Sony Creative Software has announced an upgrade to their Sound Forge professional digital audio editing application to version 9 (v9.0a update is available).

Sound Forge 9 contains a wide range of new features including multi-channel audio support, which allows users to edit, process, and record multi-channel audio files. Also new are workflow enhancements such as drag-and-drop editing between channels, and new wet/dry mix and crossfade options for effects. Additionally, Sound Forge 9 provides new tools for audio analysis including phase scopes, mono compatibility meters, and multi-channel-capable spectrum analysis. Other new features include channel and hardware meters, multi-channel Windows Media format support, and Dolby Digital AC-3 export. In addition to supporting Windows XP, Sound Forge 9 and CD Architect 5 software are now compatible with the new Microsoft Windows Vista operating system.

The new Sound Forge 9 audio production suite also includes nearly $700 of additional software: CD Architect, Noise Reduction, and the Mastering Effects Bundle powered by iZotope.

• CD Architect 5
  CD Architect software is a professional mastering and layout tool for burning Red Book audio CDs. With CD Architect software, PQ editing is fast and intuitive. This application is everything users need for precise control over details such as pause times, fades, index markers, and time and track manipulation. Users can master audio by applying over 20 real-time DirectX effects to events, and perform seamless disc-at-once CD burning.
• Noise Reduction 2
  Users can give new life to audio from LPs, cassettes, CDs, MP3s, and more with Noise Reduction 2 software. This collection of audio plug-ins includes Noise Reduction, Audio Restoration, Click and Crackle Removal, and Clipped Peak Restoration. Users can apply these plug-ins to fix common audio problems such as tape hiss, camera hum, clicks, and pops. Additionally, users can easily recondition old tracks and vinyl, problem recordings, and even damaged audio.
• Mastering Effects Bundle powered by iZotope
  Sound Forge 9 software includes the new Mastering Effects Bundle, powered by iZotope. This powerful bundle includes four professional audio plug-ins: Mastering Reverb, Multiband-Band Compressor, the IRC Limiter loudness maximizer, and the Analog EQ parametric equalizer.

Access to Sony Music Studios Engineers
Sound Forge 9 users can also now take advantage of a new partnership with Sony Music Studios Internet Mastering Services (SIM). This new feature allows Sound Forge 9 users to have their songs professionally mastered by the same engineers who work on some of the biggest projects in the music industry. Sound Forge 9 users can link to SIM directly from inside the application and easily upload songs for mastering. For a limited time, Sound Forge 9 users will receive one song mastered at no charge if they master one or more songs. To learn more, visit www.SonyMusicSIM.com.

Summary of what's new in version 9.0:

• Multi-channel audio editing and recording.
• Updated Channel Converter for multi-channel files.
• Updated Spectrum Analysis for multi-channel files.
• Drag-and-drop mixing and pasting between channels.
• Hardware Meters window for monitoring hardware outputs and adjusting preview levels.
• Phase scope and mono-compatibility meter.
• You can now cut, paste, and delete data from individual channels of multi-channel files.
• You can now update the cursor position and selection by double-clicking and editing the selection status boxes in data windows.
• Improved process and effects dialogs with selection, wet/dry mix, fade-in/out controls.
• Adjust data window selections/crossfades when process and effects dialogs are visible.
• Enhanced snapping.
• Enhanced color customization via Display Preferences.
• Enhanced keyboard customization.
• Updated marker and region ruler with selection snapping.
• Access to Sony Music Studios Internet Mastering (Help > Sony Music Studios Internet Mastering).
• Gracenote MusicID technology for extracted audio from CDs.

A version 9.0a update is already available, featuring the following notable fixes/changes:

• A Force loop bar to match selection check box has been added to the Editing tab in the Preferences dialog
  - Select this check box if you want the loop region to always match the current time selection. Clicking to position the cursor in a data window will clear the loop region.
  -Clear the check box if you want to be able to position the cursor without clearing the loop region.
• A bug has been fixed that prevented the Normal Rate control on the scrub control from working correctly.
• Markers are now navigable when copied to a new data window.
• In Windows Vista, VST plug-ins now load properly when User Account Control (UAC) is turned off on a local administrator account.
• Devices are no longer automatically disabled when no channels are assigned to them.
• A bug has been fixed that prevented MIDI triggers from working correctly.
• A bug has been fixed that prevented OGG files from opening properly.
• A bug has been fixed that caused operations on multi-channel Windows Media files to fail.
• An error in the documentation has been corrected: Alt+L creates a sample loop without displaying the Edit Sample dialog; Alt+Shift+L creates a sample loop and displays the Edit Sample dialog.
• Several bugs relating to the cut, copy, and paste functions have been fixed.
• Several bugs relating to playback and playback buffering behavior have been fixed.
• A bug has been fixed that caused the Statistics tool to report inaccurate RMS levels has been fixed.
• A bug has been fixed that prevented some scripts from working properly with multi-channel audio.
• VST plug-ins that support more than two channels are now allowed. Only selected channels will be processed. If the number of inputs or outputs does not match the number of channels selected, missing inputs will be replaced with silence, and extra outputs will be discarded.

Charts detailing the differences between Sound Forge 8 and Sound Forge 9 and Sound Forge 9 and Sound Forge Audio Studio are available.

The new Sound Forge 9 audio production suite will be announced and available at NAB 2007, taking place April 16-19 in Las Vegas, NV, USA. Sound Forge 9 has an MSRP of $399.95.