Amplitude Soundboard vs LivePlay

Amplitude Soundboard is a desktop app for playing audio clips to express yourself and entertain friends. It runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux, with downloads listed for Windows x64, macOS on Apple Silicon and Intel, and Linux x64. Supported formats include AAC, AIFF, ALAC, FLAC, M4A, MP3, MP4, OGG, OPUS, and WAV. Clips can play through multiple output or input devices, with volume controls for the full app and individual clips. Users can assign hotkeys to sounds. The interface offers light or dark themes, custom tile backgrounds, and controls for tile size and grid dimensions. Listed languages include English, Spanish, Italian, Hungarian, Dutch, Polish, Russian, and Simplified Chinese. The app is free at free, and its repository is identified as GPL-3.0 licensed. The project page describes update notices at startup and automatic updating on Windows. Routing sound to an input such as a microphone requires additional audio-routing software. Linux hotkeys work under X11, not Wayland; macOS hotkeys require accessibility permission and an app restart, and a security warning may need to be bypassed because the app is not signed with an Apple Developer ID.

LivePlay is a free desktop audio playback app for live shows, designed for live sound operators managing cues. Playlists and cart buttons support cue groups, fades, loops, crossfades, and next-cue actions. Cues can route to channels on one or more audio interfaces. Mixing and monitoring tools include audio buses, EQ, gate, compressor, auxiliary sends, output meters, loudness targets, and a master limiter. Playback control works through mouse, touch, keyboard, MIDI, HTTP, and WebSocket. Media can be added by drag-and-drop or YouTube audio import, with waveform display and LTC timecode output. A desktop controller can connect to a local or remote audio server over a network. LivePlay runs on Linux, macOS, and Windows and is released under AGPL-3.0-only. The Free plan costs nothing with all features and no licence fees, subscriptions, or paywalls. Remote control uses plain HTTP and WebSocket; installers are unsigned and macOS builds are not notarized.