The other tools work on clip or track level and have different applications. I find that DX effects from Izotope, and VST and ASIO support in REAPER and Foobar2000, complement this deficiency, while still allowing to use Sound Forge for sample-exact editing. The effects and processors included with Forge prior to version 9 are not up to the current professional and 'HD-era' standards. Overall, I'd say 7.0 is more stable, and allows to use modern native plugins (ac3plug pro, atracplug), as well as some DirectX ones (like Izotope Ozone), which didn't work in the previous release. And it does feel like a point version of 6, much like 4.5 was, unless you count adding the Sony logo on all dialogs a significant improvement. Sony Sound Forge 7.0a is the last fast version out there for editing in stereo. I feel like they were struggling to justify releasing major versions, and had to add superficial features to the package. After that the program acquired more weight and got slower.

Here I am describing product versions 4 through 7. (GoldWave might be an exception, but it of different class.) This is not the case with any Adobe products (either old or new), or freely distributed software, which feel more or less foreign, like Linux. Navigating through menus and dialogs, and using keyboard shortcuts, don't have to be learn a new. Therefore its interface appears intuitive to a person who has worked with Windows, while also being fast. The best part about Sound Forge is that it feels like a native Windows program.

Sony audio studio