REPLACE WaveLab pro=> what options do i Have ? (Mac) Acon Digital acoustica ?

[Funky40]

Firrst: i´m on Mac


I´m tired of dealing with that Steinberg Crap.
I´m also NOT interested in any of the freeware tools (i tryed many. it´s not for me)


i just do basic file cuttings, + normalisation,
My points is the quick workflow !
- zoom in and out with gestures. the handling HAS to feel good ! not beeing fiddly !
- shortcuts for play, loop, jump to start, play from start, jump to end, ...this stuff MUST flow !
- easy to do personalisation -> please keep these settings vs. updates !!

- "save file" dialogs, shortcuts, things must work nice
- i DO run plugins in the master bus. Needs to have a good management.
- many other smaller things


- i do not read manuals and spend weeks to work me in into such tools. Well, i read, a little.
- i´d like to work with multi track. Could never gel vs. that with WL. I´d really like to !


it´s time now to move to another place. I worked with WL since WL3 ! i had times when this was my most used tool. NOW do i come back to audio editing. I have ALOTS of work in front of me.

what should i get ? ( no subscriptions if anything possible / but: vs. a audio editor ? it´s the only type tool i might dio that)
- ok, adobe audition is too costly for a subscription !
- Acon Digital acoustica ?



Here, my story, rant, whatever: (internet trolls, stay away from me)
- My WL 10 worked always just fine. It´s nolonger loading thanks to the E-licenser shut down.
- I do have WL 11. It´s unusable, cause my (newer) Mac can´t write the required config file.
W.o. that is WL at each start doing a FULL fresh scan. ( i run several hundred plugins / to say it friendly)
- I do have WL 12 as well, same problem there on this mac !

Despite the fact that i allways lost all my personlisation settings like shortcuts, colours, etc. versus updates. I was never able to save and import these. ( in case there is such option, i tryed)
problems with other personalised settings which get ignored all the time ( like these additional file types that get written. Disabled that. Does NOT work)


I´m tired with that crap from steinberg !
i contacted the support. But the last time it took them months to come back to me. Which lead to me lose 100$.

It´s BF time, what pro audio editor should i look at ?

[Funky40]

vs. Mac:

I´m tired of dealing with Steinberg.
I´m also NOT interested in any of the freeware tools (i tryed many. it´s not for me /No point of discussion !)


i do mostly basic file cuttings, + normalisation,
My point is a quick professional workflow !
- zoom in and out with gestures. the handling HAS to feel good ! not beeing fiddly !
- shortcuts for play, loop, jump to start, play from start, jump to end, ...this stuff MUST flow !
- easy to do personalisation -> keep these settings in place vs. updates !!

- "save file" dialogs, shortcuts, things must work nice
- i DO run plugins in the master bus. Needs to have a good management.
- many other smaller things

- i´d like to work with multi track. Could never gel vs. that with WL. I´d really like to !
- should be a relyable piece of SW for years. ( my time investment IS a investment )
- should have a good manual. not like steinberg is doing it.


I worked with WL since WL3 ! i had times when this was my most used tool. NOW, i come back to audio editing. I have ALOTS of work in front of me. But it´s time now to move forward.

what should i get ? ( no subscriptions if anything possible / but: vs. a audio editor it´s the only type of tool i might do that)
- ok, adobe audition is too costly for a subscription for me !
- Acon Digital acoustica ?
- i see nothing else
- i tryed FW, NOT interested. i´ve checked some semi-pro tolls years back. none was it.
Not the first time i want to to move away from Steinberg and WL



Here, my story, rant, whatever: (internet trolls, stay away from me)
- My WL 10 worked always just fine. It´s nolonger loading thanks to the E-licenser shut down.
- I do have WL 11. It´s unusable, cause my (newer) Mac can´t write the required config file.
W.o. that is WL at each start doing a FULL fresh scan. ( i run several hundred plugins / to say it friendly)
- I do have WL 12 as well, same problem there on this mac !

Despite the fact that i allways lost all my personlisation settings like shortcuts, colours, etc. versus updates. I was never able to save and import these. ( in case there is such option, i tryed)
problems with other personalised settings which get ignored all the time ( like these additional file types that get written. Disabled that. Does NOT work)


I´m tired with that crap from steinberg !
i contacted the support. But the last time it took them months to come back to me. Which lead to me lose 100$.

It´s BF time, what pro audio editor should i look at ?

[thecontrolcentre]

Soundforge Pro

[thecontrolcentre]

Soundforge Pro

windows only

[Michael L]

DSP-Quattro
Audio Editing, Mastering, Plug-in Hosting, Batch Processing
https://www.dsp-quattro.com/dspquattro/ ... attro.html

[Etienne1973]

Because you like to work on Mac computer:

Zynaptiq Triumph3

Check out the fully functional 30 days demo version. Audio Editor (multichannel) is exclusively available as part of Zynaptiq's Mac Audio Apps Bundle. Whole package was just on sale recently for $89 at Plugin Boutique. Extremely powerful and IMO value is absolutely worth the money the bundle costs regularely - around $350.

[darrenr]

When Soundforge on Mac was discontinued I moved over to Acoustica - works great and is well maintained. I use the standard version which is really good value since the most recent update where they moved a bunch of the more funky features from the pro version into standard. Nice!

https://acondigital.com/

[oscillik]

Soundforge Pro

You've linked the Windows version. The Macintosh version is different discontinued.

[jrwaltb]

I bought WL Pro, and it was a mistake. It doesn't do anything well and is always a pain to use. I guess it can find loops most of the time and seems to run the batch up-sampling job fine, but the way it handles files is a mess. It can't time-stretch a file if it is under a specific number of samples (think wave-tables—something Adobe can do) and has two different "pitch detection" sections that many times (but not always) give different results for the same file. It's maddening, and the topper is that it can't just preview a file at a different sample rate; it needs to switch the whole interface to that rate, which takes about 7–10 seconds (at least on Mac). Ableton doesn't have this issue and can resample/export a file at higher quality than WL. Look people seem to be able to use Stein products to get stuff done and that's fine... Sorry I am ranting and I am sure WL can so stuff others cannot but at least add the idea of time stretching small files to a backlog, I was told to not do that type of thing.

Look any body reading this from Steinberg I am not trying to be a troll. For $600 bucks it could at least incorporate the open source sox algo for stretch and resample, it changed recently after 10 or 11 and its unclear what it uses now.

[Michael L]

For an audio editor, workflow is more important than number of features

[thebutler]

It can't time-stretch a file if it is under a specific number of samples (think wave-tables—something Adobe can do)

Just curious, how few samples are we talking.?

and has two different "pitch detection" sections that many times (but not always) give different results for the same file. It's maddening,

Got any examples you can share - you might well have found a bug...

and the topper is that it can't just preview a file at a different sample rate; it needs to switch the whole interface to that rate,

There is the 'resampler' plugin you can use... though, I'm unsure if this will work on actual 'previews' of files in the browser. Can you say what's your method for checking (before resorting to audio device sample rate changes).?

FWIW - I'm no WL expert or power-user. And it definitely has its quirks and workflow gotchas, like any app...

For $600 bucks it could at least incorporate the open source sox algo for stretch and resample, it changed recently after 10 or 11 and its unclear what it uses now.

Just checking the manual and it says it uses Z-Plane for all time-stretch duties...

Also, maybe you've tried already, but post a question or two on the forums - the main developer of WL is pretty responsive over there I've found.

Good luck anyway, whatever next you decide.!

[thecontrolcentre]

Soundforge Pro

You've linked the Windows version. The Macintosh version is different discontinued.

I had no idea it was discontinued

[mothra]

Sounds like you need to look into troubleshooting your Mac because Wavelab 11 and 12 have absolutely no problem working here or writing anything they need to anywhere.

[morphex]

After Bias Peak was discontinued back in the day, and after I tried a couple different audio editors at the time, I chose DSP-Quattro https://www.dsp-quattro.com/dspquattro/ ... tures.html It's a fully-featured, audio-editing application that is able to host AU's (including both instruments and effects), batch processing, and professional mixing and mastering.

The newest version 6 came out in August 2025 for $99, and it's loaded with updated features and customization options. If you want high-quality audio editing without launching a full DAW, DSP-Quattro is definitely worth checking out. You can download the manual to determine if it has the features and workflow that you need. Good luck!!

[Weasel-Boy]

You can download the manual to determine if it has the features and workflow that you need.

Besides the manual, you can download demos for both versions.
https://www.dsp-quattro.com/dspquattro/ ... loads.html