddle with the "cycle" function. Even with the fiddling, however, itll soon quit acting like a playlist until you fiddle again. Annoying bug messing with an otherwise fine app.

Working pretty well for me. The Library view seems buggy when set to Grid, but better when set to List. CPU usage is right around 4%, which doesnt seem out of line for an audio app. The huge library of sounds is the main selling point here, theres all kinds of obscure and interesting stuff to be found. One major annoyance: The app quits when the window is closed. If ever an app should stay running in the background, its this one. Obviously this can be worked around by minimizing the window or using the mini mode, but its a break from what would normally be expected for this kind of app.

I dont know if Im more impressed by the sheer number of sounds available, the program features, or the attention paid to customers. This app sets the standard for what we should expect from other app writers.

This isnt working for me at all. I was expecting better because I used Ambiance on my iPhone for a very long time, and I loved it. Well, I downloaded the Mac version because the iPhone app kept deleting my sounds, and I ran out of space anyway. Needless to say, I was really looking forward to using the desktop version because my Mac has significantly more disk space for sounds, and the iPhone version worked so beautifully for me when it held onto my sounds. However, the Mac version is completely and utterly useless to me. Let me explain. I am totally blind. Therefore, I need to use my Mac with VoiceOver. For anyone who may not know, VoiceOver reads the screen aloud for visually impaired users like myself. I use VoiceOver on a daily basis, so I really need apps that will work with it, and Ambiance, sadly, does not. This surprised the heck out of me because it works great with the iPhones version of VoiceOver. Now, I am running Snow Leopard still, but I dont think that should be any reason for this app to have compatibility issues with VoiceOver. I literally cannot use this app until this issue is addressed, and I spent ten dollars on it. Kind of makes me mad.

There are a number of apps to produce background sounds. This interface and choices of sounds is really helpful for me when I need to work in peace. I have a general difficulty with concentration and distraction from environmental noise when trying to study or read. I use this often and it works great and really helps. Unlike many other apps, the loops here are long enough so that you dont hear them as repeating clips which is a major flaw of similar apps and sound machines.

This app helps me relax so much with the huge collection of ambient sounds it has. The sounds loop perfectly and they are crisp and clear. Hooked up my 5.1 surround speakers and I can almost fall asleep each time I turn it on when Im just chillin in my room. For prospective buyers: If you are worried about this app being legit, dont worry, its well worth the $$$! It delivers and seriously, it has a huge collection of ambient sounds. You might not need all of them but you will find those most suited for your mood. I love it! Kudos to this apps developers and the sound engineers!

A great app with many sounds, environments to offer. I am taken aback at the wide variety available.

Ambience does not so far as I can tell download files in a manner that is any use to me. If this were a 99 cent app, I would grin and bear it. But at $10, I feel like I had my pocket picked. A week after posting my first service request I have not heard from anyone. Posting that request required that I register with what appears to be a third party, or sign in via a social network — the latter of which I am not eager to do because I dont want to give any appearance that I approve of Ambiance or the cul de sac of frustration Im in with this company. If I resort to logging in via a social network, it will only be to warn my friends to steer clear of what looks like a bait and switch to me. I want my money back.

I am another blind VoiceOver user, and thought Id give this app a try since the previous review was made by someone running Snow Leopard. Im running Mountain Lion and unfortunately found the same issues. Im very disappointed because I too use the iPhone ambiance app all the time and find it works well. I hope the developers can resolve this issue, its really a great app to have. In the meantime, I warn any VoiceOver users not to spend the money.