Tau Analyzer

Tau Analyzer is a lightweight Windows audio application designed specifically for helping you analyze audio CDs in order to check out their quality. It is aimed to detect fake CDs that have been created using a lossy audio source.

The GUI doesn’t look highly intuitive but it provides a well-structured suite of features. You can gain quick access to a list with audio tracks, check out CD and ISRC info, as well as work with a spectrum and frequency analyzer.

The Help manual is integrated in the main window but it doesn’t offer detailed information about the program’s capabilities, so experimenting with the built-in features is your only chance in order to understand how the tool works.

Tau Analyzer reveals the files detected on an audio CD, along with details about each track, such as filename, start time, play time, size, uptime, errors, and status. You are allowed to eject or analyze the current CD, as well as cancel CD checking.

The application is able to offer information about the device, such as vendor ID, product ID, product revision, vendor string, read and write modes, write speed, and buffer size. Disc data shows details about the disc type, data capacity, disc status, and last session status.

The ISRC (International Standard Recording Code) analyzer shows info about the country, publisher, year and media catalog number. The spectrum panel reveals a representation of the signal, while the frequency analyzer displays data about the left and right channels.

All things considered, Tau Analyzer packs a smart suite of audio tools for helping you verify the authenticity of audio CDs. On the downside, it hasn’t been updated for a long time, so it may cause compatibility issues on newer operating systems.