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RX De-click works best when you stop treating every tick as the same problem. Use Single Band for a narrow digital spike, Multi-band Periodic for regular wider events, Multi-band Random for irregular vinyl clicks and thumps, and compare Low Latency when minimal processing delay matters. Then raise Sensitivity only until the clicks disappear. If consonants, drum attacks or instrument tone begin to change, you have gone too far.
There is no honest universal De-click preset. A clean repair comes from identifying the artifact, auditioning a representative passage and choosing the least aggressive setting that catches it. The current RX 12 De-click manual defines the controls; this guide turns them into a repeatable editing method.
The eight-step workflow below uses the standalone Editor in RX 12 Standard or Advanced. Elements includes the De-click plug-in but no standalone Editor; Mouth De-click, De-crackle and Interpolate require Standard or Advanced. Check the RX edition comparison before looking for those tools. In a DAW plug-in, audition host playback and use the host to commit or export the result; the Editor footer controls described below, apart from Bypass, do not appear there.
First decide whether it is really a De-click problem
A click is a short impulse: a discontinuity, edit spike, digital error, brief electrical interruption or isolated record pop. It often appears as a thin vertical line in the spectrogram and a sharp discontinuity in the waveform. De-click analyses amplitude irregularities and smooths them, making it a useful first test for scattered short events. Confirm the sound by ear: a thin vertical line can also be a wanted musical attack.
| What you hear or see | Start with | Why |
|---|---|---|
| One narrow digital spike or edit click | De-click Single Band or Interpolate | The event is brief and isolated |
| Regular clicks with a wider spectrum | De-click Multi-band Periodic | The events repeat in a predictable pattern |
| Irregular vinyl pops or thumps | De-click Multi-band Random | The events are wider and non-periodic |
| Lip smacks, saliva clicks or mouth ticks across speech | Mouth De-click | It is purpose-built for mouth noise |
| Dense bed of tiny low-level clicks | De-crackle | Closely spaced clicks have become crackle |
| Audible distortion with confirmed clipped peaks | De-clip | The peaks need reconstruction; a flat-looking overview alone does not prove clipping |
Do not let the word “click” decide the module by itself. A voice recording can contain cable clicks, mouth clicks and clipping in the same sentence. The RX spectrogram guide explains how to separate vertical impulses from broadband noise and tonal material. For confirmed clipping after zooming in and listening, use the dedicated RX De-clip workflow.
Choose the De-click algorithm from the click pattern
Single Band is fast and intended for very narrow digital clicks. It is the sensible first audition for a sample discontinuity, bad edit boundary or tiny transfer glitch. Frequency Skew is not available in this mode, so the decision is mostly about detection and whether the event is genuinely narrow.
Multi-band Periodic Clicks is for wider clicks that repeat regularly or concentrate energy in a particular part of the spectrum. The RX manual gives thumps and optical soundtrack perforation noise as examples. Use the repetition as evidence: if the spacing changes constantly, Random is usually the better comparison candidate.
Multi-band Random Clicks targets wider, irregular vinyl clicks and thumps. iZotope says its protective logic aims to preserve periodic musical elements such as brass and vocals. That protection is useful, not infallible; still test a section containing real transients and sustained notes before applying it to an entire transfer.
Low Latency is designed for difficult clicks and real-time use in the De-click plug-in. Use it when processing delay matters, or compare it when the other algorithms miss a click. It is not the only algorithm that can run in a plug-in, and its name is not a quality rating. Keep whichever leaves the wanted signal most natural.
Safe RX De-click settings without a magic preset
In the Editor, turn Instant Process off before making a selection. Start with a short loop that contains several obvious clicks plus vulnerable wanted material: a spoken P or T, a snare attack, a picked guitar note or a brass transient. Select the algorithm from the table above, keep Click Widening conservative, and begin with Sensitivity lower than you think you need.
Raise Sensitivity until the target events are consistently caught, then back it down slightly. In RX, Sensitivity determines how many clicks are detected. The current manual warns that excessive detection can affect plosives and damage the original signal. A visually spotless spectrogram is not a win if the speaker's consonants become soft or a drummer loses attack.
Use Frequency Skew only after you can describe where the click energy lives. Moving it negative biases detection toward lower-frequency or generic vinyl-style clicks; zero and positive values shift attention toward middle-frequency mouth clicks. It is a weighting control, not a high-pass or low-pass filter. Single Band does not expose it.
Click Widening extends the repair around each detection. It can help a lip smack or wider event with a decaying tail, but excessive widening asks the interpolation to replace more wanted audio. Increase it only when the repaired center disappears yet a halo or short tail remains.
Listen to what the repair removes
In the RX 12 Editor, click Listen (the ear icon beside Compare), then Preview in the De-click module. You will hear the signal the module would remove instead of the repaired recording. The RX module footer documentation explains this audition mode. You want to hear ticks, pops and short bursts. If the audition contains intelligible syllables, consonant bodies, hi-hat patterns, pick attacks or sustained instrument tone, lower Sensitivity, reduce the processed range or try another algorithm.
Older tutorials call this “Output Clicks Only.” In the current Editor, use the ear button. Turn Listen off before judging the repaired recording, comparing it with Bypass, or rendering the chosen repair. In a plug-in, use its own removed-signal option if provided, then disable that option before normal playback or export; the Editor footer is not a plug-in control.
For uncertain settings, send alternatives to Compare. Select an entry in Compare Settings and use Preview to audition it; Render applies the selected entry. Keep playback level and timing consistent. A louder or differently timed example makes a small repair harder to judge.
An eight-step De-click workflow
- Duplicate or save the source. Keep a separate untouched file. Turn Instant Process off before drawing selections so selecting alone cannot apply a repair. History helps undo edits but is not a backup copy.
- Identify the artifact. Decide whether the problem is an isolated click, repeating pop, dense crackle, mouth noise or clipped peak.
- Select a representative passage. Loop a short section containing clicks plus wanted speech, music or transients.
- Choose the algorithm. Use Single Band for narrow digital clicks, Periodic for regular wider events, Random for wider irregular vinyl clicks, or compare Low Latency for minimal delay or clicks the other algorithms miss.
- Set frequency targeting. Adjust Frequency Skew when the click energy favors lower or higher frequencies; it is unavailable in Single Band. Keep Click Widening small unless a click tail remains.
- Raise Sensitivity gradually. Increase detection until the target clicks are caught, then stop before wanted attacks or plosives are affected.
- Audition the removed signal. In the Editor De-click module, enable Listen (the ear icon) and click Preview. If wanted speech or musical attacks are being removed, back off the settings. Disable Listen before normal comparison and rendering.
- Compare and render. Compare processed and bypassed playback, then Render a small test. Undo an unsuccessful repair. Before expanding the target to include that test region, undo the test so it is not processed twice. Render the approved target once, export under a new filename and play the exported file.
If you are new to selections, Preview, Compare and History, work through the RX 12 beginner tutorial first. The De-click procedure is simple; making it reversible is what keeps a small repair from becoming a large mistake.
Repair one click or process the whole recording?
For one obvious click, leave Instant Process off, zoom until you can see its boundaries and open Interpolate explicitly for a selection below 4,000 samples. At 48 kHz, that is below about 83 milliseconds; at 96 kHz it is below about 42 milliseconds. The sample limit stays the same. The current RX 12 Interpolate manual describes synthesis based on the selected content, with Quality adjusting the replacement to fit the surrounding audio. This is an estimate, not recovery of the original missing samples.
For faster manual work, Instant Process has an optional De-click mode that applies a repair as soon as you draw a selection. The De-click manual documents Interpolate below 4,000 samples and the current De-click settings above 4,000 samples; it does not specify the exact boundary case. Set the module controls first, check the result after each selection, and switch Instant Process off when you finish. Do not press Render again on an area that Instant Process has already repaired.
For scattered clicks across a long file, test a representative passage, undo that test before including it in a larger target, then expand in stages. Render a verse, a minute of dialogue or one side of a transfer and spot-check quiet, loud and transient-heavy sections. Whole-file processing is efficient only after the settings survive the difficult parts.
For a single stubborn event, try a precise Interpolate selection before raising global Sensitivity. Interpolate is the closest RX equivalent to redrawing a short damaged waveform and includes a Quality control that changes the complexity of the synthesized replacement. For longer or irregular contamination, targeted Spectral Repair may give more control than forcing De-click to detect everything.
De-click vs Mouth De-click
General De-click can remove mouth noises, and its Low Latency algorithm can work well on difficult clicks. Mouth De-click is still the more direct choice when the recording contains repeated saliva clicks and lip smacks across spoken or sung voice. The RX 12 Mouth De-click manual describes it as designed for longer selections, though it can also repair individual clicks.
Mouth De-click has Sensitivity, Frequency Skew and Click Widening, but matching labels do not make it interchangeable with general De-click. Test it on a sentence that includes plosives and crisp consonants. iZotope notes that a second pass can sometimes reveal quieter clicks previously masked by louder ones; only do that after confirming the first pass has not softened the voice.
If lip smacks dominate the recording, continue with the Mouth De-click settings guide for a voice-focused workflow. Keep general De-click for the equipment and edit clicks that still need separate attention.
De-click vs De-crackle
De-crackle takes over when many low-level clicks sit close together and become a nearly continuous texture. The current RX 12 De-crackle manual recommends removing the worst individual clicks with De-click first, then treating the remaining bed of crackle.
On vinyl and damaged dialogue, judge the fine background texture after removing the largest pops; otherwise, you may be adjusting the second tool to solve the first tool’s job. Remove the outlier, then use De-crackle Strength and Amplitude Skew on the residue. Medium quality is described for periodic rapidly repeating clicks; High aims to preserve tonal qualities. Preview both instead of assuming the slowest mode always wins.
Do not confuse crackle with steady hiss. Hiss spreads continuously across frequencies and belongs to a denoising decision. The Voice De-noise vs Spectral De-noise guide shows how to choose between voice-first and learned-noise workflows.
Where De-click sits in a repair chain
As a practical default, repair clicks before denoising. Keep clicks out of any sample you use to learn a steady noise profile. Compare the repair before heavy denoising makes the remaining artifacts harder to distinguish. iZotope's current vocal cleanup guide similarly separates equipment clicks, mouth noise and crackle before broader cleanup.
A sensible order for a damaged voice file is: fix clipping if present, remove isolated equipment or edit clicks, handle mouth noise, reduce dense crackle, then address steady noise and room problems. The exact chain changes when one process reveals another artifact, so treat it as a diagnostic sequence rather than a law.
When working from a DAW or video editor, send a copy or selected region into RX, render conservatively, then return it through your established RX Editor, plug-in and Connect workflow. The Repair Audio hub keeps the related module guides organized by artifact.
Why De-click leaves clicks behind
The wrong algorithm is listening for the wrong pattern. A wide vinyl thump is not a narrow digital impulse. Compare Random against Single Band before simply raising Sensitivity.
The event is longer than a click. A zipper-like edit, scrape or digital burst may need Spectral Repair. iZotope's digital clicks and pops tutorial recommends Spectral Repair for difficult cases that automated De-click does not solve cleanly.
The click has a tail. Increase Click Widening cautiously, or move a mouth-origin event to Mouth De-click. Listen around the repaired boundary; a missing center with a remaining halo is a reason to test a slightly wider repair, not proof that more widening will work.
The problem is crackle or clipping. Closely packed fine events need De-crackle. Confirmed clipping calls for a De-clip test. Listen and inspect at close zoom before changing tools.
Why De-click damages speech or music
Sensitivity is too high. The detector starts classifying plosives and musical attacks as clicks. Back down until those events return, even if a few harmless ticks remain for manual repair.
The processed selection is too broad. A global setting that works in quiet dialogue may damage a loud chorus. Split the file by condition and use different settings.
Click Widening replaces too much context. Reduce it and use a tighter selection. If the click is long or visually complex, Spectral Repair may preserve surrounding material better.
You optimized the display instead of the sound. A faint vertical trace can remain visible after an inaudible repair. Leaving that trace is preferable to removing a snare transient or the edge of a consonant. Listen in context, then on headphones, and keep the less destructive version.
A practical verdict on RX De-click settings
The best starting point is not a number. Classify the click as narrow, regularly repeating or irregular; consider processing delay separately. Choose an algorithm to test, tune Sensitivity on a representative loop, use Frequency Skew only when the spectrum supports it, and widen the repair only when a tail remains.
For one tiny click, select it precisely and consider Interpolate. For a voice full of saliva noise, switch to Mouth De-click. For continuous fine crackle, remove major pops first and follow with De-crackle. For a long, irregular event, use Spectral Repair. De-click is powerful because it is specific; it becomes destructive when asked to solve every kind of damage.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best iZotope RX De-click setting?
There is no universal setting. Choose Single Band for narrow digital clicks, Periodic for regular wider events, Random for irregular vinyl clicks and thumps, or compare Low Latency when minimal delay matters or other algorithms miss a click. Raise Sensitivity only until the target clicks are caught without changing wanted transients.
How high should De-click Sensitivity be?
Use the lowest value that consistently detects the clicks in a representative passage. If plosives, consonants, drum hits or pick attacks change, lower it and repair the remaining outliers separately.
What does Frequency Skew do in RX De-click?
It weights detection toward lower- or higher-frequency clicks. Negative values suit generic or vinyl-style clicks; zero and positive values favor middle-frequency mouth clicks. It is not available with Single Band.
When should I use Click Widening?
Increase it cautiously when the main click disappears but a short decay or halo remains, as with some lip smacks. Too much widening replaces more surrounding audio and can soften wanted detail.
Should I use De-click or Mouth De-click for voiceover?
Use Mouth De-click for repeated lip smacks and saliva clicks across speech. Use general De-click for isolated edit, cable, digital or equipment clicks. Test both on plosives before processing a long selection.
What is the difference between De-click and De-crackle?
De-click removes distinct short impulses. De-crackle treats many quiet clicks packed closely enough to form a continuous texture. On damaged transfers, remove the largest clicks first and then process the remaining crackle.
Can RX repair one click without processing the whole file?
Yes. In the Standard or Advanced Editor, leave Instant Process off and select a small region for an explicit repair. Interpolate works below 4,000 samples. Optional Instant Process De-click mode applies Interpolate below that length or active De-click settings above it immediately when you select; do not render that same repair again.
Should De-click come before noise reduction?
Usually, try click repair first, and always exclude clicks from a sample used to learn steady noise. Compare the chain: clipping or other damage may need correction earlier, and there is no compulsory order for every recording.
