Repair defects without confusing them with music

The fixed processing order

DeCrackle receives the DeClicked signal, and optional NRNG follows both repair stages. The source is decoded once and the final restored file preserves its exact frame count and duration.

The current NG2 engine

Fixed topology

File 1.00b1 uses the current sequential NG2 reconstruction path exclusively; there is no method selector.

Independent stages

DeClick and DeCrackle each retain their own Off, Automatic and Manual control.

Stable configuration

The engine topology is fixed so a job is defined by its profile, stage modes, sensitivities and optional NRNG settings.

The historical Basic and Extended choices described in earlier manuals are no longer exposed by the application.

DeClick

DeClick targets short impulses such as ticks, clicks and pops. It detects candidate regions, predicts replacement samples around the damaged interval and coordinates stereo repair so a defect in one channel does not create an unstable image.

DeCrackle

DeCrackle is an independent second stage for dense fine crackle that remains after larger clicks are treated. Its sensitivity is not derived from DeClick and it does not regrade the repaired signal. In Automatic mode, it uses the same local source evidence but follows its own calibrated profile column.

How Automatic mode adapts

VinylRest first performs a fixed reference analysis on the untouched source. It then makes local decisions on a record-like time grid:

1. A complete 3.6-second rolling reference window measures the local defect rate.
2. The decision is updated every 1.8 seconds, approximately once per record revolution.
3. The selected profile independently converts that local rate into DeClick and DeCrackle sensitivities.
4. Offline rendering applies the decision to the same material that supplied the evidence.

Before the first complete local window, the selected profile's M values are used. A clean interval can return immediately to a low setting; the controller does not retain an earlier aggressive value merely because the previous passage was damaged.

NRNG surface-noise reduction

NRNG follows DeClick and DeCrackle and targets continuous record-surface noise rather than isolated impulses. Conservative S150 is the default; Primary S200 is the stronger alternative.

Global grade maximum

A new analysis selects the active profile row for the complete-file grade, caps it at 12 dB and keeps that ceiling fixed for the whole file.

P65 acquisition

First searches from 1 to 10 seconds for four qualifying 250 ms observations between −80 dBFS and the configured maximum. If that primary search fails, a bounded fallback can inspect the interval three to five seconds before a sustained program-level onset detected within the first 30 seconds.

Applied reduction

The NRNG controller may apply less than the displayed whole-file ceiling according to its frequency-dependent protection and confidence logic.

Off

Disable Noise reduction. DeClick and DeCrackle remain available.

Noise reduction is available at exactly 32, 44.1, 48, 64, 88.2, 96, 128, 176.4 and 192 kHz. At another otherwise accepted rate, disable NR or convert the source outside VinylRest to a supported production rate before processing.

Media grade

Every job runs one complete-file reference analysis, even when audible stages are Manual or Off. Valid detector output is summarized into one conventional median reference-event rate and mapped through the active profile.

A practical tuning sequence

1. Start with Paranoid, Automatic DeClick and DeCrackle, and NRNG Conservative S150.
2. Compare the result. If major defects remain, select the next less-conservative profile.
3. If a particular stage changes music, isolate it by temporarily turning the other stages Off.
4. Use Manual only after a short listening experiment identifies a stable sensitivity.
5. Keep the original file and save clearly named alternatives for comparisons.