Need 2 files from Audio Cleaning Lab 10 cd distribution

clement5 wrote on 2/22/2026, 10:25 PM

I have replaced a flaky computer and I wish to move Audio Cleaning Lab 10 to the new PC, but the CD distribution is missing 2 files in the system folder. I considered upgrading to the latest Sound Forge 18 version, but it is missing at least 2 functions that I had in ACL 10 and 15. In addition SF has so many features that it is confusing and difficult to find what I want. For example SF lacks the spectral cleaning option. I also have an ACL 15 CD which has 5 files that cannot be read. Magix no longer supplies downloadable distributions for either, but does supply many old Video distributions. Can anyone help with this problem? ACL 17 is apparently still available for purchase, but lacks support for plugins. ACL 10 might not have a serial number, but ACL 15 does have one that I have preserved.

I used the older distribution with serial usage of a 32 bit plugin which could notch out several different hum and whistle frequencies, while SF is now 64 bit. ACL was easy and a perfect for restoring old recordings. SF is a poor replacement.

Comments

SP. wrote on 2/23/2026, 2:41 AM

@clement5 Can't the files be read because the CD is scratched? Or is just incompatible with your new computer?

Sound Forge Pro 18 is not the latest version of Audio Cleaning Lab. Only the name is similar. Audio Cleaning Lab was a special version of Magix Samplitude Pro X Suite (now BorisFX Samplitude Suite). It was later renamed to Sound Forge Audio Cleaning Lab for some reason, probably brand recognition.

Sound Forge Audio Cleaning Lab 4 is still sold as a download on Amazon. During install you can select to install a 32 Bit version or 64 Bit version or both. It should also work on a new computer, in case it uses Windows 11. I'm not sure old versions like 10 or 15 still work on Windows 11.

The 64 Bit version of Sound Forge Audio Cleaning Lab 4 has some annoying bugs (for example, it throws error messages if you grab a noise sample and then it doesn't update the user interface), but the 32 Bit version works better. It might still work with your old 32 Bit cleaning plugin.

The software is no longer developed and sold directly by Magix. It was discontinued. Technically you could get Samplitude Suite from BorisFX but that's very expensive.

clement5 wrote on 2/23/2026, 10:58 AM

Audio Cleaning Lab 4 is no longer available on Amazon. Actually I have been able to fully install ACL 10. Acl 15 almost completely installs after it tries and tries to read the CD. By importing files from an image of my old computer, it finally works, but gives an error message on startup, that I can just dismiss. 15 almost has everything I need, but is probably satisfactory.

SP. wrote on 2/23/2026, 11:54 AM

@clement5 It is available for me on Amazon. Maybe it's dependent on the country? Can you open this link?

https://amzn.eu/d/0i1JnSPv

Here is the link from Magix: https://dl03.magix.net/soundforgeaudiocleaninglab4_dlm_losdhr.exe You should be able to start a 30 days trial with that.

clement5 wrote on 2/23/2026, 12:45 PM

I started a 30 day trial of ACL 4. Ok it is organized to look like the familiar ACL, but does not have a feature I used a lot namely DirectX plugins. I could add a sharp high Q filter to get rid of one hum frequency, listen to it, then go on to another as I stack up the filters. 60HZ, 120 HZ... I have the filters, but the 32 bit version does not recognize them. The current price for ACL 4 is $99, but I might be able to get an upgrade price. I haven't looked to see if there is a similar VST filter. Also I used the Sony Noise Reduction that Magix used to support, which is the best pop and tick filter, although not perfect. The Magix filter was the next runner up.

I am fairly sure the problem is a scratch because I can see a small one that is radial, but slightly wide. If I could get another ACL 15 CD that works that might be ideal. My kludge to get it to work requires putting the CD into the drive before starting ACL 15 and then killing the error message "cannot save unlock key to harddrive!". There is apparently a hidden code that has to be written to the drive to allow it to startup seamlessly. I don't know where it is storing it so I can change permissions to allow it to be stored.

clement5 wrote on 2/23/2026, 12:52 PM

I forgot to mention the other thing that they took out of ACL 4. ACL had a very useful 2 track feature which helped in making exact replacements in sections of audio. They now claim that cannot be done and have a high feature audio editor. BS They promicuously remove features that people use and then provide others that are difficult to use and often do not work as well.