Following our recent listening test comparing some of the most popular de-reverb plug-ins, Paul Maunder takes a look at the results and introduces a second shootout for you to listen and vote on. Read on to find out more…

The de-reverb shootout featured four dialogue recordings made in different acoustic settings, each of which exhibited an obvious reverb. The recordings were each processed with five different de-reverb plug-ins… 

• Accentize DeRoom Pro 2

• iZotope RX De-reverb

• Zynaptiq Unveil

• Acon Digital DeVerberate 3

• Plug-in Alliance SPL De-Verb

In each case we were careful to listen to what the plug-in was doing and adjusted the settings to give the best result, factoring in both reverb reduction and audible artifacts. Once we were satisfied that the best result had been achieved with each plug-in, the processed audio files were randomly labelled A to E. We asked the Production Expert community to blind listen to each piece of processed audio and vote on which they thought sounded the best. The results are as follows:

Test 1 - Long Stereo reverb

A was Accentize DeRoom Pro 2

B was Acon Digital DeVerberate 3

C was iZotope RX De-Reverb

D was Plugin Alliance SPL De-Verb

E was Zynaptiq Unveil

Test 1 poll winner: Acon Digital DeVerberate 3

Test 1 runner up: Accentize DeRoom Pro 2

Test 2 - Hallway

A was Acon Digital DeVerberate 3

B was Accentize DeRoom Pro 2

C was Zynaptiq Unveil

D was iZotope RX De-Reverb

E was Plugin Alliance SPL De-Verb

Test 2 poll winner: Acon Digital DeVerberate 3

Test 2 runner up: Accentize DeRoom Pro 2

Test 3 - Bathroom

A was iZotope RX De-Reverb

B was Zynaptiq Unveil

C was Plugin Alliance SPL De-Verb

D was Accentize DeRoom Pro 2

E was Acon Digital DeVerberate 3

Test 3 poll winner: Accentize DeRoom Pro 2

Test 3 runner up: Acon Digital DeVerberate 3

Test 4 - Basement

A was Plugin Alliance SPL De-Verb

B was iZotope RX De-Reverb

C was Zynaptiq Unveil

D was Acon Digital DeVerberate 3

E was Accentize DeRoom Pro 2

Test 4 pole winner: Acon Digital DeVerberate 3

Test 4 runner up: Accentize DeRoom Pro 2

De-Reverb Plug-Ins 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 each recording 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?

It’s quite clear from the poll results that DeVerberate 3 from Acon Digital came out on top, coming first in three out of the four tests. This is an outstanding result and is testament to the hard work that Acon Digital have put into their software. Based on deep learning, the algorithm used by DeVerberate 3 is highly effective at separating reverb from dialogue and the results of this test prove it. For $99.90 it’s a great option for reverb reduction and represents superb value for money.

Accentize DeRoom Pro 2 also did very well. It finished second overall, winning one of the four tests and coming second in the other three. This perhaps goes to show that if you regularly need to reduce reverb in recordings you should consider having more than one option at your disposal. 

None of the other three plug-ins in this test were able to make it into the top two slots in any of the tests. The worst performer was Plug-in Alliance SPL De-Verb which finished last in every test. It may be more effective in transient shaping than reverb reduction, despite the fact that it has the words ‘De-Verb’ in its name. The other contender which didn’t fare too well in this test was Zynaptiq Unveil. To be fair to Zynaptiq, Unveil isn’t solely designed as a reverb reduction tool but also as a signal focusing tool, allowing key features of a mixed recording to be moved into focus by attenuating or boosting perceptually less important signal components. In this respect it offers features which the other plug-ins in this test do not.

At this point we should mention iZotope RX De-Reverb which lost out to the Acon Digital and Accentize plug-ins in each test. There were some comments made that we should have included the newer iZotope RX Dialogue De-Reverb rather than the older iZotope RX De-Reverb. A criterion for the original test was that the reverb reduction tools should run as real time plug-ins in a DAW. iZotope Dialogue De-Reverb doesn’t do this, instead requiring audio to be rendered in RX Advanced. However, we feel that it is a valid point that it should be evaluated in this test so we’re running a second round of voting…

Round 2

Taking your comments on board, we’ve processed the original audio files with iZotope RX Dialogue De-Reverb. In this second round of voting, it will be pitted against the top two finishers from round 1, Acon Digital DeVerberate 3 and Accentize DeRoom Pro 2. The examples have been randomised on a test by test basis and labelled A to C. Take a listen to the recordings below and vote for the one you feel is the most effective at reducing reverb in the recording.

Long Stereo Reverb

Hallway

Bathroom

Basement

The voting results from this second round of the test will be published soon!