iZotope Photon separates voices from finished recordings on your GPU

iZotope launched Photon on November 3, combining 12 machine-learning models for separating and cleaning finished recordings. It ships as a standalone app and audio-editor extension. The company says processing runs on the user’s GPU, keeping recordings on the computer instead of uploading them for analysis.

A single interview recording can be divided into tracks for individual speakers. Boris FX’s voice-separation guide describes support for up to six voices, each with a volume fader, solo and mute controls. A separate Other track retains room tone and background. Its example is a podcast interview with overlapping speech.

For music, a separate Boris FX demonstration describes removing vocals for a cover, pulling out drums for backing material and adjusting loud bass without the original multitrack project. These are the company’s illustrated uses. This report checked the published documentation; it did not listen to or measure separation quality on a recording.

Cleanup models target the recording environment. iZotope’s guide describes indoor noise and echo, plus outdoor traffic and wind, alongside automatic level adjustment and voice enhancement. Voice Restore offers control over noise, echo and microphone tone. Models can be applied in succession.

Inside an audio editor, Photon uses ARA2. The integration gives it the whole clip’s context instead of only a short stream of playback audio. iZotope lists hosts including Pro Tools, REAPER and Cubase. Its guide positions Photon for broad separation and cleanup, with RX handling precise repairs to individual unwanted sounds.

Keeping the picture while changing its sound

Video editors can replace a processed soundtrack while retaining the original picture. Boris FX’s full-workflow guide describes exporting separated stems, a combined mixdown or new audio directly into the original video without re-rendering. Audio exports include WAV, FLAC and MP3, with WAV keeping source bit-depth.

Photon also continues the former CrumplePop SoundApp. Boris FX describes it as its first research collaboration with iZotope. Boris FX’s launch notice grants access at no extra charge to active CrumplePop, Boris FX Suite and Vegas Pro Ultimate subscribers, and customers on a CrumplePop upgrade-and-support plan. Owners of paid iZotope products can qualify for account-specific crossgrade offers, with deeper reductions for RX owners.

Local processing has hardware requirements. The official table specifies Apple silicon M1 or newer and macOS 14 or later on Mac. Windows needs a 64-bit Windows 10-or-later system and a GPU with at least 4 GB of video memory. Both list 8 GB RAM minimum and recommend 16 GB. The Model Manager requires internet access to download models.

The dollar storefront shows a $349 perpetual-license list price and a $259 sale price. Regular subscriptions are $19 monthly or $119 annually. iZotope’s launch post dates the crossgrade offer through December 7. Account-specific crossgrades have separate eligibility conditions.

The download guide requires iZotope sign-in and a Boris FX account for installation through Boris FX Hub. Its unrestricted trial lasts 14 days. Afterward, Demo mode still opens files and previews models, but disables standalone export. The ARA plugin passes through unprocessed audio once that trial ends.