iZotope has launched Photon, a GPU-based audio tool that can split tracks, clean up noise, and pull apart voices. Boris FX, the brand's new parent company, helped build it. Under the hood, 12 custom AI models handle the work on a local graphics card, with no need to send files to a server.
Music producers get a four-part stem splitter, while beat makers can pull drums into five parts. Each kick, snare, hi-hat, tom, and cymbal gets a separate track. Handy for remix jobs where the source files are not on hand.
Dialogue gets some neat tricks as well. Photon can tell apart as many as six speakers from one clip. A separate mode pulls speech away from music, which can help make an instrumental or a clean vocal cut.
Film audio gets its own treatment. One model sorts a soundtrack into speech, score, effects, and other sounds. Editors can then work on each part without having to deal with the full mix.
And the cleanup tools go well past basic hiss cuts. Voice Restore works on speech tone, volume, room echo, and noise. Other models deal with indoor rooms, busy streets, gusts of wind, and traffic. Each one has a task rather than a single preset for all cases.
The app runs by itself or as an ARA plug-in within a DAW. Users can stack models, switch between them, and test a clip from any spot. No need to process an entire long file just to hear a short sample.
New model files arrive through a built-in manager, which skips a full app reinstall. Export choices cover WAV, FLAC, and MP3. Video projects can keep their source footage intact while the audio gets fixed.
Hardware does matter here. Windows 10 or newer works on PCs with at least 4 GB of GPU memory. Mac users need macOS 14 or later and an Apple M1 chip or newer. Intel Macs are out of luck.
The launch deal puts Photon at £246.75 before its regular £329 price takes over. VAT is part of both figures, and past iZotope buyers may qualify for crossgrade offers. That's a fair bit of cash, but the feature set gives audio editors quite a few tools in one package.
Music producers get a four-part stem splitter, while beat makers can pull drums into five parts. Each kick, snare, hi-hat, tom, and cymbal gets a separate track. Handy for remix jobs where the source files are not on hand.
Dialogue gets some neat tricks as well. Photon can tell apart as many as six speakers from one clip. A separate mode pulls speech away from music, which can help make an instrumental or a clean vocal cut.
Film audio gets its own treatment. One model sorts a soundtrack into speech, score, effects, and other sounds. Editors can then work on each part without having to deal with the full mix.
And the cleanup tools go well past basic hiss cuts. Voice Restore works on speech tone, volume, room echo, and noise. Other models deal with indoor rooms, busy streets, gusts of wind, and traffic. Each one has a task rather than a single preset for all cases.
The app runs by itself or as an ARA plug-in within a DAW. Users can stack models, switch between them, and test a clip from any spot. No need to process an entire long file just to hear a short sample.
New model files arrive through a built-in manager, which skips a full app reinstall. Export choices cover WAV, FLAC, and MP3. Video projects can keep their source footage intact while the audio gets fixed.
Hardware does matter here. Windows 10 or newer works on PCs with at least 4 GB of GPU memory. Mac users need macOS 14 or later and an Apple M1 chip or newer. Intel Macs are out of luck.
The launch deal puts Photon at £246.75 before its regular £329 price takes over. VAT is part of both figures, and past iZotope buyers may qualify for crossgrade offers. That's a fair bit of cash, but the feature set gives audio editors quite a few tools in one package.
