Expert’s Rating

Pros

Cons

Our Verdict

Audition , the storied professional Windows audio editing software , has finally made its first appearance on the Mac — both as a separate $ 349 software and as part of Adobe ’s $ 1,699 Production Premium and $ 2,599 Master Collection Creative Suite 5.5 . ( $ 99 upgrade pricing is available to those with any version of the now - discontinued Soundbooth and previous rendering of Audition . ) take on an interface similar to Soundbooth ’s , Audition CS5.5 offers a greater variety of features and well performance . Despite its betterment , however , some audio professional and musicians will find Audition ’s current carrying out unacceptable because of its lack of bread and butter for control airfoil   ( hardware mixing plank used to master audio practical app )   and MIDI .

Features and functions

hearing has been a democratic professional audio editing software for Windows for days . free-base on Syntrillium Software ’s Cool Edit Pro ( acquired by Adobe in 2003 ) , the current version has been rewrite , using Cool Edit ’s computer code bag . In addition to the features you ’d bear from a professional sound recording editing diligence , Audition includes a broad collection of instrument for cleaning and mixing audio , native 5.1 multichannel support , roundtrip Adobe Premier Pro editing , and bread and butter for OMF and XML importee and export ( allowing you to exchange project with Avid ’s Pro Tools and Apple ’s Final Cut Pro ) . Like Soundbooth , Audition includes royalty - free soundtracks , sound impression , and loops , uncommitted through Adobe ’s Resource Central . It ’s also significantly more responsive than Soundbooth .

Views on audio

If you ’ve used Soundbooth , Audition ’s interface will seem familiar . Like Soundbooth , Audition offers two primary work environments — waveform and multitrack , which you select via menu bid , keyboard shortcuts , or by cluck tabs in the independent Audition windowpane . Surrounding the main panel you witness smaller tabbed panels for file navigation , marker , consequence , and video . you could call up additional control panel for an audio mixer , amplitude statistics , and lot processor from the Window menu . you’re able to undock any gore so that it becomes a separate windowpane . pick and editing button look at the top of the window and raptus controls appear near the bottom .

Audition ’s Multitrack opinion

Within the Multitrack view you ’re offer tools for moving , slice , and pick out portion of clips . Within each lead you get typical control include volume , panning , deaf-and-dumb person , and solo . you may to boot select an stimulant source ( stereophonic system or mono ) and , unlike Soundbooth , designate a raceway ’s yield to a specific twist or bus . Also , unlike with Soundbooth , Audition allows you to assign markers in Multitrack view .

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Audition’s Multitrack view

prefer the Waveform purview and survival ( marquee , lasso , and paintbrush ) tools and a spot healing tool become available . to boot you have the option to break a spectral display , which defines a sound ’s characteristics via a colored graphical record . Using that spectral exhibit and the Spot Healing pecker you may “ paint out ” unwanted frequencies and noise that ca n’t be removed via one of Audition ’s noise - remotion / simplification tool .

Effectively speaking

speak of effect , Audition comes with a nice accompaniment of them orchestrate in such collections as Amplitude and Compression , Delay and Echo , Filter and EQ , Modulation , Noise Reduction / Restoration , Reverb , Special ( including Distortion and Guitar Suite ) , and Stereo Imagery . The diligence also supports compatible VST and Audio Units effect . As with Soundbooth , you could gang together groups of consequence into an essence rack , write that wrack , and then practice it to other tracks and within other projects . When working in Multitrack aspect you have access to non - destructive effects . When you switch to Waveform view you could go with these same effects as well as with destructive burden include DeClicker , DeClipper , Delete Silence , and Stretch and Pitch result . you’re able to additionally choose a consistent stochasticity ( something like the constant Harkat ul-Ansar of an tune conditioner ) , sample it , and then ask Audition to remove that noise from the intact clip .

tryout ’s noise reduction tool

most all of the effects allow you to extensively tweak the effect ’s mount . For example , with the Stretch and Pitch effect you could choose between either the iZotope or Audition algorithms ( the iZotope algorithm sounds better but is more C.P.U. intensive ) , adjust the stretch portion ( under 100 per centum cannonball along up the clip whereas over-100 pct setting slow down the clipping — each without changing the clip ’s pitch ) , and change the pitch plus or minus 36 half step . you’re able to also preview effects within an effect ’s window before put on them .

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Audition’s noise reduction tool

proud of as I was by the quality and turn of useful effect included with Audition , I was less happy when I tried to turn up some of them . While working through projects I found myself bouncing around from Multitrack to Waveform position , between the Effects Rack and Diagnostics tabs , and then up to the fare taproom to ferret out out exactly where a peculiar effect could be discover . Certainly you ’ll see in time where Adobe has park Audition ’s many effect and restoration shaft , but it would be gracious if they were more centrally located .

In use

While Audition can be used for music projects ( ones that do n’t involve MIDI or such musical features as a metronome , notational system view , and beat map , as these features are n’t corroborate ) , its target hearing is broadcasters and media manufacturer . As such , I used it to produce a distich of episodes of the Macworld podcast — scavenge and tweak track tape via Skype , permeate background racket , editing out breathiness from a too - close headset microphone , balancing volume between loudspeaker and within single tracks , and mix in music . unremarkably I do this work with GarageBand and easy - to - use as it may be , it does n’t give me nearly the tractableness I found with Audition .

The Skype track presented a couple of progeny . The first was the typical - for - Skype tinniness of the track . A quick coating of EQ settled that . I then had to filter out some scope hiss , which I was able to do by sampling that sound and then applying the Noise Reduction consequence . ( Using a Noise Reduction skidder I was capable to tweak the burden so I lost most of the noise without also losing the clip ’s high frequencies ) . The speaker ’s intensity was sometimes too hot and the DeClipper did n’t leave all the help I needed . However , with the manipulation of the Hard Limiter issue arrange at -3db I kept the loudness under control . This data track also had a lot of breathy noises in sections that should have been mum . They were n’t consistent enough to sample and eliminate with the Noise Reduction effect so I simply select them and opt the Silence command from the Effects menu .

One of the wily parts of flux a multi - participant podcast is balancing the loudness levels between the speakers . Audition ’s Match Volume takes care of it . Just get behind the file you desire to equilibrise to the Match Volume venire , configure the setting ( you’re able to match to full RMS , loudness , perceived bulk , or peak mass as well as inflict modification ) , and click the Match Volume push button . In short rescript , the volumes of the two raceway are twin . Although I did n’t have to do it , you may also utilize a Speech Volume Leveler to make the bulk in a single runway uniform should a speaker ’s volume vary wildly .

Adding the music was n’t difficult . I just pick out my background signal music tracks and sweep up them into the Files window from the Finder . ( Regrettably , Audition does n’t include a medium web web browser for store often - used magazine . ) I then cart them into place . Audition does n’t admit an automatic ducking characteristic ( a feature of speech that automatically drops the intensity of one track when another play ) . Some people used to this lineament may regret its absence seizure but I prefer to describe in my own book curves , which I could well do in Audition .

I ’ve used Soundbooth for this same kind of study and I ’m happy to account that Audition is significantly more responsive . On my 2.66GHz Dual - Core Mac Pro with 8 GB of RAM it would take Soundbooth several minutes to spare a project . Audition does that work in a fraction of the time . Also , when applying a processor intensive effect — which , under Soundbooth , would completely wed up the coating until the processing was done — you could continue to do other things in your project while Audition renders the burden . An essence like metre and pitch can still take minute to finish , but you do n’t point out it nearly as much because you could carry on with other Audition chores while it finishes depict .

I also essay Audition ’s interactions with Premiere Pro as well as its compatibility with Final Cut Pro . I found that opening a complex Audition undertaking in Adobe Premier Pro can take several minutes , though all the elements finally make their way to Premiere . The same ca n’t be said for project opened in Final Cut Pro . two-channel time and tracks are converted to mono , overlapping clips are combined , no effects and EQ are exported , and you lose all your mechanization envelopes except clip book and mono - to - stereophonic system track panning . to boot older copies of Final Cut do n’t work out . For object lesson , Final Cut Pro 5 refused to open up a Final Cut XML Interchange Format file exported from Audition .

Missing

While I produced a twain of good - sound podcasts that could have been more troublesome with GarageBand , there were some features I miss . As I mentioned , it would be nice to have a window that contains oftentimes used clip — commercials or background euphony that you use clock time and again . I also wish that I was able to preview clips within the Files panel . you could preview clips when you ’re import them , but once they ’re in the Files panel you could hear them only if you open them in the Waveform view . When you have a couple of dozen clips with names like Bumper01 , Bumper02 , and Bumper03 , it would helpful to be able-bodied to cursorily preview them in parliamentary procedure to tell which is which .

Audition offers no financial support for enhanced podcasts — podcasts that you add chapters , images , and links to — so I had to take my ruined audio recording work and spell it into GarageBand where I could add these elements . And while I empathise the estimation of having two freestanding Waveform and Multitrack view , I care GarageBand ’s intercrossed aspect where I can see not only all the tracks in a task but also the waveform opinion of the currently pick out tracks . I often move between these two eyeshot when editing and being able to keep an eye on one view while working in another is utilitarian .

I do n’t apply a control surface , but many audio professional do . And for them , this edition of Audition is likely a dead end as it offer no accompaniment for such hardware . Adobe empathize that this is a precedence so it will undoubtedly come at some metre , but for now , no .

Macworld’s buying advice

Despite the miss feature , I found Audition CS5.5 to be a substantial tool largely because of its wealthiness of useful , good - sounding effects and its cleaning and tweak tools . It ’s now my go - to podcast production editor program . If I routinely work with Premiere Pro , I ’d like it even more , as trips between the two program are nearly unlined . Also , if you have the chance to upgrade at the $ 99 Mary Leontyne Price , it ’s a marvellous steal . But it ’s not a double-dyed fit for everyone . musician looking for a full - featured Digital Audio Workstation wo n’t ascertain it here . And audio pros who depend on dominance surface will baffle with what they have — perhaps returning to take a tone at Audition when it supports their hardware .