Hey everybody.
It's evident that iZotope RX has seen the competition increase in the world of noise and reverb reduction tools. Over the past 18 months, plugins such as Waves Clarity DX have made their mark. And just this week, Ascentize (or is it Accentize?) rolled out their dxRevive and dxRevive Pro plugins. Is this Adobe's Enhance Speech or Descript's Studio Sound in plugin form?
So, what's on the table? It's more than just noise reduction. Accentize promises studio-quality restoration, tackling everything from noise reduction and reverb suppression to enhancing phone call recordings, even those from Skype and Zoom. I took the time to test it out.
What I discovered is that the dxRevive series excels in specific areas, especially reverb reduction. But at high settings, especially in noisier environments, it can sound a bit processed. When comparing the regular and Pro versions, the difference doesn't quite justify the price difference. While tools like Supertone's Voice Clarity (formerly known as Goyo Voice Separator) and Acon Digital's De-Verberate have their merits and demerits, in some cases, dxRevivee surpasses them, but in others, it lags.
One feature I genuinely wish dxRevive incorporated is mouth noise reduction – something RX offers efficiently. My conclusion? dxRevive has its moments, especially with reverb reduction, but there are areas where it could improve. Its reverb reduction capability does make it a worthy competitor in the market, but the discernible high-end roll-off might not be for everyone.
Here's how I rate this plugin:
I hope my insights prove useful, and, If so, please share with fellow podcasters or editors. And don't forget to subscribe to the YouTube channel for more reviews on plugins and the world of podcast editing. See you next time.