Evolo

Good question. I didn't look that far really just had a reasonable look at MAutoDynamicEQ. I liked that Har-Bal was a stand alone package. It seemed to be ideally set up for re-mastering previously completed tracks, as per some of the videos and instruction manual demos on their site. The developer also seemed tuned into the issues of the Loudness Wars. As you mention, the harmonic balancing is what I was after and the promises of empathetic equalisation appealed. And price didn't seem too bad considering the number of CD's and vinyl rips I eventually want to get through. There is also a feature called Reference and Segment Referencing. I haven't really tried it yet but it seemed to be similar to the process that you mentioned of saving a preferred filter and automatically applying that as required or as a starting point. Once you get used to the histogram that is also good for setting levels. You can also vary the dynamic range with this function. Last night I tried increasing the dynamic range on the debut Boston album that I had just finished. It did take it up one db level but it impacted the sound, not sure what was happening there, maybe went too hard, more to discover... I also think my 5+ year old desktop is struggling with the processing. I did read somewhere that the software needs a modern processor. It takes a while to get the hang of, but I suppose on reflection Audacity was the same. The tutorial videos are a little dry but are a valuable resource for working it out. I am definitely finding I can get a much clearer sounding result and in much shorter time than Audacity, although I must admit I used to be endlessly fine tuning with Audacity but it was hard to get it just right. I think it was the muddiness that you referred to earlier.

Hi Chris Thanks for all of your informative posts. It has been a great way to improve those 1970's recordings that I love but sometimes sounded a little ordinary. Your recent post about alternative software sent me off looking. I came across Har-Bal - http://www.har-bal.com/ . Its not a simple automated process but I find it faster than Audacity and the final result sounds quite a lot better. It might be worth a look. John