# Post Audio Restoration Options



## The Darris (May 1, 2017)

Hello everyone. I am in the market for post production audio tools such as iZotope RX6 Advanced. However, I am not finding much out there that is very comparable to iZotope. I know, I've heard from everyone how great it is but I want to cover all my based and compare and contrast everything available. 

Some Context...

I am doing some freelance work as a production audio recorder and some of my clients have been turning to me to do mixing and editing on the audio. This is great as it means more work but I just don't have all of the necessary tools, that I feel, will help get the job done right. 

RX6 looks like it has all of the main tools needed to do the standard audio restoration such as wind removal and killing room noise, etc. Does anyone out there have any other suggestions for software whether standalone or plugins, that will help with this type of work? Budget is no concern as of right now so please share any and all. 

Thank you!!

-chris


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## Gerhard Westphalen (May 1, 2017)

Waves has a number of different plugins for that but I've never seen anyone use them and it's nowhere near as extensive as what you get with RX.


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## Nick Batzdorf (May 1, 2017)

I just saw a demo of RX6, and it's pretty amazing.

Zynaptiq has some interesting tools as well. Very different, though - it depends on what you need to do.


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## The Darris (May 1, 2017)

Nick Batzdorf said:


> I just saw a demo of RX6, and it's pretty amazing.
> 
> Zynaptiq has some interesting tools as well. Very different, though - it depends on what you need to do.


I saw some of Zynaptiq's stuff. It seems like their processing products are to fix issues cause by over processing from plugins like RX6. So, it seems like those two would be great to have as companions. Thanks for the input. It really seems like RX6 is the only one that really does this type of work the most effectively. 



Gerhard Westphalen said:


> Waves has a number of different plugins for that but I've never seen anyone use them and it's nowhere near as extensive as what you get with RX.


I used some of WAVES stuff in a studio a few years ago and was not impressed. They also seem to have discounted it quite a bit which makes me think they are becoming dated. I'm still wondering if there is a company, other than iZotope who are creating tools like this but are just not well know.


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## wst3 (May 1, 2017)

There are quite a few tools and toolkits for restoring audio. Izotope RX seems to be the most popular in the reasonably priced range, and it is quite good. Acusonus has a very powerful plugin that is fantastic for one pass cleanup, it won't get everything, but it also won't leave artifacts, well, unless you abuse it. Sony has a noise reduction plugin that ships with Sound Forge that is a real pain to use, but it is capable of some of the most natural background noise reduction - after you make 3 or 4 passes with different settings. Waves has a slew of plugins for specific noise problems, their hum removal plugin works well in the US, I've always wondered if it adapts to other line frequencies<G>! The Zynaptiq plugins border on voodoo... I use unFilter as a filter, and unveil can undo a mess quickly. These are not, however, what I'd call intuitive tools. They take quite a bit of practice!

And then there is CEDAR, the grand daddy of them all. I've only had the chance to use it a couple times, but it really is quite amazing. (It was still hardware when I used it, I haven't used the software version.) It is intuitive, capable of removing too much noise if you aren't careful, and even then the artifacts, after that are all but inaudible. There is a reason it is at the top of the heap.

That said I'm using RX5 right now, and the only reason I can think of to upgrade is the additional "one button" solutions they've added, I'm especially intrigued by the new dialog recovery tools. But I can't justify the upgrade cost right now, and besides, I do have this lazy streak, really don't want to learn a new tool! 

With RX5 I can remove background noise (and I can overdo it<G>), I can get rid of pops and clicks, I can minimize the damage done by clipping, pretty much all the standard stuff. It is very easy to learn. I have one production audio clip from a friends movie that I use as an acid test, and thus far I've not been able to clean it up without ruining it. (Haven't tried CEDAR on it.)

If it were me, just starting out, and I knew what I know I'd probably pick RX if I didn't have the means to get CEDAR. I'd also add unVeil, unFilter, and unChirp. If there was anything left I'd add ERA-D because for the easy jobs it just works so well. Yup, and probably in that order.


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## The Darris (May 1, 2017)

wst3 said:


> There are quite a few tools and toolkits for restoring audio. Izotope RX seems to be the most popular in the reasonably priced range, and it is quite good. Acusonus has a very powerful plugin that is fantastic for one pass cleanup, it won't get everything, but it also won't leave artifacts, well, unless you abuse it. Sony has a noise reduction plugin that ships with Sound Forge that is a real pain to use, but it is capable of some of the most natural background noise reduction - after you make 3 or 4 passes with different settings. Waves has a slew of plugins for specific noise problems, their hum removal plugin works well in the US, I've always wondered if it adapts to other line frequencies<G>! The Zynaptiq plugins border on voodoo... I use unFilter as a filter, and unveil can undo a mess quickly. These are not, however, what I'd call intuitive tools. They take quite a bit of practice!
> 
> And then there is CEDAR, the grand daddy of them all. I've only had the chance to use it a couple times, but it really is quite amazing. (It was still hardware when I used it, I haven't used the software version.) It is intuitive, capable of removing too much noise if you aren't careful, and even then the artifacts, after that are all but inaudible. There is a reason it is at the top of the heap.
> 
> ...


Thanks you so much @wst3 This is all very useful information. CEDAR looks awesome but holy cow is it expensive. I'm glad there is more out there aside from RX and that has been the piece of software I've been leaning towards because the price is attractive for what it can do. Thanks again!!


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## Chandler (May 1, 2017)

Acon digital restoration suite it very good. Perhaps not as comprehensive as RX6, but it is much cheaper. Definitely worth a demo.


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## The Darris (May 1, 2017)

Chandler said:


> Acon digital restoration suite it very good. Perhaps not as comprehensive as RX6, but it is much cheaper. Definitely worth a demo.


Are you a user of Acon Digital's tools? If so, how does it stack against RX's wind reduction repair tools? That is one of the biggest things I'm concerned about. Especially up here in Northern Cali. I have a Blimp for my boom mic but in some cases, I use lavaliers which aren't the best at hiding wind noise and the rustling of clothing.


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## Nick Batzdorf (May 2, 2017)

Bill:



> If it were me, just starting out, and I knew what I know I'd probably pick RX if I didn't have the means to get CEDAR



RX6 is something like $1400 for the all-in version, so it's a pretty serious "just starting out" product!

The Waves X-things are very good at noise reduction too. I should have mentioned them.


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## The Darris (May 2, 2017)

Nick Batzdorf said:


> Bill:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


RX6 Advanced is on sale at Sweetwater for $799 right now.  Compared to Waves package at $299, would it be more worth it to invest in RX6 considering the price right now?


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## wst3 (May 2, 2017)

Yeah, but that's the all-in version, it starts at $299, which isn't out of reach if you are making money at it. There is an "elements" version for $99, but I don't think it is up to the tasks described. If I were starting now it would be a tough call between the basic ($299) and Advanced ($799) versions, but I get a lot done with the basic edition. If I was able to find more restoration work I would get the advanced edition.

To put that in perspective, last time I looked individual CEDAR plugins were around $3500 each, and the bundle was around $14k. Makes a $1400 investment look pretty attractive<G>!

The Waves X-Noise plugins are good, but I found them more difficult to use (and this from a guy that cut his teeth with the Sound Forge plugin!!)


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## wst3 (May 2, 2017)

The Darris said:


> RX6 Advanced is on sale at Sweetwater for $799 right now.  Compared to Waves package at $299, would it be more worth it to invest in RX6 considering the price right now?


Download the demos and give them a spin. I think (my opinion, worth what you paid for it) you'll find RX easier to use, especially some of the "one button" tools in Advanced. But take a good look at the basic version of RX, which is on sale for $299 right now. It really does quite a bit, and they have a reasonable upgrade path.


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## JBW (May 2, 2017)

iZotope's repair/restoration stuff is great! This recent RX6 includes some major updates, especially making workflow seem very easy. I wouldn't say it's set it and forget it--still got to use your ears. Even still, some of the new stuff in RX6 is very, very useful. They've made it so easy to use now that it almost makes me forget how often I think to myself "should have recorded this more carefully!" while using this sort of clean-up gear... _almost!_

They have an intro discount going right now, AND there is a further discount available at audiodeluxe.


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## Chandler (May 2, 2017)

The Darris said:


> Are you a user of Acon Digital's tools? If so, how does it stack against RX's wind reduction repair tools? That is one of the biggest things I'm concerned about. Especially up here in Northern Cali. I have a Blimp for my boom mic but in some cases, I use lavaliers which aren't the best at hiding wind noise and the rustling of clothing.



I am a user. I think it sounds as good, but it doesn't have a wind reduction tool. Of course you can use a de-noiser and I've used it before for my personal youtube videos. I don't know how it compares to RX though. There is a 15 day demo though, so try it for yourself. If it doesn't work you just wasted 10 min. If it does work then you've saved about $200.


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## WhiteNoiz (May 3, 2017)

Sony/MAGIX Spectral Layers Pro?

http://www.magix-audio.com/gb/spectralayers-pro/


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## wst3 (May 3, 2017)

Tread carefully with Magix - I love Sound Forge and Spectral Layers, but thus far I'm thoroughly unimpressed with Magix treatment of the programs. As much as I'd love for them to bring both tools fully up to date I'm skeptical... hope they prove me wrong!


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## rocking.xmas.man (May 4, 2017)

I'm working in german post production facility. Over here RX is THE standard. Only for usual production sound de-noising we usually use waves WNS as automated insert since that has been used already before RX included a denoise plugin.

I'm good with the standard version though, maybe because I don't do production sound editing too much but mainly foley, voice over and dubbing


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