Sound Math is a quick-reference calculator for audio professionals. It includes three tools accessible from the tab bar at the bottom of the screen:

• Wavelength — Frequency, period, speed of sound, and phase-angle timing
• Pan — Panning percentage to decibel conversion
• Timecode — Timecode/frames conversion at common film and video frame rates

Wavelength Tab

What it does

Calculates the wavelength, period, and phase-angle timings of a given frequency, accounting for the speed of sound at a specified air temperature.

How to use it

1. Tap the Hz field and enter a frequency between 20 Hz and 16,000 Hz, or use the slider to sweep.
2. Tap the Temp field and enter the ambient air temperature in °Fahrenheit. The °C equivalent is displayed automatically.
3. The app instantly displays:
   • Speed of sound (ft/s and m/s)
   • Wavelength (feet, yards, meters)
   • Period (the time of a single cycle)
   • Cycle time at common phase angles (90° through 330°)

Formulas used

• Speed of sound (ft/s) = 1052 + 1.106 × °F
• Wavelength = Speed of sound ÷ Frequency
• Period = 1 ÷ Frequency

Troubleshooting

The values don’t update after I type a number.
Tap somewhere outside the text field, or swipe down on the results area to dismiss the keyboard. The value is committed when the field loses focus.

My frequency snaps to 20 or 16,000.
The slider and input are clamped to the audible range (20 Hz – 16 kHz). Type a value within that range.

The temperature field shows “0” after I entered text.
A non-numeric entry will revert to the previous value. Use digits and a decimal point only.

Units of milliseconds / microseconds appear automatically — why?
Time values switch between seconds, milliseconds (ms), and microseconds (µs) automatically depending on magnitude, so the display stays readable across the full frequency range.

Pan Tab

What it does

Shows the relationship between a stereo pan position and the resulting attenuation in decibels for each channel.

How to use it

• Slide the L ↔ R slider. The Left and Right channel boxes update to show:
  • The percentage of signal sent to each side
  • The equivalent dB attenuation
• The formula at the bottom shows the math being applied in real time.

Formula used

• dB = 20 × log₁₀(percentage ÷ 100)

Troubleshooting

One channel shows “−∞ dB”.
This is correct. When the pan slider is fully hard-panned to one side, the opposite channel receives no signal — mathematically, that’s negative infinity decibels.

The dB values don’t match my DAW’s pan law.
Sound Math uses a simple linear-percentage to dB conversion, not a specific pan law (−3 dB, −4.5 dB, −6 dB center, etc.). Use it as a general reference; your DAW or console may apply additional compensation at the center position.

Timecode Tab

What it does

Converts between SMPTE timecode (HH:MM:SS:FF) and total frame counts at common film and video frame rates.

How to use it

Timecode → Frames (top section)

1. Enter values in the Hours, Minutes, Seconds, Frames fields. Leave blank for zero.
2. Tap a frame rate: 24, 25, 30, 23.98, 24.97, 29.97.
3. The total frame count appears below.

Frames → Timecode (bottom section)

1. Enter a total number of frames.
2. Tap a frame rate.
3. The equivalent timecode appears below.

Troubleshooting

The result shows 0.
Make sure at least one field has a numeric value, and that a frame rate is selected. Empty fields are treated as zero.

My drop-frame timecode doesn’t match.
Sound Math calculates non-drop-frame timecode. For broadcast workflows using 29.97 DF or 23.98 DF, the displayed timecode will drift from a drop-frame timeline by a small amount over long durations.

The frames field accepts values higher than the frame rate.
This is intentional — the calculator rolls extra frames into seconds when totaling. For example, entering 30 frames at 24 fps will be treated as 1 second + 6 frames in the total count.

The keyboard won’t go away.
Swipe down on the results area to dismiss it, or tap outside the input field.

General Troubleshooting

The app crashes or freezes

1. Force-quit the app: swipe up from the bottom of the screen (or double-press Home on older devices) and swipe the app card up.
2. Reopen the app.
3. If the issue persists, restart your device.
4. Make sure you’re running the latest version of iOS/iPadOS and the latest version of Sound Math from the App Store.

Numbers look cut off or the layout is cramped

• Rotate the device, or try a smaller Dynamic Type setting in Settings → Display & Brightness → Text Size.
• On iPad, the app supports both orientations and Split View.

I can’t see the tab bar

Scroll up to the top of the screen. The tab bar is at the bottom of the window — if a software keyboard is open, dismiss it by swiping down on the content area.

How do I reset values to defaults?

Close and reopen the app. Sound Math does not save values between sessions — every launch starts fresh with the default frequency (1000 Hz), temperature (72 °F), and center pan position.

Does Sound Math collect any data?

No. The app performs all calculations on-device, does not connect to the internet, and does not collect, store, or transmit any personal information.