Volume Logic and Intel Macs running OS X 10.5

[Haydn]

I purchased a great audio enhancement plug-in for Macs called Volume Logic which I installed on my iMac G5. Recently, I've upgraded to an Intel iMac running OS X 10.5, and Volume Logic no longer works.

http://www.plantronics.com/north_americ ... y/vl.jhtml

I've tried this update, but it doesn't work ...

http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/13252

Any Mac users running Volume Logic on Intel Macs? Any ideas for me ... (Alternatively, any suggestions for other good audio enhancement software).

[russell]

A quick google turned up iWow both for Mac and iPod. Seemed to get reasonable reviews.

http://www.ipodobserver.com/story/30878

http://www.macupdate.com/reviews.php?id=22847

[Haydn]

Thanks Russell. iWow looks interesting, but it would be sad to lose Volume Logic, which was very good.

[zzzzoom]

Volume Logic was purchased by Plantronics and then promptly discontinued. There are links online detailing how to make it work on Leopard (if you have already purchased it). It's impossible to buy it now.

Google some more. I ran across all these threads probably a year ago. I wish the add-in was still available. It really made music sound great.

[Haydn]

Volume Logic was purchased by Plantronics and then promptly discontinued. There are links online detailing how to make it work on Leopard (if you have already purchased it).

Yeah, I can't get it to work though

[zzzzoom]

Yeah, when I was reading about it, it seemed like a 50/50 thing. Some people could make it work, while others had no luck. That really sucks. Sorry.

[Haydn]

A quick google turned up iWow both for Mac and iPod. Seemed to get reasonable reviews.

http://www.ipodobserver.com/story/30878

http://www.macupdate.com/reviews.php?id=22847

I tried iWow today. It was easy to install, and works fine on my Intel Mac, but the sound quality and range of controls didn't seem as good as Volume Logic. iWow seems more geared to the computer or headphones user, and the quality of the bass was noticeable poorer than Volume Logic. I'm still trying to get Volume Logic to work on my Intel OS X 10.5 Mac, but not optimistic.

[Haydn]

Good news .

It looks as though there is a new Volume Logic. The original inventor, Leif Claesson has started another company with another former partner. The new company is called Claesson Edwards Audio, and are producing a product called Breakaway -

http://www.claessonedwards.com/company.htm

To quote them:

"From the creator of Volume Logic, presenting a new, broadcast quality system to revolutionize your listening experience."

I've just downloaded Breakaway for Windows, and it sounds good. Breakaway for WinAmp and Mac iTunes are in the pipeline apparently.

[Haydn]

Good news part 2

I've managed to get Volume Logic to work on my Intel OS X 10.5 Mac, using the instructions near the top of this page -

http://veerle.duoh.com/blog/comments/no ... ic_update/

[Haydn]

The strange thing is, now that I've got Volume Logic to work again, I actually prefer iWow -

http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/i ... /iwow.html

Currently, this does a good job of making old tunes sound better and adding depth and bass definition.

[Haydn]

(If you're getting bored reading now, please switch channels immediately ).

On playing with Volume Logic further, maybe I prefer it. Chick Webb's 1934 track 'Don't Be That Way' sounds good anyway, but sounds great with Volume Logic. It seems to bring the sounds out right across the range, including the middles, where iWow seems to lift the treble and bass.

[Haydn]

Volume Logic seems to reduce harsh trebles on old tracks.

I've found the best way to use it is to turn the Volume Logic volume fader right up. Otherwise it doesn't sound so good.

[straycat]

Just bought a nice little piece of audio enhancement software called "Hear" for my Macbook.

http://www.joesoft.com/products/hear.php

I have yet to use it "in anger" - first opportunity should come this w/e.

I have however had a bit of a play with it - there's cables, a mixer, an SRM350 and so on sprawling around the office right now, to my partner's dismay, and so far, with only a small amount of messing around, it really does seem to produce excellent results.

Key point for me is that it doesn't just work with iTunes - it claims to work with any audio application, and it's certainly working fine for both iTunes and Megaseg, which is what I need. I'll see if I can add any more information when I've had a chance to play with it a bit more, but first results look extremely promising.

[Haydn]

Just bought a nice little piece of audio enhancement software called "Hear" for my Macbook.

http://www.joesoft.com/products/hear.php

I have yet to use it "in anger" - first opportunity should come this w/e.

I have however had a bit of a play with it - there's cables, a mixer, an SRM350 and so on sprawling around the office right now, to my partner's dismay, and so far, with only a small amount of messing around, it really does seem to produce excellent results.

Key point for me is that it doesn't just work with iTunes - it claims to work with any audio application, and it's certainly working fine for both iTunes and Megaseg, which is what I need. I'll see if I can add any more information when I've had a chance to play with it a bit more, but first results look extremely promising.

I tried the demo and it looked pretty good, and if it works with any audio application that's a big plus point.

[straycat]

An update on the Hear front - I had a chance to use it properly at the weekend, with a 1 1/2 hour set in Leeds.

Negatives first - I didn't have this problem at the venue, but while doing some prep beforehand, it was a little tricky to get Hear to kick in, so until I was able to do that, the audio was unaffected by it. By shutting down and restarting Hear, iTunes and Megaseg a few times, I got it working, and it was fine after that - I'll drop a support email to JoeSoft to see if they can shed any light on it. It's also incredibly easy to overcook things to a ridiculous degree, so any tinkering with the sound needs to be done very carefully - but that probably goes without saying.

On the plus side, to my relatively untrained ear, the improvements in sound quality were extremely noticeable - tracks tended to sound a lot brighter clearer, and it helped to bring out parts of the instrumentation that had previously been getting a bit lost. One of our Tuesday crowd is something of an audiophile, so I'll probably find out then whether he agrees, or tells me that I'm talking complete nonsense.

Interface is good, and it comes with a ridiculous number of presets for every purpose under the sun - most of which I will probably end up deleting, but for now it's a good way of learning the system's capabilities. Crucially, it allows you to save your own presets, so customising it for different venues will be a snap.

Thus far, I'm impressed. Just need to see how that holds up with continued use...