I was stunned by Pro Tools 7.4’s new Elastic Audio feature when I tried it out last month, not only because it’s implemented in such an awesome, easy to use way but because it sounds absolutely *amazing*. I swear, it sounds as good as iZotope Radius, which I wouldn’t have believed possible.
Oh, wait. It *is* iZotope Radius.
Radius *included* with Ableton Live-like ease of use integrated in a DAW? Sold. Sorry Digital Performer. I’ve always balked at the Digidesign upgrade path and the LE limitations, but when I really think about it, I haven’t worked on a project with more than 32 tracks since… well, since we slaved two 2″ 24-tracks together back in the 90’s and regretted it. Muchly. And as far as HD goes, well, I guess if you need it it’s worth it, and if you don’t need it then why do you care?
In any case, if you’re not familiar with Elastic Audio watch Emagic’s, er, Apple’s, er, Digidesign’s Phil Jackson explain it here. Niiice!