Neiro vs PD Cleaner

Neiro is a local audio worksuite for separating sources, restoring recordings, transcribing audio and editing waveforms. Processing takes place on the user's machine and audio does not leave it. Neiro offers a Tauri desktop app and a browser interface launched with `neiro ui`; desktop installers are listed for Windows, macOS and Linux. Separation covers vocals, instrumentals, harmonic and percussive parts, four- or six-stem mixes and drum kits, with a null-test residual for each result. Restoration tools include declipping, hum removal, denoising, dereverberation, bandwidth extension and reference mastering. Transcription can export MIDI, MusicXML, ASCII tablature and LRC lyrics. Studio provides non-destructive waveform edits, while Learn includes loop regions, count-in, metronome, step mode, WebMIDI and DAW wait mode. VST2 and CLAP injectors can capture audio from a DAW into Neiro. Core DSP works without model downloads, but optional neural backends download weights on first use. The Python package requires Python 3.10–3.12; compressed or video inputs also require ffmpeg on PATH.

PD Cleaner is a free Windows app for reducing clicks, crackle, hiss, and hum in old recordings, particularly public-domain recordings made before 1926. Drop in a file and it analyzes its era, noise, and clicks; a Clean dial lets you adjust the cleaning. Its voicings cover cylinders, acoustic 78s, and early electric recordings, alongside an uncoloured transfer option. A live before-and-after spectrum analyzer can show a curve, waterfall, or both, and users can solo noise being removed. The app works as a VST3 insert in a DAW or as a standalone program. Folder-based batch processing with one preset is limited to the standalone version. Built-in formats are WAV, FLAC, AIFF, Ogg, MP3, and Opus; a free optional add-on provides AAC and more. It supports 24-bit archival exports and says it does not overwrite the original file. The maker describes it as offline software. The Windows release is open source under AGPLv3, and its build may show an unknown publisher warning when first run.