Wavelab vs Soundforge vs ... ?

[Gonga]

It's hard to know what you're missing when it's missing...

Every now and then I get a bit frustrated using my DAW tools (Cubase and SONAR) and / or Audacity to finalize my tracks, for various reasons.

I am planning to try demos of professional audio editing tools...Soundforge and Wavelab. But when I do, I fear I'll be spinning my wheels under a steep learning curve, without adequate time to find the essential features that might be worth the rather high cost of ownership.

Steinberg Wavelab trial:
http://www.steinberg.net/en/products/wavelab/trial.html

SONY Soundforge trial:
http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/download/trials

It appears that there are few discussions of audio editors, presumably because everybody is mostly satisfied with their DAWs, freeware, etc. for audio editing and mastering duties. But if not, then what do you use and why? When I try the demos, what features should I tool up on and experiment with that are unique and that will make them worth investigating? How do they compare in terms of features and limitations for clip editing tools, noise reduction, time stretch, formats, batch processing, etc.?

I realize this is a somewhat challenging post. You may actually have to use your brain...if you think this is a stupid post, then by all means ignore me and go away ... no need to post a rant about how stupid and lazy I am!

[Brother Charles]

I'm a very strong advocate of Acon Digital's "Acoustica". It competes very well against "Sound Forge" and "Wavelab". It boasts a full compliment of Pro-grade features and the Premium version only costs $120.

I used Cool Edit Pro back in late 90s and early 2000s. I used both Wavelab and Soundforge for years. They are both good products. Once you get used to either of them, you will see that they truly are high end applications. That said, Acon's "Acoustica" can do most nearly everything that the two Biggies can, but without the $500 price tag.

Acon Digital's "Acoustica" very much has its own uniqueness and charm. The included audio restoration suite alone makes it worth the reasonable price.

http://acondigital.com/products/acoustica-audio-editor

[Passing Bye]

Acon Digital's "Acoustica" very much has its own uniqueness and charm. The included audio restoration suite alone makes it worth the reasonable price.
http://acondigital.com/products/acoustica-audio-editor

Absolutely, their DeNoise is just superb (better than iZotope, Waves or any affordable audio editor's included one), if you by any chance have use/need for it, that can boost value of Acoustica Premium even more.

[msorrels]

I used to use Cool Edit 2000 back in the day. Then switched to Sound Forge 4 when I was hired to do the audio programming for a football game. Over the years (15+ of them -- man I'm getting old) I've upgraded Sound Forge to version 9 but haven't bothered with anything since then. The basic reason: it's still 32 bits. Until Sony releases a 64 bit version I doubt I'll be upgrading. As a result I really can't recommend anyone jump in to Sound Forge right now, despite the fact I think it is very powerful and worth having. I've actually been considering switching to Wavelab myself, but it seems like a lot of cost and pain for little gain. I have no faith Sony will actually step up, given what they have done with Acid Pro 7, but if they did go 64-bits I'd be upgrading. One thing I think is very tricky about Sound Forge is that it's not obvious how deep it goes and how well thought out some of its editing and processing features are. It kind of looks spartan to new users, it's only when you start to use it that you realize it is much deeper than it looks. Don't let a casual trial fool you.

In the mean time I've started using Adobe Audition more. I have a CC subscription for other apps, so it's a "bonus". Audition used to be Cool Edit Pro before they removed the best feature from Cool Edit (the ability to do acid-style looping). I actually think it's come a long ways though. It still has a handful of annoying issues (like it won't use 32bit plugins! Can't seem to win that game) but it does have a very good noise reduction system, a nice spectral editor and works very nicely with Adobe Premiere. Course it does require a subscription which lots of people think is the devil.

[Gonga]

Ah, Adobe, I had forgotten about Audition. For some reason, I never got along with that whole Adobe interface.

Acon Acoustica! Thanks for that guys. I will surely be checking them out.

[JohnnyA]

Acon Acoustica! Thanks for that guys. I will surely be checking them out.

3rd'ed. I haven't looked back to the archaic Sound Forge ever since.