Audio Cleaning Lab 2004

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Summary: Audio Cleaning Lab 2004
Review: 29.95 at the local CompUSA!

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Summary: i need help i am a beginner
Review: I do not have a clue as to what I am doing and don't have a clue as to how to get started. But I have stuble up on making a mpg into a wave but I dont know how I did it I just was clicking and messing around with the software and and went back to my music and it was there. Please help me. It would help people like me if there was a step by step illustration on what steps to take to get the job done I know it will be wonerful when I figure it out. Someone please email me and help me sign the dummy
[e-mail]

Thank you very very much

Rating:
Summary: The BEST Software to Convert LP's and Cassettes to Digital
Review: I have tried several software programs to make digital copies of my old LP's and cassettes. Very frustrating, until I stumbled on this one. It is AWESOME and AMAZING! You can visually edit the wave files which is a feature that no one else had. That is very helpful for dropping in CD track markers, taking out live applause, etc. After you have converted all your old LP's and cassettes, there are still more fun things you can do with this software, like record streaming audio.

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Summary: Excellent product
Review: I purchased this product to capture my LP collection. I am extremely satisfied with the results. It has everything I need to make excellent captures.

I would give it 5 stars, but there are some shortcomings, all of which are annoying, not imparing.

1. No MP3 encoder included. For the price, it should include an MP3 encoder. This is not a big problem for me, since I capture to .WAV files for direct burning to a CD. Converting to MP3 and back to .WAV would just introduce more distortion, and when I want to go to .MP3 I just use the free Music Match Jukebox 8.2, which includes a MP3 encoder and has an easy batch file conversion menu.

2. The manual, and help file, are poor - almost like they were written in German and poorly translated :)

3. The noise reduction wizards come up with solutions I find objectionable - too much music discarded and not enough noise. This is minor, since I use the wizard, then tweek the settings for my own preferences.

BUT, for 39.95, I think it does an excellent job.

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Summary: Disappointed
Review: I purchased this program and expected to have a complete program, I subsequently found that the program lacked key elements to function correctly, I needed to purchase an mp3 encoder update to use the save operation for my music track costing and additional $14.99, I subsequently attempted to purchase the en-coder upgrade online, Magix.com took my credit card information and thanked me. I have not received any e-mails like the program promise containing unlocking codes. "Note" these codes were promised within minutes. I have made (2) unsuccessful telephone calls to Magix, still no unlock codes. I therefore requested an RMA number to return the program still no response. I strongly recommend against purchasing anything from Magix, Their Advertising information is mis-leading. Grady.

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Summary: cassette ---> CD
Review: I use this with Panasonic RQ-A220 cassette/recorder to convert my taped records/cassettes to CD. So far, it has worked very well.

The only complaint I have (or perhaps don't know how to do) is when I name the tracks, then burn to CD, the track names do not show - just track 01, 02, etc.

I'm not an audiophile - I know I cannot fine tune the old recordings - so I let the software do it.

The main purpose of buying the software was to be able to convert cassettes to CD - and the software program does this very well. Compared to what I would have had to pay to repurchase the cassettes as CDs, along with about fifty that are no longer available - the program is excellent.

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Summary: Does a great job on transferring records and tapes to CD's
Review: The program is great for recording records & tapes to cd's or install the music as .wav files on your computer. It takes a little experimenting to master all of the features the program has to offer. The filter choices gets rid of most of the clicks, crackling and noise that you normally find on old records but depending on the condition of the record you can't get rid of them all. You really need to throughly clean the records before recording. I have been successful in editing and cutting out the bad clicks that won't filter out. For the low price it's a great tool for enhancing and transferring your cherished music to CD's or copy to your MP3 recorder. MAGIX is owned by a company in Germany but has a Product support office in the U.S.

Cons: As most companies, the support is offered thru the web site and is weak.

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Summary: XP Compatibility
Review: The program works as advertised except for the CD burning function which will not work under Windows XP. I logged this problem with the Magix support group on July 11, 2003 and have yet to get a response. To burn a CD I have to export the audio file and then use Windows Media Player....a bit clumsy!!

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Summary: A Basic Audio Editor
Review: This is a very attractive looking entry level program that for the most part is relatively easy to use. Simple to make basic cut and paste edits. Filtering lacks the sophistication of more expensive products making its less than adequate if you are converting scratched vinyl records or older tape cassettes to CD. I used this product in conjunction with Diamond Cut Millennium (a much more robust product designed for vinyl restoration) for seven months. The program documentation states that changes to your operating system may cause the program to inactivate your registration and stop working. In my experience, this happened and the re-activation process built into the program did not work. If this happens, you will find there is no support for this product. Repeated e-mail efforts over a three week period produced no results. I was forced to replace the product with Goldwave which seems to have a few more restoration type features but and is slightly more expensive.

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Summary: Works Very Well
Review: When I decided to convert, for archival purposes, my collection of LP's and cassettes to CD format, I started doing a lot of research trying to find the best program for the job. I looked at several other programs (ranging in price from free to several hundred dollars) that try to do the same job as ACL (Audio Cleaning Lab) and found them wanting.

One of the features I like best that I couldn't find in any other program, is ACL's ability to perform real time transformations. Virtually all of the filters (such as it's click removal or dehissing filters) can be applied in real time. This means that you don't have to wait from several seconds to several minutes to find out if the changes you made got you the desired result. I can't emphasize enough how much easier it is to clean up a recording with feedback in real time. Want to see if the declicker filter would make the album sound better? Simply start to play the recording, turn on the filter, and hear the results. Adjust the slider associated with the filter and you get immediate feedback as to what your actions are doing. Other programs make you adjust the filter, then wait while it applies the filter to the entire recording. Very annoying.

If you don't want to go to the trouble of manually fixing an old record or cassette, ACL has a cleaning wizard that automatically looks at the recording and adjusts the filters for you. I've found that the program is as good or better than the adjustments I make manually.

I also like the Denoiser filter. This filter is great for cleaning a record that has a lot of background noise, such as a bad cassette recording with a lot of hiss. You simply select a portion of the recording that doesn't have any music, like a section between tracks, and ACL will filter out the noise it hears from the rest of the tracks. Really amazing.

Any of the effects can be applied to either the full recording or to individual tracks, which is good if you want to create a compilation that includes recordings from several different sources.

Also, ACL will mark each track automatically so you don't have to manually find them. This feature works very well except on unnusual albums like a classical or live recording where one track can blend into another.

The only things I don't like about ACL is that you have to purchase (for $14.99) a mp3 converter if you want to burn more than 20 mp3s. But since you can save your music as a wav file which a can be read by any of the free mp3 converters, this isn't a big deal. I finally purchased the mp3 converter built in to ACL just to eliminate those extra steps.

In conclusion, the program is easy to use, works perfectly in Windows XP and Windows 98, and burns CD's without any problems on my machine. The interface is clean and the program is very easy to use, even for someone who knows little about audio engineering, but has enough controls for the more advanced tweaker. I would highly recommend it if you intended to clean a lot of records, but ACL is probably overkill if you just want to rip mp3s from your CDs.