BIGDAVE56  I'm not going to comment on the app feature set except to agree with another poster that input level control and metering are lacking. There are meters, but they are tiny and uncalibrated (except for changing color at overload). There is no support for VST plugins according to the developer, yet, strangely, the installer reports several times during the process 'installing VST plugin'.

Most of that reflects personal preference, but I have one major beef, and that is with the licensing process. Instead of the license lasting the life of the product, like essentially every other app on the market,you have to renew periodically. For me, that always seems to happen when I haven't used the app in awhile and am trying to capture something in a hurry. Worse, instead of telling you what the frak the issue is, the app simply crashes at launch if the license has already expired. Luckily, previous experience with this problem led me to the solution, which was to reinstall the app, which puts it in trial mode. Then you have to go to Licensing under the Wiretap menu and enter your license key (hope you saved it so you could look it up, another hoop to jump through). Only then does Wiretap tell you that your license is expired and you need to renew. Fortunately, once you get to that point, it only takes a few more seconds. But it is a total PITA that does nothing to make me want to use the app. I would go so far as to say it is the most annoying license process I have ever seen.

Partly as a result of all this, I use Audio Hijack Pro a lot more. I don't have to go through the above irritation, it has usable metering (and support for plugin options like PSP VintageMeter, which I love), and I don't have to squint at it to use it.

Overall, the three stars seems to be in the ballpark. It has some interesting features, but...  
(Version 1.0.6)

FORMICA  There are any number of FREE audio recorders/editors, but WireTap Studio is $69? Isn't that a bit greedy?

My colleagues and I cannot believe the price of this app. even though Ambrosia is infamous for such pricing, but in this case they're made even more shameful and obvious by the lame justification they offered in the "What's New In This Version" section of their VersionTracker.com posting for Wiretap Studio, which unbelievably reads as follows: "These updates prepare our core Ambrosia productivity tools for the upcoming Mac OS X 10.5.7, as well as improve compatibility with Apple's latest hardware." Does any Mac developer ever release a new version of their software for that first BS reason? And do they ever release updates to fix a hardware incompatibility that NO ONE has complained about on any software review website since their last version was released? Clearly they just wanted to stop the bleeding that the recent release of Jack OS X and other FREE audio editors/recorders inflicted on their market share, and given their dishonorable past business practices, they had no compunction against releasing another pointless update and frivolously marketing WTS on those very same software review websites (which, as you'll see below, are key to their contemptible business plan). Gosh, Ambrosia didn't even claim to fix some of the previous version's bugs, or add one or two new capabilities to this latest version because they're waiting to do that in a future release without their potential customers constantly being reminded that there's new versions available for several FREE apps that do the very same things that WTS charges $69 for! Couldn't Ambrosia hide their unscrupulousness any better than that?

If you investigate the past of all FOUR VERSIONS of WireTap XXXXX, you'll discover that Ambrosia has a long history of greedy upgrade policies that piss off their existing customers, but that's how they keep adding new customers every year. And just to preempt the character assassination that I expect from Ambrosia after I write this expose, let me first explain that I have never met and I am in no way related to the makers of ANY of the apps mentioned here (other than my use of Jack instead of WireTap Anywhere because it's a great and FREE program), and I am NOT some disgruntled former Ambrosia employee or customer -- I have never bought any of their software because I caught on to their scummy software renaming scheme (explained in a minute) a couple of years ago when I first compared WireTap Pro against Jack and another great audio-input app called Audio Hijack (which charges $16 and $32 for the two versions of their WireTap competitor app).

You see, TODAY AMBROSIA SELLS THIS AUDIO RECORDING APP CALLED WireTap Studio, AND AN AUDIO-INPUT APP CALLED WireTap Anywhere, WHICH WAS PREVIOUSLY CALLED WireTap Pro, WHICH ONLY SHORTLY BEFORE WAS CALLED SIMPLY WireTap! To help you fully understand Ambrosia's distracting, dishonest and entirely shameful marketing strategy, just surf over to MacUpdate.com (a company that does not cozy up to the software industry as shamefully as VersionTracker) and look at Ambrosia's posting about its WireTap Studio app (which has customer reviews and other types of feedback going back only to 2007, and which, to be honest, was an outstanding audio recording app -- not an audio-INPUT app like WTA -- when I tested it in 2008). Then check out Ambrosia's MacUpdate posting for WireTap Anywhere, the quality of which I cannot conscionably review here because when it was "originally released" (which really means RENAMED) in 2007, I refused to fully test it because of the unethical marketplace behavior that I describe here, and because I could afford to ignore WTA because of the availability of a truly outstanding and FREE alternative in the form of Jack OS X. When you look at WireTap Anywhere's MacUpdate posting you'll see that THE FEEDBACK GOES ALL THE WAY BACK TO 2003 -- 4 years before Ambrosia's own website claims that WireTap Anywhere was first released. This is because WireTap Anywhere was not really a new product in 1997 but was just a RENAMED VERSION OF WireTap Pro, WHICH IN TURN WAS JUST A RENAMED VERSION OF WireTap. Part of Ambrosi's strategy has been that very time they changed the name of their main app Ambrosia used that new name to claim that it was "really a whole new version that was completely rewritten and has a totally new set of capabilities!" In this way they repeatedly justified CHARGING ALL THEIR OLDER (and therefore more professionally settled/rich) CUSTOMERS A SECOND SHAREWARE FEE (if the customer wanted to obtain the newest version), and it gave the company a NEW OPPORTUNITY TO MARKET THEIR "NEW" MAIN APP, and it gave them a new opportunity and (specious) justification to DUPE THE SOFTWARE UPDATE WEBSITES LIKE MacUpdate.com (which first fell for it, then didn't fall for it) AND VersionTracker.com (which originally and to this day turns a blind eye to it) INTO LETTING THEM START OVER WITH A CLEAN HISTORY OF USER FEEDBACK IN ORDER TO ERASE ALL THE OLD NEGATIVE FEEDBACK, AND TO HELP THEM GIVE POTENTIAL CUSTOMERS THE IMPRESSION THAT IT REALLY IS A NEW AND DIFFERENT APP (when all the old users but none of the new users know that, in fact, it is the same old app but with perhaps one more new capability, or maybe even just a different method of graphically organizing it). Non-critics of such disgusting business practices (like probably Ambrosia) call this "cross-grade" marketing, which is the production of several versions of one type of app that all have overlapping capabilities in order to justify a constant though confusing product upgrade cycle which enables the company to force some customers to pay repeatedly while still attracting a bevy of new customers every year. A lot of scumbag companies use this marketing "philosophy," though I'll let you decide which ones they are. Of course, for this to work, the company's apps have to be of sufficiently higher quality than their competition's apps or customers wouldn't put up with that sh!t and your company would slowly whither and die.

So, now you know.   
(Version 1.0.11)

NIGEL2112  This is not a review of WTS as I have not used it.

I had WT Pro which I used almost daily. It was a neat little app although a tad pricey for what it did, but I bought it and used the heck out of it.

Then I reinstalled my OS to unjunk my iMac, I go to Ambrosia to see about getting WTP back and now it's 'Studio' and the price has gone to almost SEVENTY dollars!

I can't go back to 'Pro' it's gone and forgotten, so now I'm just left with a bad taste in my mouth. So much for Ambrosia. I don't care how good they think their stuff is, they're just plain greedy.  
(Version 1.0.11)

MOOGAN  After trying the demo, I find that WireTap Studio is an easy to use, neatly designed application which lacks a couple of features I expected.

There doesn't appear to be any obvious metering, other than calling up the source tab in the preferences window, not very convenient. No control over whether it's peak or RMS metering either.

No level (gain) controls for the recording level?

Live preview is an interesting feature but with some experience you should be able to judge which format and level of compression to use anyway.

There are some well designed features however, and this app will suit some users exactly, worth evaluating and comparing with Audio Hijack Pro etc.  
(Version 1.0.6)

ROD76  I really like the interface of WireTap Studio and its utility is also satisfying. That said, I've noticed that when I use it to capture any input on my MacBook Pro there is a delay of at least a second or two, sometimes more.

Ordinarily this wouldn't be much of an issue, as you would set something to "Tap" and let it record. If the levels don't coincide with the actual audio coming out of the speakers it's no big deal right? (Sarcasm)

Well I use, or rather would like to use, WireTap Studio to capture audio from my Police Scanner. Watching the level bar fluctuate and than waiting for actual audio to come out from the speakers is annoying. Sound Studio and Audio Hijack Pro both correctly function in this regard and for the life of me I can't figure out why the "Tool" meant for this job has a delay. I've run all three applications at the same time and the other two correctly output in line with the scanner's output.

This really bothers me because I prefer WireTap Studio to the afore mentioned applications. It drives me nuts when I switch cities on my scanner and I have to wait a few seconds to hear the tone associated with the switch.

I have a 2.8Ghz MacBook Pro with 4GB of Memory running 10.6.2 on a very fast SSD, there is no good reason for this to happen on my machine. Especially in light of the fact that every other tool I tried doesn't have this issue.

I'm tired of using audio editors or one of your direct competitors applications (ugly & clunky in comparison to WireTap) to listen/capture from my scanner, please Ambrosia fix your application!  
(Version 1.1.0)

LEO SPILL  Why do Ambrosia soft charge such a high premiums for their small utilities ?

What is the point of trying something if it is clearly overpriced compared to the competition ? I have pointed out that for some lucky guys n' gals $70 is a '*iss in the ocean' and I am sure the developer of this app is one.

I appreciate replies, but as Mr.Welch and the other poster have wrongly said 'I have trashed the application'. I have not trashed it. But I have trashed the price. Wiretap is priced similarly to their companies other expensive 'utility' Snapz pro 'with movies' All I would say is that Ambrosia sell utilities at absurdly expensive prices and surely not for the mass of Mac users but for just the rich core. Those on a budget try Rogueamoeba's Audio Hijack Pro at half the price.   
(Version 1.0)

LEO SPILL  $69 to buy new ? Rogueamoeba's Audio Hijack Pro (AHP) at $32 now seems a real bargain. While I realize that you have to figure in Rogueamoeba's audio editing app, Fission at another $33 ( Brought together $50), $69 is still a high introduction price point, twenty dollars more than Rogueamoeba's double act.

AHP has saved my bacon so many times and with the addition of an audio scrubber it has everything I need to grab a piece of audio, test it and save it out in a plethora of formats. While I don't like Rogueamoeba's use of a 'Haxie' (Application enhancer) to start a new recording. If not installed you have to restart the application you want to grab, which is a real pain. It does it's job and While AHP is not the most appealing GUI application, WireTap just seems like a GUI toy and at twice the price - an expensive toy or even a seventy dollar widget.

If only WireTap were not so expensive, even with the crossgrade it's an outlay of another $30. On the positive, WireTap studio does seem polished and well worth a try if you don't own either

WireTap X1 and Audio Hijack Pro but realize you are paying through the nose for that polish. For some it may be worth it.   
(Version 1.0)

ROBK  I see a lot of comments complaining about the high cost of Wiretap Studio. But you need to be comparing apples with apples.

Wiretap Studio comes with an audio editor. So it is not fair to compare Wiretap Studio with Audio Hijack Pro since Audio Hijack Pro does not come with an audio editor.

In my view, it would be fairer to compare Wiretap Studio with the "Audio Hijack Pro and Fission" combination offered by Rogue Amoeba. And here is the cost comparison:

WireTap Studio -- $69

Audio Hijack Pro and Fission -- $50 (when bought together).

As for features, the features between WireTap Studio and the "Audio Hijack Pro and Fission" combo are nearly identical. But there are some differences.

Audio Hijack Pro and Fission support VST plugins. Wiretap does NOT appear to do so.

Wiretap Studio has this patent pending 'Live Preview" mode. Audio Hijack Pro and Fission do not.

And the UI's are different. It is a matter of personal preference which is better.

So if you try to compare apples with apples, I would say that that the Audio Hijack Pro and Fission combo is better value than Wiretap Studio. You will save almost $20.  
(Version 1.1.0)

GLOBETROTTERDK  Can anyone explain the difference between WireTap Studio and WireTap Anywhere?  
(Version 1.0.6)

MACERICG  One request for Mr. Welch:

This is a great app for recording streaming audio -- if you know how to go back and label everything appropriately.

Developer Roxio boasts that their new version of Toast has "audio fingerprint identification" to tag songs automatically -- http://www.roxio.com/enu/products/toast/titanium/listen.html -- I've tried it, but I'm not impressed. It seems to try linking files back to Gracenote after-the-fact, rather than pulling from the streaming data labels.

Any chance of building a similar (and better) feature into WireTap Studio?  
(Version 1.0.6)