This was originally written for the June 2006 issue of Radio Magazine, however, this is not the final article. The final has been entirely re-written.  Here is the original…

I have been a user of Adobe Audition, and its predecessor, Cool Edit, since 1998 and am excited about the recent release of Audition 2.0. After hearing about the soon to be released upgrade for several months, I made the decision to transition my studio in early February. Since then it has been an interesting learning experience full of ups and downs.

Installation was simple and intuitive. If you have installed any Windows based software you should not have a problem with Adobe Audition 2.0. Some of the minimum requirements for installation include an Intel Pentium III or 4, 512MB of RAM (1GB recommended), 700MB of available hard-disk space, and a Sound card with DirectSound or ASIO drivers.

The computer I initially installed this upgrade on is a 2.4 gig Celeron with 512 Megs of RAM and one of the first things I noticed was how slow the program loaded, saved, and applied effects. To be fair, any audio editing should be done off of the Celeron platform and RAM is cheap these days, but this version really seems to soak up processing power.

According to the Adobe Audition 2.0 documentation here are some of the new features:

• Low-latency mixing with unlimited tracks
• ASIO support
• Audible scrubbing
• Analog-modeled Multiband Compressor
• Recordable parameter automation with external hardware support
• New tools for mastering
• New Spectral Frequency Display tools
• Broader video format support
• Optimized performance
• Intuitive user interface

I dismissed with the included documentation and jumped directly into the program. There are, however, some great online primers at the Adobe.com web-site.

The first project that I mixed in Adobe Audition 2.0 was a local car dealer commercial. My initial thoughts were that it had undergone a complete ground-up re-build, I have found the majority of changes during the initial use visually cosmetic. Once you really get under the hood though, you’ll find there is a lot more than meets the eye.

One of my favorite additions to Audition is the multi-band compressor.  Trent Rentsch works for an advertising agency in Raleigh, NC and commented on that function as well.  “Having used Izotope’s Ozone program, I knew this could be a new level of professional processing for Audition, and I wasn’t disappointed. As much of my work is high octane car dealer spots, the ability to zero in on the voice-over and give it extra punch in an already intense mix is a big plus.”

As I don’t utilize MIDI, I didn’t recognize the lack of real MIDI functionality. However for guys like Trent and the other self proclaimed MIDIdiots among us, he says “As I work more with music at home, I really want a program that has real MIDI functionality, and while I know it’s possible to use FL Studio or Reason as a Rewire client within Audition, the fear that my computer won�t run Audition efficiently alone makes me hesitant.”

Rather than focus on what Adobe Audition isn’t, let’s take a look at what it is. Roy Cunningham, owner of aAudioVideoStudio.com in Astoria, Oregon has become an instant fan of version 2.0 by saying “without a doubt, AA2 has changed, radically, my perception of audio production. Adobe has given me the ability to employ techniques I only heard of from top engineers. After years of being on the “other side” of the control room, Adobe has placed me square in the captain’s chair.”

I agree with Roy when he says “The view menu allows users to easily choose the standard editing window and a maximum performance editing palette spanning twin monitors with the multi-track window on the left, and channel strips, VU, effects list on the right, I feel as if I am part of a much larger facility. In addition, mix-down functions are really easy to accomplish. I have renewed inspiration to create better vocals, hotter music beds, and hotter mixes for radio and television audio.”

Even though I have had to re-learn some of the functions I grew familiar with, such as the absence of an “obvious” mix-down facility and preferences that are now in the edit menu such as audio hardware setup and keyboard shortcuts, the learning curve was not nearly as deep as it could have been had I moved to an entirely different editing platform.

I am pleased with the enhanced multi-track capabilities along with channel strips that beg the user to experiment with sound, plus a configurable master effect rack, and twin monitor setup that brings Adobe Audition 2.0 to a level of luxury that must be seen to be heard. The feared and more expensive takeover by Adobe has come and gone and with it Adobe Audition 2.0 has arrived and is changing the way I listen and produce.

About The Author - Justin Kaiser is an SBE member and Director of Operations/Engineering at WGFA AM/FM in Watseka, IL. He also is a Microsoft Certified Small Business Specialist and Dell Certified Systems Expert. His firm, Justin Kaiser and Associates, focuses on providing Voiceovers and Internet Marketing to the broadcast community.