Waves Clarity Vx

Clarity Vx is Waves's neural-network noise reduction plugin for voice, sold in standard and Pro versions. The standard plugin has a single threshold slider and a learn button: you point it at a clean voice and the plugin removes the bed of room tone, fan hum, traffic, and breathing-room nonsense around it in real time.

The Pro version adds multiband control so you can preserve certain frequency ranges or attack the noise more surgically. For podcasters who track live and want noise reduction on the way in, or who don't want to render iZotope passes per clip, Clarity Vx fits neatly into a DAW insert chain.

Pricing varies wildly because Waves runs near-constant sales. Clarity Vx is around $40 list with sale prices from about $28; Clarity Vx Pro has an MSRP of $800 but routinely drops to $250 on sale, with best prices from around $199.99.

The downsides are Waves's customer experience: the WUP renewal program, login requirements, and nag screens at startup are real annoyances that the audio community is loud about. As a tool, it works. As a relationship with a vendor, it's complicated — Waves's licensing model is a known source of frustration that you should factor into the purchase.