13 -win-: Steinberg Nuendo

For decades, the line between Cubase and Nuendo has been less of a line and more of a sprawling gray area. With , Steinberg takes a chainsaw to that gray area. This is not a "composer's DAW." This is a media scoring, editing, and mixing juggernaut designed specifically for Windows power-users who need stability under immense video and audio strain.

Rating: 9.2/10 Best for: Professional dialogue editors, game audio integrators, Atmos mixers, and composers who need picture lock. Steinberg Nuendo 13 -WiN-

Using the new Audio Alignment technology (similar to VocALign but built-in), Nuendo 13 can conform production dialogue to studio ADR automatically. Load the on-set guide track, record the studio take, and hit "Conform." It warps the timing and pitch in real-time. It saves hours on Windows workstations. For decades, the line between Cubase and Nuendo

$999 (Upgrades from v12: $199)