Jake Ludington's Digital Lifestyle

I consider the whole category of sound enhancement software with a fairly suspect eye. Most of the time apps claiming to enhance sound simply don't. When I first heard about AstoundStereo, I was suspicious that it would be yet another over-promising under-delivering application. I was wrong. Created for system-wide sound enhancement for Mac users and Windows Media Player enhancement on Windows, AstoundStereo does a surprisingly good job of expanding sounds in stereo sound environments. While I don't find this useful for every music playback opportunity, using AstoundStereo does improve the sound of many songs and greatly enhances video game sound quality for Mac users. I'm sure some audio purists may have differing opinions on this, but at the very least I challenge you to try out AstoundStereo and take a listen. An updated Windows version is promised for May 1, which should work system-wide just like the Mac version. The company is currently running a special pricing that includes a free upgrade to the next version when it ships on May 1. Download AstoundStereo for Windows or AstoundStereo for Mac depending on your preference. [Windows XP/Vista Mac OS X $19.95]