I know it's not the best , in comparison to hardware, but I do not have the money for all this gear.
I have heard people mentioning Spark XL, but apparently this is only for the Mac format.
Could anyone reccomend me some good programs or plugins for PC?
The software does not matter as much as the plug-ins.
GET A UAD-1
There will be a lag, but it's deal-able and worth it. I have been hating Digital since the 80's and I consider the UAD-1 to be the best I have heard so far.
-Bruce Miller
Analog snob who has finally joined the digital world
The one I use is Magix Audio Studio 7. About 70 bucks but It's still pretty nice. Handles DirectX but not VST. Plus, the plugins it comes with are surprisingly nice.
I used to use Cool Edit Pro 2.1 for my "home" mastering, (back when I used Sonar 2.2XL for tracking/mixing), now I use SAWStudio for everything, the Levelizer plugin is excellent.