The processor requirement has gone from 500 MHz to 900 MHz, although if you’re still trying to make do on less than a 1 GHz processor, you probably aren’t looking at software upgrades anyway. The program still runs on Windows 2000 SP4 and on XP, and also on Vista (you haven’t switched to Vista yet, have you?). The system requirements for SF 9.0 have increased from version 8. Other improvements include drag-and-drop mixing and pasting between channels, a phase scope and mono-compatibility meter, and improved snapping. Before any of you go crazy here, let me assure you that these are crafted for surround work rather than true multitrack work, but they can be made to serve that purpose after a fashion. The most significant update in Sound Forge 9.0 is multichannel audio recording and editing. Now Sony’s back with the ninth rendition of this venerable editor. We last looked at Forge in 2005 with version 8 (see the May 2005 issue of RAP), which added audio scrubbing, ASIO and VST support, and flexible keyboard mapping. Sony’s Sound Forge has had a long reign as one of the heavyweights in stereo editing.

Sony sound forge 9