News, info, and opinion by Mac users, for Mac users.

November 22, 2006

software

Split, edit, combine audio with Fission

Posted Nov. 22, ’06, 1:30 PM PT by Collin Allen
Category | Software

FissionWe’ve mentioned Rogue Amoeba’s Fission audio editor briefly, but I’ve since tried it for myself and decided it more than warranted a dedicated post. For the longest time, I’ve been a Sound Studio user (and nothing more), as my audio needs are rarely complex enough to require multiple track applications like ProTools or GarageBand. Having used Fission, though, I think I’ll be picking up a copy in the very near future.

Fission takes Sound Studio’s features to the next level, supporting independent clips of audio, one-click fades, and most importanly, lossless editing of pre-compressed audio. That last bit sounds complicated, but it’s a simple feature that’s a very good thing if you intend to edit MP3 or AAC audio files. Normally, opening a compressed file like an MP3 expands that audio into its uncompressed form (where most of the opening time is spent). When saving your edits, the audio must be re-compressed, making a twice-compressed MP3, and leaving gritty sounding audio with a distinct “overcompressed” echo. Fission overcomes this by editing the MP3 stream directly such that the compression doesn’t need to be re-done, allowing you to edit as much as you want without degrading quality. If lossless editing alone doesn’t convince you to buy Fission (or switch from Sound Studio), perhaps the affordable $32 price tag will change your mind. Either way, Fission is a great low-end audio editor for those of us with less-than-studio-level projects.

[via TUAW]


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