Hi, first post here :)
Just started using Soundforge pro 12 suite. Looking to master mixes/mp3s to cd quality audio. L2 ultramaximiser is on my older version which is awesome for the job but dont think its available anymore :(
Just after any pointers to do this in soundforge pro 12 suite
thanks in advance
Welcome to the Magix Sound Forge user forum @hinsley.
The maximum bitrate for the MP3 audio codec is 320kbs. Constant bit rate (CBR) is best for web streaming. The AAC codec (.mp4 / .m4a) is another format to consider. It is lossy like MP3 but allows higher bitrates with better encoding. The Nero ACC and FFmpeg AAC encoders are favored by some folks, but my aging ears can't hear a difference. In any case, none are as good as a PCM <.wav> file. For spoken word projects, a single-channel mono MP3 file will double the resolution at the same bit rate and file size as a 2 channel (stereo) file. Naturally, the higher the bitrate (quality), the larger the file size. If you are uploading to YouTube, Spotify,Tidal, iTunes, ect., ect, most re-encode it which is another lossy conversion.
Plug-in choice is subjective and everyone has their go-to favorites. Sound Forge Pro has both the legacy (two-stage) Wave Hammer compressor/volume maximizer as well as Wave Hammer-II. I think iZ's Ozone Elements was included with SF Pro 12 as well. If you have Waves VST plug-ins, they 'should' run on SF Pro, though there has been reports of problems.
For streaming on-line, SF's 'Statistics' process is valuable to get a fast integrated loudness read-out to aid in setting audio to the 'recommend'' loudness level (LUFS). Loudness Penalty is a good resource for checking your on-line destined files for loudness as well.
Addendum, what's a CD?)