hi Ivon,

Yes....CDA5 has this fade capability between tracks. I record and master a lot of live classical music events, and use the "split", "crossfade", "auto-crossfade", and "second audio layer" functions quite a bit. It works well. I record with SoundForge and master in CDA5....which is the most logical thing for to do right now (until I get Vegas for myself).

The big things that CDA5 allows you to do is take individual tracks, compile a cd, then really finalize the finished cd. You can use a variety of plug-ins, trim each track, crossfade between each track, use envelope tools across the entire timeline, use dual audio layers, etc.... It is a fairly thorough program. I sort of think of it as a simple dual stereo-track editor with great processing abilities.....though not necessarily inteded for detailed, tedious, cut-and-splice editing.

Out of curiosity, why can't you use Vegas for CD mastering? If I'm not mistaken, pretty much anything you can do in CDA5 can be done in Vegas. As well, Vegas supports DAO redbook cd writing. From what I've seen, the layout and operation between the two programs for cd mastering is very similar.

Am I being misleading here guys?

I think you just saved me 200 USD. Thanks to your email, I realize that Vegas does support red book mastering.

Thanks and Regards,
Ivon

>>Out of curiosity, why can't you use Vegas for CD mastering? If I'm not mistaken, pretty much anything you can do in CDA5 can be done in Vegas. As well, Vegas supports DAO redbook cd writing. From what I've seen, the layout and operation between the two programs for cd mastering is very similar. Am I being misleading here guys?<<

Not misleading at all. I have CDA 5 and never use it. All my project files are in Vegas and its just easier to do everything there. Do a search in this forum for poster Rednroll and you will see a good argument for using just Vegas for final CD layout and burning. CDA has a few other features but if you have Vegas, then its important to do some research into the functionality of both to see if you really need CDA.

Another issue is the question as to whether CDA has once again become the abandoned stepchild of SoFo/Sony. Its got some bugs and there hasn't been an update for many months - it doesn't even appear that tech support monitors this forum like they do with the others - they rarely post here or respond in the manner they do with the others so who knows. . . ?

drbam

I've noticed that CDA5 is a little buggy on some things.....but my overall use/experience with this program hasn't lead to any problems with a final cd.

I think it's a little odd that Sony would take this attitude with CD architect, since SF7 doesn't offer redbook, or DAO burning. I would think they would try to keep this program alive for their own software line-up (or at least build it into SoundForge)......not to mention keeping a full function, competitive option on the market for the rest of the world.

Who knows why big corporations do what they do......

I have CDA5, SF7, and Vegas.

When assembling and mastering (my version of mastering, which appears less "intense" than Red's) I prefer the focused an uncluttered approach in CDA. SF just doesn't do red book, and Vegas has too much irrelevant (and distracting) stuff lying around the screen.

Sure, CDA5 desperately needs a few tweaks.

geoff