Sony CD Architect 5.2

Professional Red Book Audio CD Mastering
Produce professional audio CDs to Red Book specification with CD Architect 5 software. Newly updated version 5.2 includes CD text reading and writing, and updated drive support. Perform full PQ code editing, trim events from full-length media and add as new tracks, import regions from Sound Forge software as tracks, master audio by applying over 20 real-time DirectX effects to events and the master output, and perform disc-at-once CD burning.

CD Architect software provides the most precise audio CD mastering and burning tools available. Arrange your CD Architect project using simple drag-and-drop operations. Produce complex crossfades and DJ-style megamixes. Generate multiple takes of a song to use in your project before burning. Create live-style CDs with audio in the time between tracks, apply volume envelopes and event ASR envelopes – even create hidden tracks. CD Architect software supports a long list of drives, including many FireWire and USB devices.

Why CD Architect Software?

Powerful CD Creation Tools
CD Architect software provides all the tools you need to produce professional CDs from beginning to end. Perform full PQ code editing, apply effects, create customized crossfades, and generate disc-at-once premasters suitable for professional replication.

Over 20 Real-Time DirectX Effects
CD Architect software gives you the flexibility you need to professionally master your final product. Master your CD projects using over 20 real-time DirectX® effects including EQ, compression, reverb, and noise gate. Apply effects to individual tracks, sections of a track, or the master bus.

Powerful Editing Features
Zoom to sample level and perform precise, real-time edits, fades and crossfades. Move, cut, copy, paste, and split events. Invert audio phase, normalize tracks, and perform audio scrubbing - even apply real-time pitch changes and time stretching.

Media Extraction Tools
Create "best-of" CDs in minutes. Preview and extract tracks of your own music, add them to your project, and burn to CD. Tracks are extracted with full PQ information including track start points, timing information, and more.

Professional Mixing Tools
Create transitions between songs or layer audio to produce complex crossfades and DJ-style megamixes. Create "live" CDs with audio in between tracks, apply volume and ASR envelopes to events and even create hidden tracks!

Powerful CD Design Features
Arrange audio tracks using simple drag-and-drop operations. Create multiple takes of a song to use in your project before burning. Preview and switch between various takes and choose the one that fits best in your project.

Professional CD Burning Features
CD Architect software includes support for a wide variety of CD burners, including FireWire, USB, IDE, and SCSI devices. Perform test burns before writing to CD. CD Architect also supports buffer underrun protection — preventing unusable discs.

Cue sheet printing
Share track list information with other applications or a CD replication house. You can copy track list information, save it to a text file, or print a hard copy directly from the CD Architect application.

Full PQ Code Editing
CD Architect software lets you arrange tracks with speed and precision. Perform full PQ code editing including track and index positions, ISRC codes, and pause times.

Protected Work Environment
Work with confidence - CD Architect software automatically creates and saves a backup copy of your project every five minutes. Plus, use the undo/redo history to restore previous edits with ease. View past edits - even undo or redo whole groups at a time.

Multiple File Format Support
Use multiple file formats in your project - CD Architect software performs the conversion for you. Convert your favorite MP3s to WAV on the fly, burn new audio CD's, and listen to them anywhere. CD Architect software supports popular formats including MP3, AIFF, Windows Media® Audio, Ogg Vorbis, and more.

Fully Customizable Workspace
CD Architect software lets you to customize your environment to fit the way you work. Dock or float windows, including the Playlist, Tracklist, Trimmer, Media Pool and Mixer anywhere on your workspace.

Ultimate Audio Fidelity
Use the highest quality audio in your CD projects, up to 32-bit, 192kHz source audio - no conversion is necessary. Convert your tracks to Red Book audio with high-quality resampling and dithering with noise shaping.

What you can do with CD Architect software

• Generate Red Book compliant disc-at-once (DAO) premasters of your music suitable for professional replication.
• Burn CDs using USB, FireWire, SCSI and IDE/ATAPI CD recorders.
• Add CD Text that can be read by certain CD players.
• Test burn before writing to your own CD.
• Perform full PQ code editing including media UPC/MCN, and per-track ISRC.
• Extract audio tracks with PQ information from CDs.
• Perform mastering by applying over 20 real-time DirectX® effects to individual events, sections of events, or the master bus.
• Use high-resolution source audio with high-quality conversion to Red Book audio.
• Import regions and markers from Sound Forge® software products as CD tracks and indicies.
• Apply real-time pitch changes and time stretching.
• Create multiple takes of your song to use in your project before burning.
• Quickly adjust track volume levels, add a fade-in/fade-out, crossfade, and define custom volume and event ASR envelopes for each track.
• Layer audio to produce complex crossfades and DJ-style megamixes.
• Create live-style CDs with audio in the time between tracks.
• Perform precise, non-destructive edits and zoom to the sample level and create extremely accurate edits and fades.
• Use the Trimmer window to select portions of media that can be placed as new tracks.
• Convert your favorite MP3s of your own music to WAV files on the fly, burn your new audio CDs, and listen to them anywhere.
• Preview tracks in the Media Pool before adding them to your mix.
• Import multiple file formats into your project without any conversion.
• Arrange your CD Architect™ project using simple drag-and-drop operations.
• Instantly normalize events to the peak level.
• Copy track list information to the clipboard, save it to a text file, or print a hard copy directly from the CD Architect interface.
• Create hidden tracks by adding audio before the first track or after the last track.
• Use the undo/redo history to restore your project to any previous state.
• Use up to 99 tracks and 99 subindices per track.
• Add International Standard Recording (ISRC), Universal Product Codes (UPC) or Media Catalog Numbers (MCN).

New Features

General Editing

32-bit, 192kHz source audio support
Use the highest quality audio in your CD projects, up to 32-bit, 192kHz source audio – no conversion necessary. Import audio formats other than 16 bit, 44.1kHz (CD quality), and CD Architect™ software will resample the media to your project's sample rate and perform dithering with advanced noiseshaping.

Trimmer Window
Use the Trimmer window to easily select portions of a song to place as new tracks in your project. Open, add, select, and edit any media to use in your project. Add and save markers and regions to the track, even open audio in an external audio editor like Sound Forge® software.

Undo/Redo history list
CD Architect software lets you restore previous edits with ease. View past edits - even undo or redo whole groups at a time.

Multiple file format support without conversion
Use multiple file formats in your project – no conversion necessary. Supported audio file types can be added to the timeline and burned to CD without any pre-conversion to .WAV. CD Architect software supports popular formats including MP3, Windows Media®, Ogg Vorbis, and more.

Media file previewing
CD Architect makes it easy to choose the tracks to use in your project. Preview media from the Explorer window or Media Pool before adding it to your project, and view and adjust volume using the preview meter.

Tabbed/docking windows
Customize your environment to fit the way you work. Dock or float windows, including the Playlist, Tracklist, Trimmer, Media Pool and Mixer anywhere on your workspace.

Dual monitor support
Get the most out of your CD mastering workspace. CD Architect fully supports systems with dual monitor devices.

Ripple editing
Edit multiple events at once using ripple editing. Cut, delete, and paste events within a specified time selection and quickly edit events.

Toolbar customization
Arrange buttons on the toolbar to fit your workflow. CD Architect software allows you to add, remove, and rearrange buttons on the toolbar.

Media Explorer Window
View, preview, and add media files to your project in the timeline using the Explorer window. Choose from a variety of views including tree, region, summary and details.

Autosave crash recovery
Work with confidence. CD Architect software automatically creates and saves a backup copy of your project every five minutes. In the case of a system crash, you can open the backup file and save your work.

Mastering

Over 20 real-time DirectX effects
Master your CD projects using over 20 real-time DirectX effects including EQ, compression, reverb, and noise gate. Apply effects to individual events, parts of events, or the master bus. CD Architect software provides full DirectX support, so you can use your favorite audio plug-ins to enhance your projects.

Audio phase invert
Prevent phase cancellation when crossfading your audio files. Reverse the phase of events when mixing or crossfading audio signals on the fly.

Audio layering with complex crossfades
The tiered audio layering in CD Architect 5.0 software makes CD layout, mastering, and design extremely efficient. Create complex crossfades and produce DJ-style megamixes. Add sound effects and voiceovers in an instant. Play back portions of media together, piece together parts of songs, and choose from different mixes to create the perfect final take.

Event Normalization
Maximize your CD project's audio volume to prevent clipping. Multiple events can be normalized instantly by selecting events and checking the Normalize checkbox in the Playlist window.

Real time pitch shift/time stretch
Edit the time and pitch of tracks on the fly. Stretch the length of an event and perform a pitch shift or a time stretch based on the event properties.

Slip trimming
Maintain precise editing control when working with audio events. Use slip trimming to preserve an event's duration and position while at the same time changing the in and out points used by the event.

Greater than 1:1 zoom
Apply extremely accurate fades and crossfades. Zoom in farther than 1 pixel to 1 sample, allowing for greater editing precision.

Unlimited volume envelope points
Adjust volume over time, and create customized fades and crossfades between events using ASR envelopes. CD Architect also includes two new fade types: smooth and sharp.

Audio scrubbing
Quickly find edit points using the scrub control in CD Architect software. Scan through your project forward or backward and accelerate the playback rate. Use JKL keyboard commands to quickly find sections in your projects.

CD Design & Writing

Expanded drive support including USB and FireWire devices
CD Architect™ software includes support for a wide variety of CD burners, including FireWire, USB, IDE, and SCSI devices.

Smart track reordering
Quickly reorder and arrange your CD Architect project using simple drag-and-drop operations. Move track markers and easily position tracks in the timeline all while preserving the critical two- second pause between tracks.

Multiple takes for tracks
Create different takes of a song to use in your project before burning. Preview and switch between various takes and choose the one that fits the best in your project.

Buffer underrun protection
CD Architect software prevents buffer underruns by fully supporting MMC-compatible devices with buffer underrun protection technology, preventing coasters.

Cue sheet printing
CD Architect software allows you to share your track list information with other applications or a CD replication house. Copy track list information to the clipboard, save it to a text file, or print a hard copy directly from the CD Architect interface.

Audio clipping detection
Detect audio clipping before you burn. If your audio events are clipping due to excessive processing or volume levels, CD Architect warns you before burning, preventing unwanted distortion.

Auto-pause time indication
CD Architect software makes it easy to layout your CD projects. Maintain precise placement of events by viewing the pause time between each track when moving media.

System Requirements:

• Microsoft® Windows® 2000 SP4, XP, Windows Vista™, or Windows 7
• 500 MHz processor
• 40 MB hard-disk space for program installation
• 128 MB RAM
• Windows-compatible sound card
• CD-ROM drive
• Supported CD-Recordable drive (for CD burning only)
• Microsoft DirectX® 8 or later (included on CD-ROM)
• Internet Explorer 5.1 or later (included on CD-ROM)

Supported File Formats

Import

• Wave (.wav)
• CD Audio (.cda)
• CD Architect™ 4 or 5 project (.cdp)
• Audio Interchange File Format (.aif, .aiff)
• MPEG-1 Layer 3 (.mp3)
• Windows Media Audio (.wma)
• Ogg Vorbis (.ogg)
• QuickTime® audio (.qt, .mov)
• Perfect Clarity Audio (.pca)
• Wave64 (.w64)
• Sony Creative Software Audio (.sfa)
• Dialogic VOX ADPCM (.vox)
• Intervoice (.ivc)
• NeXT/Sun (.au, .snd)
• Sound Designer 1 (.dig, .sd)

Export

• Wave Image (.wav)
• CD Architect 5 Project (.cdp)