The advanced audio dirt killer or meet RX3’s big brother

Our last RX3 post reviewed the core features of iZotope’s Audio Repair Suite. Now, I want to give a short overview about the advantages of the RX3 Advanced version. This time I would love to show you its usage to improve bad IDs, listener samples or other audio that might need help.

The Advanced version of RX3 extends the standard version of RX3 with modules like DeReverb and Dialogue DeNoiser. Of course there are more features: advanced denoise options for precise control, the iZotope Insight metering suite, improved tape restoration, the deconstruct module which separates audio in tonal and noisy material and time & pitch algorithm. Check the basic features of RX3, if you haven’t read our last post.

DeReverb

This is the window you get when opened from the Pro Tools Audio Suite. Might look complicated, but it really is not.
Besides seeing a graphical version of your file and its reverb, you can control the reverb profile by using the four sliders, which define the amount of reduction in 4 different bands. You can solo each band and listen to its reverb.
The main big controller on the left hand side called „reduction“ defines the amount of either reduction or upgrading of the reverb signal.
The most important button is „learn“. It scans the audio file you’ve highlighted and imports its reverb profile. It works pretty well, but you can tweak the settings by hand to reach the best result.
Enough said, let’s hear the results:

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/165309171″ params=”color=ff5500&inverse=false&auto_play=false&show_user=true” width=”100%” height=”20″ iframe=”true” /]

This is the ID from the band Capital Cities. It was recorded during an inteview in a large room and you can hear the reverb very well. I loaded up the Dereverb, let it scan through the file and load up the reverb profile. After some tweaking and a lowcut we got to an amazing result.

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/165309172″ params=”color=ff5500&inverse=false&auto_play=false&show_user=true” width=”100%” height=”20″ iframe=”true” /]

This time I got an ID from guitarist Rusty Anderson. Again, there’s a huge unwanted reverb. Same procedure as with the example and voilà! It’s just gone! Due to the lack of quality there are some artifacts, but the principal is almost always the same.

The Dereverb by iZotope has become a helpful tool in my daily work, that’s why I recommend it.

DeCrackler

These are the main controls you get to see when opened from Pro Tools Audio Suite as we did.
While quality and strength are pretty self-explaining, amplitude skew is the most important one. As always, settings depend on the specific waveform, but in general you can say: If the crackle level in the signal is overt, set this control more to the top. If the crackle is subtle, set this control more to the bottom. Again, every adjustment depends on the waveform.
Another cool feature is the output crackle only option. It comes in handy when live previewing your settings.
On the right hand side you can see some level faders for input and output.
Let’s listen to where I used the Decrackler:

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/165309163″ params=”color=ff5500&inverse=false&auto_play=false&show_user=true” width=”100%” height=”20″ iframe=”true” /]

Notice how our VO artist Gary says „favorites“ with some crackles on the letter „f“.
In this case I set the Decrackler to high strength and quality and a negative skew of -5,0. Also we only highlighted the letter „f“ and rendered it.

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/165309166″ params=”color=ff5500&inverse=false&auto_play=false&show_user=true” width=”100%” height=”20″ iframe=”true” /]

Rachel speaking. Listen to the beginning of the word „that“. Let’s see if Decrackler has an answer to that.
I used my own preset named „minimal remove“ which is set as plugin-standard to work even more efficient. It has a strength of 6,3 and a positive skew of 2,7.
Listen to the rendered file. Isn’t that great?

The Decrackler can become your best friend, but as always don’t overdo and always compare.

DialogueDeNoiser

RX3 Advanced comes with one additional Denoising Tool: the Dialogue Denoiser. This Denoiser is specifically designed to keep vocal material as natural as possible while reducing the bad portion of the recording. You have two options to treat the noisy material: “auto” and “manual.”

“Auto” tries to separate the noisy part of the recording, which can give fast and fine results. The “Manual” mode brings up the “learn” button, for more accurate results. Select a part of the recording which contains only the noise and press learn. The Dialogue Denoiser memorizes the noise spectrum and subtracts it from the useful signal.Both modes give you control over the threshold and the amount of noise reduction. It’s possible to set different threshold levels for six frequency bands.

I tested the Dialogue Denoiser in hard conditions: listener recording with conversations in the background. You can hear some slight artifacts, but the murmuring background was noticeably reduced and brings the signal right into the front.

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/165309174″ params=”color=ff5500&inverse=false&auto_play=false&show_user=true” width=”100%” height=”20″ iframe=”true” /]


[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/165309182″ params=”color=ff5500&inverse=false&auto_play=false&show_user=true” width=”100%” height=”20″ iframe=”true” /]

Our Conclusion

RX3 Advanced gives you a lot of control to restore your bad audio. The advanced version treats problems better than the standard version, especially when it comes to voice.
You have to decide for yourself whether you need the more expensive, but more extensive version of RX 3.

If you consider buying the RX 3 suite, here is a nice deal: iZotope’s offer right now is a FREE upgrade to the upcoming RX4 through September 4th!