Pro 11 -win-mac-: Steinberg Spectralayers

You want surgical, Photoshop-like control over frequency, or you need to extract dialogue from hellishly noisy environments.

Steinberg’s SpectraLayers Pro 11 continues to push the boundaries of what is possible when you stop looking at audio as a waveform and start treating it as a visual, malleable 3D object. This is not your average EQ or noise reduction plugin. It is a standalone audio editor (also available as an ARA2 extension for Cubase, Nuendo, and others) that lets you manipulate sound by painting, selecting, and transforming frequencies in real-time. Steinberg SpectraLayers Pro 11 -WiN-MAC-

Verdict: 9/10 (Essential for restoration pros and sound designers; a steep climb for casual users) You want surgical, Photoshop-like control over frequency, or