Okay here is my pseudo review. Keep in my mind my opinions on these apps are based on the fact that I am partial to Sound Forge on Windows. All editors are measured by this. The key features I look for in an audio editor is ease of highlighting a selection, making a selection into a new audio file, zoom, and snap selection to zero crossings. Windows Sound Forge got all of these right for me. Pretty basic stuff, which surprisingly a lot of software developers miss by a mile. In the last 48 hours, I have tried:
Amadeus Pro
Audacity
DSP-Quattro
Fission
Ocenaudio
Triumph
TwistedWave
WaveLab Elements
WavePad
Out of all these apps, my top 2 favorites are:
WaveLab Elements 8 by Steinberg -$99 through just about anywhere- The only one that has drag and drop selection into new audio file functionality. Except instead of new audio files all over the workspace like in Sound Forge, selections are dragged to the top of the editor pane and are kept tabbed at the top of the editor pane. You can only see one waveform at a time, but this makes for a very clean and focused workspace that is a nice change from Sound Forge.
WaveLab also has selectable auto or manual snap to zero crossings which is very handy. My only (very minor) gripe is that zooming in and out with the mouse fly wheel can only be done while holding the shift key. Otherwise the mouse cursor has to be over a wheel graphic at the bottom corner of the waveform editor. Whatever though. WaveLab Elements is 99 U.S. Dollars and is worth it in my opinion. I would buy it in a second if it weren't for....
Amadeus Pro by HairerSoft - 59.99 on the Mac App Store - Despite not having drag and drop functionality, this might be my favorite of the two. It's a very close call. There was some tweaking to do first however. I had to resize the audio file to a more manageable size (which the app remembers every time you open it) to accommodate multiple audio files open on the workspace at once. Speaking of workspace, I recommend opening a new desktop in Mac OS so the app has it's own desktop space.
To work around the lack of drag and drop, I set up key bindings in the Mac OS preferences menu under keyboard -> shortcuts. To make the selection a new audio file, I key binded the command "Copy To New Audio File" to command+A. For snapping selection to zero crossings, I key binded the command "Extend to Crossings" to command+shift+A. So I just highlight with the mouse, hit command+shift+A for snap to zero then command+A for new audio file. It's a snappy workflow thats is just as quick if not quicker than Sound Forge.
Another cool thing I wanted to mention is the ability to have multiple stereo or mono tracks in an audio file. In this case, drag and drop selection does work. This is a very versatile editor. Since I have a 50 dollar iTunes gift card, I think my money will go to Amadeus Pro by HairerSoft.
I'm not sure if WaveLab Elements has batch processing. WaveLab 8.5 does for sure but it's also 500 bucks. Amadeus Pro does have batch processing.
Honorable mention goes to:
WavePad - Developer has different licensing prices from free to 130 dollars. Functions almost the same as Amadeus Pro. It has batch processing. My complaint about it is it has no noticeable snap to zero crossings control. So close, WavePad. So close.
Ocenaudio - Free! - Clean workspace like WaveLab. New audio files are kept organized in a browser pane on the left. Like Amadeus Pro and WavePad, custom key bindings are a must. This one does not appear to have batch processing though. My complaint, readjusting the highlighted selection with the mouse requires holding down the shift key. WTF
Still a better free audio editor than Audacity.
The rest of the apps were too convoluted (Triumph), too basic (Fission, TwistedWave), or just plain WTF unusable (DSP-Quattro, Audacity).
I hope this helps some of you lost souls out there. I'd be happy to answer any questions on any of these apps. Also, can anyone weigh in on how well Windows Sound Forge works in Parallels?
