Digital audio editor

A digital audio editor is a computer application for audio editing, i.e. manipulating digital audio. Digital audio editors are the main software component of a digital audio workstation.

For use with music

Editors designed for use with music typically allow the user to do the following:

• Record audio from one or more inputs and store recordings in the computer's memory as digital audio

• Edit the start time, stop time, and duration of any sound on the audio timeline

• Fade into or out of a clip (e.g. an S-fade out during applause after a performance), or between clips (e.g. crossfading between takes)

• Mix multiple sound sources/tracks, combine them at various volume levels and pan from channel to channel to one or more output tracks

• Apply simple or advanced effects or filters, including compression, expansion, flanging, reverb, audio noise reduction and equalization to change the audio

• Playback sound (often after being mixed) that can be sent to one or more outputs, such as speakers, additional processors, or a recording medium

• Conversion between different audio file formats, or between different sound quality levels

Typically these tasks can be performed in a manner that is both non-linear and non-destructive.

For use with speech

Editors designed for use in speech research add the ability to make measurements and perform acoustic analyses such as extracting and displaying a fundamental frequency contour or spectrogram. They typically lack most or all of the effects of interest to musicians.

Table of audio editing software

Name	Creator	Linux?	Mac OS X?	Unix?	Windows?	Is free software?	Note
Acoustica	Acon Digital Media	No	No	No	Yes	No
Amadeus Pro	HairerSoft	No	Yes	No	No	No
Ardour	Paul Davis	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	multi-track audio recorder
Audacity	Dominic Mazzoni	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Audiobook Cutter Free Edition		No	No	No	Yes	Yes	MP3 audiobook splitter
Audio Editor Gold	NextLevel Software	No	No	No	Yes	No	An innovative audio editing and recording software solution
Audio Dementia	Holladay Audio	No	No	No	Yes	No
Audition	Adobe Systems	No	No	No	Yes	No	Previously known as CoolEdit
BIAS Peak	BIAS	No	Yes	No	No	No
BRELS MIDI Editor	Breno de Lima Sarmento	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Old-school styled MIDI Editor with straightforward interface. Free, open-source, no installation needed.
AV Music Morpher	AVnex Audio and Video Software Ltd.	No	No	No	Yes	No	Single-track Multi-track Audio Editor, Audio Recorder, Audio Effects, Audio Remover and Extractor Software, Audio Morphing Software
Creative Wavestudio	Creative Technology	No	No	No	Yes	No	Bundled with Creative Soundcards.
Diamond Cut DC7	Enhancedaudio.com, Inc.	No	No	No	Yes	No	Noise Reduction, Editing and Audio Enhancement
Ecasound		Yes	Yes		No	Yes	audio recorder
Freecycle		Yes	No		No	Yes	beat slicer
Fast Edit	Minnetonka audio	No	No	No	Yes	No
Fission	Rogue Amoeba	No	Yes	No	No	No
FlexiMusic Wave Editor	FlexiMusic	No	No	No	Yes	No	Handles large audio files to Edit, Special effects such as fade, equalize, echo, reverb, modulate, stretch/shrink
Goldwave	Goldwave Inc.	No	No	No	Yes	No
Jokosher	Jokosher community	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	multi-track audio editor
LMMS	Tobias Doerffel	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Intended as a replacement for Cubase-like software (DAW)
Media Digitalizer	Digitope	No	No	No	Yes	No	Intended to facilitate recording cassette tapes to digital formats
Mp3splt		Yes	Yes		Yes	Yes	splits MP3 and Vorbis files without decoding
MP3 Stream Editor	3delite	No	No	No	Yes	No	Non-destructive audio editor
MusE		Yes	No		No	Yes	MIDI sequencer
Aviary Myna	Aviary Inc.	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Browser based multi-track audio editor
n-Track Studio	FAsoft	No	No	No	Yes	No
NU-Tech	Leaff Engineering	No	No	No	Yes	No	Available free SDK
Pro Tools	Digidesign	No	Yes	No	Yes	No
Pyramix	Merging Technologies	No	No	No	Yes	No	DSP Based version and Native version
Qtractor		Yes	No		No	Yes	A non-destructive multi-track audio and MIDI Workstation (DAW)
QuickAudio	Sion Software	No	No	No	Yes	No
Reaper	Cockos	No	Yes	No	Yes	No
ReZound	Davy Durham	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	Graphical audio file editor
Rosegarden		Yes	No		No	Yes	MIDI sequencer and multi-track recorder
SADiE	SADiE	No	No	No	Yes	No	non-destructive multi-channel audio editor, primarily for broadcast
Sample Wrench	dissidents	No	No	No	Yes	No	Audio editor/analyzer with MIDI transfer
Snd (link)		Yes	Yes		No	Yes	audio editor
SndBite	Bill Poser	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Editor for cutting a recording into many small pieces.
Sound Forge	Sony	No	No	No	Yes	No	Formerly from Sonic Foundry
Sound Normalizer	Kanz Software	No	No	No	Yes	No
Soundbooth	Adobe Systems	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	Intel only
Soundscape 32	Solid State Logic	No	No	No	Yes	No	DSP Based version - formerly from Soundscape Digital Technology
SoX		Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	command-line multi-track audio editor/processor
Sweep	Conrad Parker	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes
Total Recorder	HighCriteria	No	No	No	Yes	No	Available for no cost evaluation
Traverso DAW		Yes	Yes		Yes	Yes	multi-track audio recorder/editor/mixer
WaveLab	Steinberg	No	No	No	Yes	No
Wave Editor	Abyssmedia	No	No	No	Yes	No	freeware version available
Wavosaur	Wavosaur Team	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	freeware version available
WavePad	NCH Software	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	freeware version available
WaveSurfer	Centre for Speech Technology at KTH	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
XO Wave	XO Audio	Yes	Yes	No	No	No
AudioLab	Mitov Software	No	No	No	Yes	Yes for non commercial purposes.	Audio capture, playback, processing and editing library

See also

• Audio processing
• Digital audio workstation
• Music sequencer
• Software synthesizer
• Free audio software
• Software effect processor