MR Noise 6

Name: MR Noise 6
Price: 69 USD
Author: Wave Arts

by Wave Arts · Restoration · Broadband noise reduction

Not rated yet

MR Noise 6 is a broadband noise reduction plugin that learns the noise profile automatically and works in the frequency domain.

It runs with under 20 ms latency, preserves transients with an Auto Dynamics mode and lets you audition the removed noise. It sells for $69.

Best for: Vocals, Acoustic Instruments, Guitars. Genres: all genres.

Keywords: repair, low latency, mixing, simple, built-in analyzer, beginner-friendly, corrective, crisp, FFT-based, heavy, tracking, vocals.

What it does

MR Noise 6 is Wave Arts' broadband noise reducer for hiss, room tone and other steady noise. It works on the frequency spectrum, and Wave Arts built it to be "great sounding and incredibly easy to use", with defaults meant to work without adjustment.

Noise learning: captures a noise floor from as little as 50 ms of audio; Learn is on by default, so the plugin starts by measuring the noise it hears.
Amount: the main control for how much noise is taken out.
Auto Dynamics: a mode that protects transients, so attacks stay crisp while the noise under them is reduced.
Noise floor editing: the learned noise floor and the reduction parameters can be edited by frequency, for noise that is heavier in some bands than others.
Spectrum display: shows the input, the output and the noise floor together.
Monitor: listen to only the removed signal to check that no music is going with it.
Low latency: under 20 ms, with latency compensation, so it can run on live sources.

It is part of Wave Arts' Master Restoration Suite alongside MR Hum and MR Click. The current version is 6 (build 609 on macOS, 610 on Windows). It works in mono or stereo at up to 192 kHz. A free trial is available.

Source: Wave Arts product page

When to use it

MR Noise 6 is the quick, low-latency choice for steady broadband noise: learn the floor, set Amount, and move on. Compared with iZotope RX 12 it has no spectral editor, no dialogue-specific modules and no repair of individual noises, but it is far simpler and cheaper and runs in real time on a track. Unlike Waves Clarity Vx, it does not separate a voice from the background; it subtracts a learned noise profile, so it suits steady hiss and room tone better than changing, busy noise. Compared with Waves NS1 it gives more control, with a visible noise floor and frequency-dependent editing, at the cost of a learning step. Sound On Sound's 2007 shootout found an earlier version beat Sony Oxford's denoiser on hiss.

Best for: tape hiss, preamp noise, air conditioning and steady room tone on voice, instruments and live recordings.
Genres: general purpose; podcasts, field recording, archive transfers and tracking.
Look elsewhere if: the noise changes constantly or you need to edit single events in the spectrum; RX 12 or SpectraLayers Pro 13 handle that, and Clarity Vx is better for noisy dialogue.
Tip: use Monitor while raising Amount and stop when you start to hear the music in the removed signal.

What producers say

Reviewers of earlier versions rated it highly for broadband noise, with ease of use its strongest point.

Sound On Sound (Mike Thornton, 2007 shootout) said it "wipes the floor with all the others", praising the default settings and scoring it 9/10 for quality on hiss.
Tape Op (Garrett Haines, 2008) found it would cover most de-noising needs in mixing and tracking, but less transparent than iZotope RX's denoiser.
MusicRadar (2007) said it does "a very good job" without leaving audio lifeless.
Note: all three reviews cover the 2007-era suite, not version 6.

Where to buy

KVR Marketplace: $69
PluginFox: $69

Tutorials and reviews

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