I have been lucky enough to have used almost every product in the arsenal and there is no one-stop noise removal tool in my opinion.

Izotope RX is probably the best bang for the buck. The stand alone version is absolutely amazing though the plugin-in version is not as powerful and requires an extreme amount of DSP.

Waves Restoration is very powerful as both plug-ins and an audio-suite application. When I have a large project with a large amount of pops and clicks I revert to insert versions of X-Click and X-Noise.

The king of ambiance/dialogue cleanup for years has been the Ceder DNS, which is extremely powerful and efficient in DSP usage as it is an external box, which is probably also its greatest weakness as you cannot use it unless you have an interface that can handle AES in/outs.

The new Waves DNS plug-in is in my opinion 95% as powerful as the Ceder box but does not require external processing and can be used on as many tracks as you like, where the Ceder is limited to an AES pair.

I personally own Waves Restoration and Izotop RX. Though next year when I upgrade my Waves and grab the DNS plug I will rely mostly on the Waves plug-ins and sell my RX...

As always, my 2-cents,

Nick

You're definitely right when you say that different tools work for different things - always good to have a handful at your disposal!

In addition to some carefully drawn volume automation, I handle a lot of hiss using the Waves C1 plug.

iZotope RX is also worthwhile for hum, hiss, etc - and at $350 or so for the basic bundle, it's a great deal! Their spectral repair plug is amazing as well - a must-have.

Additionally, Sony Oxford makes some good NR plugs - their old de-click is amazing, and I've also had some good results with their de-buzz...

Word is that Cedar is releasing their DNS-One plug-in in the next month or two - should be amazing!

Also a mega fan of iZotope RX Suite! Especially the spectral repair, it's an amazing tool for getting rid of unwanted sounds within your clip (such as the squeak of a chair over your dialogue).

I only tried the demo and that was a while back, but the Wave Arts Master Restoration Suite is also quite a good one. It's quick and easy to use.

Once i've killed all the noise i can with eq and RX/NoNoise/(your broadband noise reduction of choice), i like to run it through Waves C4 (set to multiband noise reduction). Whether you tune it to individual scenes with automation or set a general expansion setting, it does a great job of wiping out what's left.

I've been using Waves WNS lately, but I really try not to use any NR if I can help it. I prefer to use editing and EQ to fix problems. I'll use WNS or the other Waves NR plugins as a last resort.

For quick cleanup, I've had great success with Adobe Audition 3.0. I don't mix in it, but it's great for bouncing clips out for cleanup. Has a great set of tools that include hiss reduction, noise reduction, ANR, spectral spot healing, iZotope time stretch, all for a good price. I believe the ANR tool is a dumbed down version of something from RX, but don't quote me on that.

Just purchased iZotope RX and have to say that for the price this software is simply amazing. Would recommend it to anyone. A+

A few years back, I was adviced to check out the Behringer denoising hardware uni.

I was a bit sceptical to say the least, but figured that it wouldnt hurt to try it out, when I found a used model for about $50. I was blown away by the fact that it works very very well. I know that the name makes alot of peoples skin crawl, but this thing does what its meant to do, and does it really well! I have removed noise (hum, clicks, buzz, backgrounds, reverb) with this thing with great results, and without getting those artifacts that plugs often bring.

Mikkel

I love Wave Arts' products as an inexpensive option. In addition to the Master Restoration suite, I've also purchased the Power Suite 5, which includes a multiband compressor that works wonders on certain types of noise. I picked up that tip from the Digi User Conference about a year ago. Also, if you buy one suite, the other products become HEAVILY discounted. I got the MR Suite for $150 after purchasing the PS5.

I also have DINR. I also never use it.

My first major software purchase was BIAS SoundSoap Pro. In my opinion, the value of the $100 update to SoundSoap Pro 2 was negligible, and I've gotten really tired of the artifacts I get with BIAS if I lean on it at all. I wrote customer support about how lousy I thought the gate on it was, and they offered to teach me how to use it. Maybe I am a knucklehead, but I've never been happy with the results with this product--especially at the sticker price. I might have them "teach" me using one of my problematic files before trying to sell it to see if there is a magic button I am missing.

Next project I have that Wave Arts doesn't help, I will probably purchase Izotope RX. I am using NR specifically to clean up noisy backgrounds in dialog tracks. In the low/no budget indie film and run and gun commercial video markets, an experienced production sound recordist is a rare thing (at least in Portland, OR), so noise reduction is a HUGE part of my freelance work. If you start showing people you can salvage footage without ADR sessions, it definitely brings more work and goodwill your way.

I just got an email today from Waves showing their new NR plugin, the W43.

Intrigued to see what the consensus is as it's rather cheap at $300/€260/£200. Sadly I've not got time at the moment or I'd download a demo and have a look. Would love to hear if anyone does have a go, especially compared to Cedar's DNSOne or Waves WNS.

Ian

Wow, doesn't anyone remember the Dolby Cat 43? I just picked up the components on Ebay for a couple of hundred bucks, and it was the workhorse of the industry in its day. I'd love to hear from someone who could compare the Cat with the Izotope.

+1000 for Izotope RX.

But I've got surprising results with the Wave Arts Master Restoration Suite. It sounds 'smoother' and with fewer artifacts especially with broad band noise. I use RX only in extreme conditions (read: spectral repair).

But usually a mix of different noise reduction plugins in different percentages works the best.