We recently ran a shootout comparing premium noise reduction tools. The shootout featured five pieces of problematic audio, each exhibiting a different problem; transformer buzz, broadband noise from a fan, fluorescent light buzz, hiss and crackle. The noisy audio was processed with four different noise reduction tools:

• Acon Digital Acoustica 7 Premium Edition

• Sonnox Restore bundle

• Waves Clarity Vx Pro

• iZotope RX9 Advanced

For each piece of noisy audio, the most appropriate tool from each of the four pieces of software was selected and used to reduce the noise as effectively as possible. The results were randomly labelled A to D. We asked the Production Expert community to blind listen to each piece of processed audio and vote on which they thought sounded the best. In the results below, the specific processing module used to achieve the result is listed.

Test 1 - Transformer Buzz

Example A was Waves Clarity Vx Pro

Example B was Acon Digital DeBuzz: Dialogue

Example C was iZotope Spectral De-noise

Example D was Sonnox Oxford DeBuzzer

Here’s how our readers voted…

Test 1 pole winner: Waves Clarity Vx Pro

Test 1 runner up: Acon Digital DeBuzz: Dialogue

Test 2 - Broadband Fan Noise

Example A was Acon Digital DeNoise 2

Example B was iZotope Spectral De-noise

Example C was Sonnox Oxford DeNoise

Example D was Waves Clarity VX Pro

Here’s how our readers voted…

Test 2 pole winner: iZotope Spectral De-noise

Test 2 runner up: Waves Clarity Vx Pro

Test 3 - Fluorescent Light Buzz

Example A was iZotope Dialogue Isolate

Example B was Sonnox Oxford DeNoise

Example C was Waves Clarity VX Pro

Example D was Acon Digital Extract: Dialogue

Here’s how our readers voted…

Test 3 pole winner: Acon Digital Extract: Dialogue

Test 3 runner up: iZotope Dialogue Isolate

Test 4 - Hiss

A was Sonnox Oxford DeNoise

B was Waves Clarity VX Pro

C was Acon Digital Extract: Dialogue

D was iZotope Dialogue Isolate

Here’s how our readers voted…

Test 4 pole winner: Waves Clarity Vx Pro

Test 4 runner up: Acon Digital Extract: Dialogue

Test 5 - Crackle

A was Waves Clarity VX Pro

B was iZotope RX Advanced

C was Acon Digital Acoustica Premium Edition

D was Sonnox Oxford DeClicker

Note: In this test I used several tools in Acon Digital Acoustica Premium Edition and iZotope RX Advanced in order to obtain the best result. This included some spectral editing and processing with different modules.

Here’s how our readers voted…

Test 5 pole winner: iZotope RX Advanced

Test 5 runner up: Acon Digital Acoustica Premium Edition

Noise Reduction Shootout Results Summary

Based on the results of this test, as voted for by the Production Expert community, the most effective tools for reducing each type of noise were the following:

Best transformer buzz reduction: Waves Clarity Vx Pro

Best broadband fan noise reduction: iZotope RX Advanced (Spectral De-noise)

Best fluorescent light buzz reduction: Acon Digital Acoustica Advanced (Extract: Dialogue)

Best hiss reduction: Waves Clarity Vx Pro

Best crackle reduction: iZotope RX Advanced (Various modules & spectral editing)

If we look at the data another way and allocate 3 points to the winner of any given test, 2 points for second place, 1 point for third place and no points for 4th, the totals across all tests are as follows:

Waves Clarity Vx Pro: 10

Sonnox Restore bundle 0

iZotope RX Advanced 10

Acon Digital Acoustica Premium Edition 10

What Do The Results Tell Us?

In this particular test and with the five pieces of audio used, there is no clear winner. Three of our contenders all scored exactly the same overall. In the broadband noise and crackle tests, Acon Digital Acoustica and Waves Clarity Vx Pro were extremely close, only separated by a handful of votes. Either one could have just about tipped the balance and been the overall winner with a few more votes.

One thing which can’t be ignored from the results is the Sonnox Restore bundle, finishing last in each test. In fairness, of the four pieces of software used for this test, the Sonnox bundle is the one which has been updated the least recently. In fact, the latest release was back in 2016. Sonnox have updated the rest of their plug-in line but the Restore bundle is yet to have an overhaul.

All of the other tools in this test have incorporated some form of A.I or machine learning into how they work. What this perhaps illustrates is the rate of improvement we’ve seen in noise reduction technology over recent years. In this test, all of the recently developed software did well, with each one winning at least one category.

A blind test is always interesting as it’s an effective way of checking whether your beliefs or conceptions about something actually tie in with the reality. As we saw in the low cost noise noise reduction shootout, most of the currently available noise reduction tools do a very good job at reducing most types of noise. Of course, at the higher price points of the software in this premium test, you may not have the luxury of being able to afford to have all of them. Waves Clarity Vx Pro is a good option if you want a very simple but effective solution, iZotope RX Advanced and Acon Digital Acoustica Premium Edition both offer a large set of processing tools and spectral editing.

At the end of the day it comes down to your preferred workflow and requirements. If you’re weighing up which of the noise reduction tools from this test to buy, all of them have demos available so you can try before you buy. If you’re already using them, let us know in the comments which you like and why.