In round 2 of our dialogue de-reverb listening tests, which we devised in response to comments from members of the Production Expert community, we pitted the top two finishers from round 1 – Acon Digital DeVerberate 3 and Accentize DeRoom Pro 2 – against iZotope's RX Dialogue De-Reverb.

You voted for the audio clip you felt had most effectively reduced reverb in each recording and the results are in (view and hear the original test here)…

Example 1 - Long Stereo reverb

A was Accentize DeRoom Pro 2

B was Acon Digital DeVerberate 3

C was iZotope RX Dialogue De-Reverb

Example 1 winner: Acon Digital DeVerberate 3

Example 1 runner up: Accentize DeRoom Pro 2

Example 2 - Hallway

A was Accentize DeRoom Pro 2

B was iZotope RX Dialogue De-Reverb

C was Acon Digital DeVerberate 3

Example 2 winner: Acon Digital DeVerberate 3

Example 2 runner up: iZotope RX Dialogue De-reverb

Example 3 - Bathroom

A was Acon Digital DeVerberate 3

B was Accentize DeRoom Pro 2

C was iZotope RX Dialogue De-Reverb

Example 3 winner: Accentize DeRoom Pro 2

Example 3 runner up: iZotope RX Dialogue De-reverb

Example 4 - Basement

A was iZotope RX Dialogue De-Reverb

B was Acon Digital DeVerberate 3

C was Accentize DeRoom Pro 2

Example 4 winner: Acon Digital DeVerberate 3

Example 4 runner up: iZotope RX Dialogue De-reverb

Round 2 Results Summary

Based on the results of this test, as voted for by the Production Expert community, the most effective tools for reducing reverb in dialogue recordings were the following:

Long stereo reverb – Acon Digital DeVerberate 3

Hallway reverb – Acon Digital DeVerberate 3

Bathroom reverb – Accentize DeRoom Pro 2

Basement reverb – Acon Digital DeVerberate 3

What Do The Results Tell Us?

Well, despite the inclusion of iZotope’s Dialogue De-Reverb in this second round of voting, the winners in each category are exactly the same as in the first test. Acon Digital DeVerberate 3 has once again proven to be the most effective tool overall for reduction of reverb in dialogue recordings, at least in this test. The Acon Digital plug-in was voted to give the best result in 3 out of 4 of the examples with Accentize DeRoom Pro 2 winning the other. The only test in which DeVerberate 3 was voted less effective than the iZotope and Accentize tools was the bathroom reverb example. iZotope Dialogue De-Reverb did quite well, finishing second in 3 tests but it couldn’t top the list in any.

Perhaps there isn’t quite yet a single tool which provides the ultimate reverb reduction in all cases. Nevertheless, the results of this test speak for themselves and illustrate that Acon Digital DeVerberate 3 is highly effective at what it does and gives superb results in the majority of cases where high quality reverb reduction is required. If you haven’t tried it yet, it’s worth giving the demo a go. At $99.90 it’s a plug-in which you should definitely consider adding to your toolset.