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The latest version of iZotope’s best-selling restoration software adds powerful new modules, as well as a Post Production Suite bundle aimed at film and TV applications. It seems that along with Christmas, another regular annual event we can rely upon is a new version of iZotope’s RX Audio Editor software. Mar 01, 2019  In this review/demo, we take a look at Izotope's most affordable version of their excellent audio repair software. We then take a real piece of audio we recorded and fix it up using the program. Mar 05, 2019 Individual RX 7 modules can also be used as Audiosuite plugins in your DAW. RX Advanced sells for $1,199, and is also available as part of the iZotope Post Production Suite with Neutron 2 Advanced, RX Loudness Control, Insight 2, and more for $1,499. Nov 29, 2018 In each major update, iZotope adds unique new tools that make its RX audio repair and editor software even more powerful. RX 7, the most recent update, continues that pattern, debuting a number of key new features.

1. Izotope Rx 2 Review 2017
2. Izotope Rx 2 Review 1
3. Izotope Rx 7 Free Download

Izotope Rx 2 Review 2017

Iris 2 allows four simultaneous layers, although your CPU may not thank you.

iZotope have upgraded and expanded their graphical synthesizer Iris. We see what’s new.

It hardly seems five minutes since I was extolling the virtues of Iris, iZotope’s innovative take on sample resynthesis, yet it’s over two years. During this time users have had the opportunity to play with and comment upon this unique, spectrally filtered graphical synthesizer.

If Iris 2 were a Hollywood sequel, its aim would be clear: to supply more of what you enjoyed in the original movie. In that sense, it’s bang on the money. Iris 2 is larger, more polished and addresses several weaknesses, but does it match the charm and impact of its older sibling?

Getting Started

After weighing up the upgrade offer, owners of Iris 1 will doubtless have spotted that version 2 costs slightly less than theirs did, but is approximately three times bigger. Iris 2 is quite a large download: 11GB if you choose to take all the available content. Fortunately, if you have monthly broadband limits, you needn’t grab it all at once. It’s neatly divided into ‘Core Content’ installation and sound libraries, with seven different categories available: Abstract, Environments, Instruments, Objects, Synthesizers, Toys and Voice. Within each you’ll see sub-categories, their names usually informative and often intriguing.

Once installation is complete (it’s a choice between iLok or a challenge/response authorisation), you might wish to move that 11GB lump of data from the system drive to an alternate location. (I speak as a Mac user fussy about such things). If so, you’ll also need to update the library pointers within Iris 2 via the ‘manage libraries’ option. That done, you’re ready to explore.

Thanks to a subtle makeover, Iris 2 has become darker and classier, but otherwise the interface is as welcoming as ever. During the manual library copy, I noticed one of the aforementioned weaknesses had already been tackled. In this version the samples are all 24-bit WAVs, ie. no longer in a proprietary format that can’t be used elsewhere. The original Iris data is included too, remastered and slotted in amongst the fresh material. I was particularly struck by the potential offered by the many long-duration samples of classic synths (many of which you wouldn’t even need to loop), as well as environmental sounds, machines, voices and a cross-section of instruments. These can all be adopted by any sampler for use as you wish, as well as providing great beds that support some of the more unusual material in Iris 2. Looking through the list, I was curious to check out the recordings of angle grinders, popcorn and a tomato being stabbed.

Although the original content is duplicated, the two versions of Iris are kept entirely separate so there’s no need to adjust any old songs. Having made the leap and upgraded, I’d expect most users to gradually phase out the earlier version, once they have imported any user patches (one at a time, I’m afraid). The import process requires at least version 2.01 or the program will totally fail to recognise the earlier proprietary sample format. And in another source of potential confusion, the update from 2.0 to 2.01 ignores any change of base library location you might have made, reverting back to the default location on the system drive. Doh!

Izotope Rx 2 Review 1

Spectral Filtering

/ableton-for-windows-free-download.html. For the full low-down on iZotope’s graphical slant on resynthesis, please refer to the original Iris review from the July 2012 issue. In a nutshell, you’re given Photoshop-style drawing tools to create spectral filters that home in on selections within existing audio. This apparently simple process unleashes sounds you may never have known were lurking within.

Previously, a patch consisted of three samples plus a kind of sub-oscillator that you could persuade, with a spot of manual intervention, to behave like a regular sample layer. In version 2, the manual element has been eliminated, leaving four identical layers, each of which can be populated from the treasure trove of synth waveforms, cellos, circuit-bent toys or onions being peeled. It can still be CPU-greedy though, especially if you use all four layers and the high-quality ‘Radius RT’ playback mode.

The most obvious step forwards is the major upgrade given to modulation, in the form of extensive inter-connectivity and a redesigned interface. Colour is employed to identify each modulation type and over 100 parameters can now be modulated by a generous selection of sources including five LFOs, five envelopes, MIDI CCs and Iris 2’s own macro knobs. While this is the same number of LFOs and envelopes as before, they can now be freely allocated and the sources distributed to pretty much every important parameter. You can do crazy stuff like have an LFO modulate its own shape, depth and frequency, or have velocity modify the times of envelope stages. In addition you have free reign over the ‘deeper’ effect parameters, accessed by neat pop-up menus.

Amongst several methods of assigning modulation, I have to applaud the ‘click on source then click on destination’ technique of adding connections. It’s elegant and far easier than the more commonly seen drag-and-drop, especially when traversing a large monitor with a temperamental mouse.

Further changes can be found in the effects section, which has undergone a buffing-up and layout change to accommodate modulation points. The primary enhancement is an improved and cleaned-up delay, which now has a maximum time of 4000ms (as opposed to 1500ms formerly). Modulate the left and right delay times, say, with a couple of LFOs running at slightly different speeds, then control LFO depth with the mod wheel and you’re heading into sound-design territory even before making your first graphical selection.

Within the Spectrogram area, a few graphical selections are the first stage in discovering something entirely new from any audio source.

The plate reverb is a reasonable balance between quality and CPU and, while I’d probably still take Logic’s built-in reverb in preference, this now offers such pleasures as transitioning from bathroom to warehouse over the lifetime of an envelope. iZotope have plundered their favourite effects from elsewhere too, lifting distortion and modelled filters from Trash 2, but while all these benefit from the extra modulation possibilities, the effects remain fairly straightforward. The user has the choice of a send-type system or a blanket master effects configuration to process all layers equally. The modelled filters (inspired by Moog, Korg, etc) are only available as a master effect; you can’t use a different one for each layer.

The master section’s brand-new spectrum analyser is both a visual treat and an invaluable tool for making sense of the spectral selections. However, when you turn to the basics of operation, other than the modulation upgrade, there are no major boosts. The four samples are layered and mixed as before and, although they can be confined to specific key ranges, this never resembles the performance of a typical sample player, which is hardly a concern — the world has plenty of these already.

For many sound designers, Iris was a dream come true, but there were some blatant gaps. Firstly, while there’s a good-quality (but CPU-greedy) pitch-shifting algorithm that reduces the ‘munchkinisation effect’ (which occurs when samples are played far from their root frequency), there’s no time-stretching. Sadly, this continues to be the case. Secondly, and of less importance, the painting and selection tools lagged behind those of comparable graphical applications, and they still do. There isn’t even a straight-line tool, let alone tools for making custom, crinkly lines, or cookie-cutter selections. You can get around such graphical limitations with time and carefully zoomed mousing, but the separation of pitch and playback speed seems such an obvious requirement that it’s disappointing not to see it in version 2.

Instant Gratification

To get a taste of what Iris 2 is all about, the browser features a ‘random’ option that serves up choices from the factory set — often a more rewarding method than choosing manually. Patch-loading isn’t instantaneous, but assuming you don’t mind the brief pause, you can sample the latest factory sounds and hear what a difference a couple of years can bring. With over 350 patches, these are much improved and more polished than the previous bunch. Once again, the best and most inspiring are found in the ‘pads’ category with ‘rhythmic’ a creditable runner-up. This isn’t to dismiss the synth, keys and bass categories because they benefit hugely from all those vintage synth samples, but I’d suggest they remain the least striking parts of the package. Here’s a small selection of my personal favourites:

• Defrost Pad: an icily magnificent pad that’s an instant Arctic soundtrack.
• Morphing Pad: created by many small elliptical selections, this sparkling, shimmering and mysterious pad is a superb demonstration of Iris’s spectral filtering abilities.
• Interstellar Banshee: the name perfectly describes this spooky, spacey atmospheric backdrop.
• Ogres Brew: a pulsing, ominous throb sourced from cello and synths.

Conclusion

The new, improved patch library and extra content give Iris 2 a more rounded feel and thus a better first impression. While I wondered how many experienced users would have written ‘more samples’ at the top of their wish-list, I can’t deny there’s a wealth of material — enough to keep you occupied for a very long time. For myself, and I suspect most others, it’s the extra modulation connections that will make Iris 2 a desirable upgrade. Whether you’re into inter-modulating LFO frequencies, or adding delay and feedback with keyboard tracking, the near-modular flexibility is not to be sniffed at. Yet despite these advances, Iris 2 doesn’t quite feel like a major increment. It’s a pity that spectral selection hasn’t been blessed with more exotic tools, but it’s even sadder that time-stretching hasn’t made an appearance. Perhaps it would have tipped the already-taxed CPU over the edge, but even so, I’m putting in my requests for version 3!

Izotope Rx 7 Free Download

Let’s not forget that a quartet of spectrally filtered samples can yield the most tripped-out, intense, atmospheric pads you ever heard. Iris 2 has everything Iris had, with the advantages of flexible modulation and a ton more samples to rummage through. Priced a little lower than its predecessor, Iris 2 is unsurpassed for ambient sound sculptures, textural synthesis and otherworldly effects. If those things turn you on, it’s high time you checked out the demo version.

Pros

• The same strengths as the original Iris but with an improved UI and more comprehensive modulation.
• Supplied with better factory patches and more sample content — this time in WAV format.

Cons

• No time-stretching.
• Features the same set of basic painting tools as its predecessor.
• Can be processor-demanding.

Summary

Iris 2 continues to walk a fine line between synthesis and sound engineering. While still lacking time-stretch and a few other refinements, the larger store of raw material and improved modulation ensure it’s a worthy upgrade.

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Test Spec

• Mac Pro with OS 10.8.5, 16GB RAM, 2x2.66GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon running in 64-bit mode.
• Logic 10.0.7.

• Computer / Software >Audio Editors

New in RX5 is an Instant Process option that can really help to speed up repetitive tasks.

The latest version of iZotope’s best-selling restoration software adds powerful new modules, as well as a Post Production Suite bundle aimed at film and TV applications.

It seems that along with Christmas, another regular annual event we can rely upon is a new version of iZotope’s RX Audio Editor software. Incorporating an ever-expanding collection of sophisticated tools for repairing, restoring and enhancing audio files, RX has now reached version 5, with both standard and Advanced editions available. The company have also released a new flagship product called the RX Post Production Suite; as the name implies, this not only includes RX5, but also the Insight metering system, RX Loudness Control and RX Final Mix products as well. The idea is to provide a full suite of tools that cover all aspects of audio post-production including audio repair, mixing and final delivery.

Insight

I reviewed the impressive Insight audio analysis and metering plug-in (v1.01) in the March 2013 issue of Sound On Sound, so will cover it only briefly here. Insight is included in the Advanced version of RX5 as well as the Post Production Suite and, in brief, provides a customisable loudness and true-peak meter, with support for channel formats up to 5.1 and presets for the international BS.1770 loudness standard variations. It also includes stereo and surround-sound ‘sound stage’ displays, spectrum analysers, and both 2D and 3D spectrogram modes. The display window can also be customised to show or hide the different display options as may be required for different applications or preferences.

The latest version is 1.04, but the only significant changes compared with the version I reviewed, apart from a few small bug-fixes, are to the supported platforms and plug-in formats. https://investmentsgreat373.weebly.com/blog/adobe-genuine-software-mac-site-wwwredditcom. For example, Insight now supports Mac OS 10.11 and Windows 10, with host support for Pro Tools 12.3, while DirectX support has been dropped.

RX Loudness Control

RX Loudness Control works as an offline AAX AudioSuite plug-in in Avid’s Media Composer and Pro Tools (v10 to 12), or as an Audio Extension for Adobe’s Premiere Pro. Its functionality is derived in part from the loudness-normalisation algorithms within Insight and the Loudness Modules in RX4/5, but it also has features that go beyond the capabilities of both. In essence, the loudness parameters needed to comply with a particular programme delivery specification — such as the integrated loudness target level and maximum true peak value — are dialled into RX Loudness Control, after which the programme mix (in any format from mono to 5.1) is then rendered through RX Loudness Control.

The audio is analysed (faster than real time) and any transgressions are then displayed to allow the user to manually amend the mix to resolve any detected issues. Alternatively, the audio material can be corrected automatically and transparently through the plug-in’s built-in compression and peak-limiting tools.

RX Final Mix

Designed to simplify and speed up the task of mixing audio, the RX Final Mix plug-in combines automatic dynamic EQ and true-peak limiting tools and is aimed primarily at video editors and for use in TV and film audio post-production. The plug-in can be employed on stems or the final mix bus, supports all surround formats up to 7.1, and is designed to help control and blend multiple mix stems.

Final Mix incorporates dynamic EQ that is optimised to increase the intelligibility of dialogue.

The dynamic EQ is particularly useful in helping to maximise speech intelligibility through intelligent un-masking: pushing down any parts of the mix spectrum that might obscure important speech frequencies, moment by moment. It is equipped with six parametric bands, plus high- and low-pass filters, any of which can be set manually or for automatic programme-dependent operation. The latter has both compression and expansion options with user-adjustable thresholds set independently per band. Different parts of the audio spectrum can therefore be attenuated or emphasised and, when skillfully applied, this provides improved dialogue clarity by reducing any masking elements from background music and effects. It can also increase the dynamic impact of special effects, for example by raising the low-frequency region during explosions, and the like.

Moving on to the limiter feature, this can be optimised either for transparency or low latency, with three different sound-character options (clear, smooth or thick), and the ballistics are intelligently programme-dependent. The true-peak limit threshold is adjustable, and a separate gain slider allows the average volume to be increased by up to 20dB, if required.

The other main element of Final Mix is a simple-to-use limiter.

RX5 Advanced Audio Editor

The core RX audio restoration package is already such a powerful and versatile system that it might seem there is little room for practical improvement with each new generation. However, the Advanced version of RX5 included with the RX Post Production Suite manages to squeeze in a number of new workflow enhancements, better default settings, and closer integration with Avid’s Pro Tools — and even a few new processing modules, too!

The dedicated De-Plosive module is a new addition to RX5 Advanced.

The headline feature for the Advanced version of RX5 is a brand new De-Plosive module, which, as its name implies, is designed to remove distracting plosive sounds from dialogue tracks. This is claimed to be an “industry first” (although CEDAR came up with their DeThump algorithm over 15 years ago.). Another all-new module for RX5 Advanced is the versatile Signal Generator, which can create a variety of precise test tones with different wave-shape options, filtered noise, profanity bleeps, and so on. The Leveler and Ambience Match modules from RX4, which are only available in the Advanced version, have also been updated and improved. The Leveler module analyses a dialogue or vocal track and works out an intelligent clip-gain envelope to de-breath, de-ess and generally smooth out the voice level, while the Ambience Match plug-in automatically constructs a consistent background ambience track from whatever ambience already exists, which is particularly useful when rebuilding heavily edited dialogue or working with ADR tracks.

A welcome addition to RX5 Advanced is the new Signal Generator module.

Both the Standard and Advanced versions of RX5 benefit from a new Instant Process tool button, which has been added to the bottom of the main audio display window. This is a semi-automatic version of the Spectral Repair module, and it works much like the ‘magic eraser’ tools found in photo-editing programs. If the Instant Process button is pressed, a problem sound element can be highlighted with the usual shape selection tools, and instantly attenuated, de-clicked, faded or replaced (as pre-selected in a configuration box). This feature provides a much quicker means of removing lots of clicks, for example, and really speeds up repetitive tasks.

Another new module provided in both versions of RX5 is a greatly improved EQ module, now called Corrective EQ. This features six separate parametric bands, plus configurable high- and low-pass filters (with four slope options). The module can also be switched between ‘analogue’ or ‘digital’ modes, with usefully different filter characteristics. A new Module Chain facility is also provided in both versions, and this allows any number of different RX5 modules to be loaded in a specific order, configured, and then operated automatically in sequence with a single click to perform complex audio processing tasks in a single pass.

Now rechristened Corrective EQ, RX5’s equaliser has been considerably improved.

There are a number of other worthy enhancements to this latest version of RX, starting with a subtly improved toolbar layout, with bigger icons and more obvious navigation and zoom controls. Retina screen support has been added for Macs, giving sharper text and graphics. And when working with long audio files, the Marker and Region search facilities have been improved to make finding required sections quicker and easier. Over 60 new ‘problem-oriented’ presets have been provided for the various modules, too.The Module Chain feature allows multiple RX processes to be combined into a single macro.

Impressions

I’ve been an enthusiastic user of iZotope’s RX for a very long time now, and find it an extremely capable audio restoration platform — although it takes some persistence and diligence to properly understand and master its sophisticated processing tools. RX5’s new De-Plosive module is a very welcome addition to the already quite comprehensive suite of tools, and it is highly effective. I also like the improved Corrective EQ module very much, while the new Instant Process feature is handy for simple repetitive spectral fixes. Another useful new facility for more complex repetitive work is the Module Chain, which allows a string of processes to be performed in one click. Experiments with the Ambience Match and Leveller modules showed them to be easy to use and very effective, too, and I can see them becoming popular in audio post-production for film and TV.

Moving beyond RX5 Audio Editor, the full-featured RX Post Production Suite is a very useful collection of tools for the film and TV post-production, world where loudness normalisation is now a crucial element. The Insight metering and Loudness Control plug-ins make it very straightforward to conform with the appropriate loudness standards, either while mixing or to correct pre-recorded material. The Final Mix plug-in is the only element of the suite that was entirely new to me, but I was impressed with the capabilities of its dynamic equalisation and limiter processes — although such powerful tools require great care, as they can wreck a mix more easily than improve one!

Alternatives

CEDAR’s Cambridge Suite offers a similarly comprehensive collection of audio restoration tools that are more advanced and easier to use, but at a much higher price and less oriented towards film and TV post-production.

Pros

• Loudness normalisation made easy with Insight’s metering and Loudness Control’s analytical and corrective facilities.
• Mix enhancement through RX Final Mix dynamic EQ and limiting tools.
• New De-Plosive processing module.
• Greatly improved Corrective EQ module.
• Module Chain and Instant Process features speed up repetitive tasks.

Cons

• Tools this sophisticated and capable will never be cheap!

Summary

A comprehensively equipped package of audio management, restoration and enhancement tools, now incorporating a Post Production Suite aimed at the film and TV market.

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