Best Sample Browser for Mac?

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Best Sample Browser for Mac?

It would be nice to have a fast way to preview sounds . . .

Whatcha recommend?

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Sononym, AI categorizing, preview etc.
Beyond that I use AudioFinder, which has been slow to develop for the last 3+ years but the developer is adamant that it will be going forward soon with Apple Silicon support etc.
It actually works just fine in Rosetta, so until it breaks I'll continue to use it. It can read REX files on AS so there's that. (REX is still not natively supported on Apple Silicon).

Black Friday/Cyber Monday is just around the corner so I would wait until then for any purchase.

ADSR has a free so that is also an option, not as full featured as Sononym or AudioFinder but you can't beat the price. https://www.adsrsounds.com/product/soft ... e-manager/

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Used to be something called SampleFinder on the AppStore that was the perfect little browser to preview sounds. I still use it but seems like it's no longer available to buy. It's more lightweight than Sononym, if you just want to do a quick search for a specific text in a filename or browse through a new set of sample packs.

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kidslow wrote: Thu Nov 16, 2023 9:51 pm Used to be something called SampleFinder on the AppStore that was the perfect little browser to preview sounds. I still use it but seems like it's no longer available to buy.
Ratz!! I just checked. Sady, you are correct . . . no longer available.

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tommyzai wrote: Thu Nov 16, 2023 10:37 pm
kidslow wrote: Thu Nov 16, 2023 9:51 pm Used to be something called SampleFinder on the AppStore that was the perfect little browser to preview sounds. I still use it but seems like it's no longer available to buy.
Ratz!! I just checked. Sady, you are correct . . . no longer available.
Dev has a website and he was really responsive when I reached out. Maybe drop him a line and see if he'll sell you a copy outside the app store. http://developer.larhythmix.com/contact

The killer feature, besides being lightweight, is you can set it to auto-play through all the findings in your list, and it allows for boolean searches so you could either add everything inside a folder or folder tree or anything that matched your search criteria. Makes it nice to play though a folder of samples & listen while you do other things.

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I just downloaded Ample, which is free. I'll report back. Until then . . . any other candidates?

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tommyzai wrote: Thu Nov 16, 2023 11:05 pm I just downloaded Ample, which is free. I'll report back. Until then . . . any other candidates?
IMO even with it being Rosetta, AudioFinder is hard to beat. it does destructive editing, drag and drop to your DAW, instant browser preview, REX Support, slicing audio, and hosts AU plugins to print to audio etc.

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I use Samplism. It handles lots of files really well, and I like being able to collapse it to a small window for dragging into the DAW. Main features it doesn't have that I would like are BPM and transient detect for wav files. A new version is being worked on but not expected till next year.

You can try the Lite version for free: https://audiohelperproject.com/products/samplism/

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I use three sample tools. Previously mentioned SampleFinder, Sononym and Algonaut Atlas. The reason I brought up SampleFinder is because there is an unmet niche for a simple tool that gives you immediate access to a new folder of samples without the overhead of a database or a heavy user interface or all sorts of other bells & whistles. Just simple find my samples and play them one after the other. I thought that was what the OP was asking for. I've tried everything out there and many are clunky or do one thing well and not the rest. Hence why I have three tools.

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MuLab-- which you already use-- lets you quickly audition a folder of samples with one click in any of its samplers. Then you can edit and save the ones you choose. It also has a new sample audition rack, so you can audition samples with any effects or midi clips through any instrument.
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kidslow wrote: Fri Nov 17, 2023 4:29 am I use three sample tools. Previously mentioned SampleFinder, Sononym and Algonaut Atlas. The reason I brought up SampleFinder is because there is an unmet niche for a simple tool that gives you immediate access to a new folder of samples without the overhead of a database or a heavy user interface or all sorts of other bells & whistles. Just simple find my samples and play them one after the other. I thought that was what the OP was asking for. I've tried everything out there and many are clunky or do one thing well and not the rest. Hence why I have three tools.
I'm in your boat there, I have Atlas and XO for drums, AudioFinder for full Finder auditioning and quick edits, and I'm picking up Sononym when it goies on sale for Cyber Monday.

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Sononym keeps chugging along and getting better and better. I like that the dev team has an open board showing all the plans for current development and next. Most open development team out there for a commercial product. Even if they are a bit slow, they deliver.

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Sononym
AudioFinder

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xerix wrote: Tue Dec 30, 2025 5:15 am Sononym
AudioFinder
Yes, good combination.
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