Stereo expander slow on Mac Studio (June 2023)

Report · Jun 09, 2023

I recently upgraded to a Mac Studio (M1 Max, 64 GB memory, 2TB SSD, Ventura 13.4) . So far, Audition is behaving nicely (it didn't get along so well with my old Intel-based iMac Pro: lots of hangs and crashes, often resulting in the loss of edits or entire files)—with one exception (so far):

I routinely use the Stereo Expander tool to make the low end frequencies mono (I'm recording performances with effects, so I like to get the low end under control). I tend to work with long files that I then edit down to more reasonable lengths; previously, using Stereo Expander on the low end might take three or four minutes. Now it is taking about an hour—NOT exaggerating.

At first, I thought it might be one of those instances where the time remaining shows a large value at first, then shrinks considerably as it catches up—but no, that's how long it's taking.

Trying the latest beta version of Audition has not helped, neither has changing the location of the cache folders to the internal and Thunderbolt-connected SSDs.

Though not as bad as not being able to recover recent edits or new files after a crash, this is a serious disruption to my workflow. I can adjust, if need be, but I don't see any good reason why it should take literally 15 times longer to perform a relatively basic function.

Is there a fix for this in the works? Or a good workaround?

Thanks,

Kevin

Report · Jun 09, 2023

No way to edit posts, apparently, but I just wanted to add that I've currently got three files I'm working on. One is about 35 minutes, one is roughly an hour, and the third is almost 90 minutes. For the first two files, it took Stereo Expander almost two hours to do its thing on that narrow part of the audio spectrum; the third is going to take almost two hours. In four hours, I could have edited and completed at least one of the three pieces already…

Report · Jun 09, 2023

You should be able to edit the last post you made, as long as nobody's posted afterwards - should be under the 'more' option. But don't look now, because you won't be able to on this thread, obvs.

Personally I've never been convinced that using the Stereo Expander was a particularly good way to mono bass, as it can miss stuff. If you don't mind spending a little money, there's a plugin designed to sort this situation out called Basslane Pro which can do a far more comprehensive job of sorting out the out-of-phase bass issues that sometimes arise.

As for your Mac Studio issues, I'm afraid I can't help, as I don't have one.