Max/MSP's cycle~ object generates a continuous cosine wave at a specified frequency

In Max/MSP, cycle~ is the fundamental audio oscillator object. It produces a cosine (not sine) wave at the frequency given as its argument or sent to its left inlet; its output samples range from −1 to +1. The right inlet controls the oscillator’s starting phase (0–1 maps to one full cycle). When no frequency is specified, cycle~ defaults to 0 Hz. Because it generates a pure sinusoid, it is the building block for additive synthesis, since any complex waveform can be decomposed into sums of sinusoids. The tilde (~) naming convention marks any object that processes audio-rate signals.

Examples

Object box: cycle~ 440 produces A4 (a 440 Hz cosine wave). Sending 880 to its left inlet transposes up an octave in real time. A phasor~ patched to its right inlet drives its phase externally.

Assessment

What is the difference between cycle~ and phasor~ in Max/MSP, and in what scenario would you use phasor~ to drive cycle~?