Before you begin
You need a Mac running macOS 15.4 or later, a stereo input, a stereo output and a line-level signal from the record player. A single duplex audio interface may provide both directions, or the input and output may be separate devices.
Install the application
- Download and open the current VinylRest Live Beta disk image.
- Drag VinylRest Live to the Applications folder.
- Eject the disk image, then open VinylRest Live from Applications.
- Connect and power the input and output devices before selecting the audio route.
VinylRest Live 1.20b1 build 45 is a Universal 2 application that runs natively on Apple silicon and Intel Macs.
Activate the free Beta
Live processing requires a free Beta license. On first launch, request a license in the native window or enter a key already delivered to you, then select Activate. Internet access is required.
See Beta license and activation for the complete request, recovery, validation, installation and update workflow.
Grant macOS permissions
- Microphone
- Required for audio input. macOS normally asks when processing is started for the first time. Select Allow. If access was denied, open System Settings → Privacy & Security → Microphone, enable VinylRest Live and relaunch the application.
- Local Network
- Required only when the optional HTTP server and remote WebApp are enabled. Select Allow if you intend to control VinylRest Live from another device on the LAN.
- Apple Music catalog
- No permission to your personal music library is requested. Internet access is used only for optional English genre enrichment from the public catalog after a Shazam match; repair and audio transport do not depend on it.
If a permission changes while VinylRest Live is open, quit and reopen the application before trying the audio path again.
Select the audio route
- In the Audio devices card, choose the hardware or virtual device that receives the stereo signal from the phono system under Input.
- Choose the device connected to the listening system under Output.
- Choose one entry under Format. Only exact stereo formats reported by both devices appear.
- If a newly connected device is missing, select Refresh.
Input and output must use the same sample rate and bit depth. Supported combinations are stereo 16-bit or 24-bit at 32, 44.1, 48, 64, 88.2, 96, 128, 176.4 or 192 kHz. VinylRest Live does not insert a general sample-rate converter between mismatched nominal device formats.
The three selectors lock while the transport is active. Select Stop before changing Input, Output or Format. An external device-rate change during processing stops the transport rather than silently changing the session.
Fresh-install defaults
A new installation starts with settings intended to protect musical transients while the audio path is being evaluated.
| Control | Initial setting | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Correction profile | Paranoid | Conservative maximum correction for each grade |
| Generation | NG2 | Fixed product generation for the complete DeClick → DeCrackle chain |
| DeClick | Auto | Independent first-stage sensitivity; 0 is exact bypass |
| DeCrackle | Auto | Independent second-stage sensitivity; 0 is exact bypass |
| Noise reduction | S150 · On | Conservative NRNG profile after both repair stages |
| NR Auto | On | Uses the selected grade profile's NR maximum, capped at 12 dB |
| Pitch / reverse | Fixed by NG2 | NG2 uses the listened sequential reconstruction configuration |
| Signal | Repaired | The restored signal is sent to the output |
| Master gain | +0.0 dB | Unity software gain |
| Buffering profile | Safe | Largest playback reserve |
Saved choices are restored on later launches, so an existing installation may not show these values.
Choose a buffering profile
Open Settings → Audio to choose the playback reserve. The physical ring capacity remains 32,768 frames; the profile changes its normal target and the amount of protection against a late callback. A change applies the next time processing starts.
| Buffering profile | Up to 48 kHz | 64–96 kHz | 128–192 kHz |
|---|---|---|---|
| Low latency | 2,048 frames | 4,096 frames | 8,192 frames |
| Balanced | 4,096 frames | 8,192 frames | 16,384 frames |
| Safe | 32,768 frames | 32,768 frames | 32,768 frames |
- Safe
- The product default and recommended first choice. It provides the greatest protection against brief scheduling or device delays.
- Balanced
- Reduces delay while retaining more reserve than Low latency. Qualify it by listening for an entire side and checking Transport for XRuns or Errors.
- Low latency
- Uses the smallest reserve. Some devices request callbacks larger than that reserve and may produce dropouts, especially at 48 kHz.
The Audio tab reports the estimated steady-state software delay for the currently selected sample rate and NG2 buffered DeClick/DeCrackle path. The aligned NR delay is always included, even while NR is bypassed. At 96 kHz with Balanced buffering, the current interface reports approximately 598 ms with NR enabled.
Start the first record
- Set the amplifier or downstream monitor to a low level and cue the record.
- Select Start. The status passes through configuration and priming before reporting that audio is being processed.
- Confirm that the Audio level L and R meters respond. Regular peaks should remain below 0 dB.
- Listen first with Signal → Repaired, then compare briefly with the time-aligned Original. Use All, Clicks or Noise only to inspect what each restoration stage removes.
- Watch Transport. XRuns and Errors should remain at zero.
DeClick Auto and DeCrackle Auto begin with bounded fallback values until approximately 3.6 seconds of reference audio are ready, then update about every 1.8 seconds. NRNG waits for two seconds of qualified side input, captures the first valid one-second surface-noise profile below the configured maximum and then applies S150 or S200 within the grade-selected maximum, capped at 12 dB. The stable media grade needs complete windows of approximately ten seconds and therefore appears later.
Stop safely
Select Stop before unplugging a device or changing its nominal format. Stopping preserves the cumulative grading session and the visible Applied Repairs history; Reset grading starts a new grade without stopping audio.