Reaper
Reaper is a highly adaptable DAW that can be configured for multi-channel and spatial audio work through its advanced routing, plugin support and multichannel capacity. Each track can carry up to 64 internal channels, and the routing works much like a patchbay, letting engineers wire effects and channel outputs however they like rather than being confined to a fixed bus structure, which is precisely why so many third-party Ambisonic and multichannel tools, from ambix to SPARTA, single Reaper out as a supported host. While it doesn't offer native tools for formats like Dolby Atmos or Auro-3D, its flexibility makes it a favourite among sound designers and audio engineers who want a powerful, customisable platform for immersive audio without the higher costs of specialised DAWs.
tech specs
history
+–
Reaper comes from Cockos, a company founded in 2004 by Justin Frankel shortly after he left Nullsoft, the company behind Winamp, which he had created in 1997, alongside the Gnutella peer-to-peer network and the SHOUTcast streaming protocol. Frankel built Reaper largely out of frustration with the cost and rigidity of existing DAWs, releasing the first Windows-only preview as freeware in December 2005 and following it with an official shareware release in August 2006. A macOS version arrived as a beta in October 2008, with Linux support added considerably later, in 2018. True to Frankel's earlier anti-corporate instincts after the Winamp sale, Cockos has remained self-funded throughout, avoiding venture capital and sticking to one-time perpetual licences rather than a subscription model.
back to tools
