Product ReviewsMultimedia software
Despite increased competition in the realm of audio editing and mastering - notably from DSP Quattro, Roxio's Jam, Apple's Waveburner Pro and even Soundtrack Pro - Peak arguably remains the most well-rounded, full-featured offering on the Mac platform. Now with Peak Pro 5, its developer, Bias Inc, has demonstrated a clear determination to stay one step ahead. Aside from a general cosmetic sprucing-up (new program icon, faster load time, cleaner interface with clearer icons), Peak Pro 5's new features generally fall into two camps: those necessary to repel the competition and those designed to push Peak further ahead. Given that Jam and Waveburner Pro both feature a graphic waveform view for compiling master CDs, it was no surprise to find Peak's Playlists acquiring a similar look and feel. Tracks can now be visually moved, nudged and aligned, making crossfades much easier to handle and transitions easier to audition. However, the ability to non-destructively create custom fades for tracks, not just crossfades, would be a welcome refinement. Playlists also now support Red Book-standard replication-ready CD burning, including ISRC codes, PQ subcodes and CD Text, although when exporting the Program List (PQ) information, individual track times are not included, nor is any CD-text metadata you may have added. The choice of burn speeds offered for the CD master is also peculiarly didactic, the only options being 1x, 8x, 16x or 24x. However, the new Playlist positives outweigh these negatives. Elsewhere in Peak Pro 5, the ability to use AU plug-ins (as well as VST) is new, as is the addition of automatic plug-in delay compensation. Even more revolutionary is MIDI support for VST and AU virtual instruments. Your favourite soft synths can now be played and recorded directly within Peak: an audio document is automatically created, allowing further manipulation using Peak's comprehensive DSP toolset. Instruments can be controlled by either an external MIDI keyboard, your Mac's QWERTY keyboard or from Peak's own virtual keyboard, so
Peak's overall sound is also improved, with new algorithms for the Change Pitch, Change Duration and Sample Rate Conversion actions, ensuring that audio is treated with exemplary care. One new feature we particularly enjoyed - one that becomes immensely useful very quickly - was tape-style scrubbing. This works exactly like an analogue reel-to-reel tape deck, whereby an audio file can be slowed down and 'wound' back and forth to find the precise edit point. We also liked Peak's sample-accurate synchronisation with QuickTime movies, allowing you to edit the audio while the picture plays in a separate window. Further, there are several new handy DSP items, including Strip Silence. With the arrival of Peak Pro 5's all-new XT bundle, the package offers even more. XT stands for 'XTended Technology' and the deal includes Peak Pro 5, SoundSoap Pro, Soundsoap and the Master Perfection Suite. SoundSoap Pro is a useful companion for Peak, allowing the user to clean up audio in an impressive, efficient manner, but it's undoubtedly the Master Perfection Suite that is the real jewel in the XT crown. A completely new set of six pro-calibre plug-ins from Bias, utilising carefully researched algorithms and linear-phase technology, the MPS consists of GateEx (a gate/downward expander), PitchCraft (pitch correction and transposition), Repli-Q (linear-phase EQ matching and optimisation), Sqweez-3 and 5 (two linear-phase multiband compressors, expanders and limiters), SuperFreq-4, 6, 8 and 10 (four parametric equalisers) and Reveal (seven different analysis tools in one interface - Peak/RMS level meters, Lissajous Phase Scope, Oscilloscope, Pan Power Meter, Peak/RMS Power History, Spectral Analyser, Spectogram). Our only complaints are that the plug-ins occupy a lot of screen real estate. They demand a fair amount of CPU power (a G4 1.33GHz iBook with 1.5GB RAM struggled with several Master Perfection Suite plug-ins loaded simultaneously) and the presets list for each tool was disappointingly brief (half a dozen settings at most). Overall, Peak Pro XT 5 is an excellent audio editing package. Given the Playlist section enhancements and the XT bundle, Peak has finally become the all-in-one audio editing and mastering lab that it's long promised to be. With the recent announcement from Bias that the Master Perfection Suite plug-ins will also be available for use in other applications (such as Logic Pro or Live 5) via a free update for registered users, the slight concern about the bundle's price soon melts away. By Jonathan Wilson |
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