Do these 3 things before closing this tab:
1Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute2Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems3Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesAbleton Live and Supertone Clear are complementary, not competing products. Live is a complete digital audio workstation for recording, arranging, MIDI, instruments, mixing and performance. Clear is a specialist plug-in for reducing voice noise and room reverb, separating speech from ambience, and cleaning dialogue in real time. Choose Live for production, Clear for voice cleanup, and both when Live is your workspace and difficult recordings need dedicated restoration.
Ableton Live and Supertone Clear solve different problems
| Product | Category | Main job |
|---|---|---|
| Ableton Live | DAW and music-production platform | Recording, arrangement, editing, mixing, instruments, MIDI, samples and live performance |
| Supertone Clear | Audio plug-in | Voice separation, de-noising, de-reverberation and real-time speech cleanup |
Live is sold in Intro, Standard and Suite editions with different track counts, devices, Packs and instruments; see Ableton’s edition comparison. Clear is AU, VST3, VST and AAX software intended to run inside a compatible host, as described on Supertone’s product page.
What Ableton Live includes
- Audio recording and non-destructive editing
- Session View clips and Arrangement View timelines
- MIDI sequencing, software instruments and sample playback
- Audio and MIDI effects, mixing and automation
- Live performance workflows, Packs and sound libraries
- Video import/export features that vary by edition
- Stem Separation listed for Live 12 Suite, which is a different task from Clear’s voice/noise/reverb processing
These are DAW functions. Clear cannot arrange a song, host a complete project, provide Live’s instruments, or replace Session View.
What Supertone Clear is designed to do
Clear provides controls for Voice, Ambience and Reverb. Its intended jobs include reducing fan or HVAC noise, taming reflective-room ambience, improving interviews and voiceovers, cleaning livestream microphones, and separating dialogue from background ambience. It is not automatically a solution for clipped audio, clicks, severe distortion, hum, music bleed or every archival-restoration problem.
#1 Best Overall
- Pro performance with great pre-amps - Achieve a brighter recording thanks to the high performing mic pre-amps of the Scarlett 3rd Gen. A switchable Air mode will add extra clarity to your acoustic instruments when recording with your Solo 3rd Gen
- Get the perfect guitar and vocal take with - With two high-headroom instrument inputs to plug in your guitar or bass so that they shine through. Capture your voice and instruments without any unwanted clipping or distortion thanks to our Gain Halos
- Studio quality recording for your music & podcasts - Achieve pro sounding recordings with Scarlett 3rd Gen’s high-performance converters enabling you to record and mix at up to 24-bit/192kHz. Your recordings will retain all of their sonic qualities
- Low-noise for crystal clear listening - 2 low-noise balanced outputs provide clean audio playback with 3rd Gen. Hear all the nuances of your tracks or music from Spotify, Apple & Amazon Music. Plug-in headphones for private listening in high-fidelity
- Everything in the box: Includes Pro Tools Intro+, Ableton Live Lite, Cubase LE, and Hitmaker Expansion: a suite of essential effects, powerful software instruments, and easy-to-use mastering tools
Use it conservatively. De-reverberation can make speech more intelligible without making a recording perfectly dry, and aggressive neural processing may produce warbling, phase-like effects or unnatural consonants. Supertone’s claims should be treated as product positioning rather than a guarantee for every recording.
Can Supertone Clear run inside Ableton Live?
Yes, provided the installed plug-in format and operating system match your setup. Clear supports AU, VST3, VST and AAX; Live supports third-party plug-ins. The exact menu wording differs by Live version and operating system.
- Install Clear with Supertone’s installer or Supertone Hub.
- Open Live and go to Preferences/Settings → Plug-ins.
- Enable the relevant system VST3 location or your custom VST folder.
- Rescan plug-ins if Clear is missing.
- Find Clear in Live’s Plug-ins browser and drag it onto a vocal or dialogue track.
- Adjust Voice, Ambience and Reverb while monitoring for artifacts.
- Freeze or render the track when sustained neural processing becomes too demanding.
Clear initially runs in trial mode. Enter a license key in its Activation tab, or use browser activation and load the resulting .clearlicense file, following Supertone’s activation instructions.
Rank #2
- The new generation of the songwriter's interface: Plug in your mic and guitar and let Scarlett Solo 4th Gen bring big studio sound to wherever you make music
- Studio-quality sound: With a huge 120dB dynamic range, the newest generation of Scarlett uses the same converters as Focusrite’s flagship interfaces, found in the world's biggest studios
- Find your signature sound: Scarlett 4th Gen's improved Air mode lifts vocals and guitars to the front of the mix, adding musical presence and rich harmonic drive to your recordings
- All you need to record, mix and master your music: Includes industry-leading recording software and a full collection of record-making plugins
- Everything in the box: Includes Pro Tools Intro+, Ableton Live Lite, Cubase LE, and Hitmaker Expansion: a suite of essential effects, powerful software instruments, and easy-to-use mastering tools
Is Live’s native processing enough?
Often, yes. Live’s EQ, gates, compressors, Utility and other effects can handle mild noise, rumble, peaks, level control and a vocal that is already reasonably clean. A gate mutes audio below a threshold; EQ changes frequency balance; compression changes dynamics. None should be described as intelligent voice separation, and compression can raise an already audible noise floor.
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Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Clear is more compelling when noise is constant, speech shares frequencies with ambience, the room is noticeably reverberant, or dialogue must be cleaned before editing. If the problem is clipping, severe distortion or complex music bleed, investigate a broader restoration tool instead of assuming Clear is sufficient.
Practical processing chains
Spoken word
- Use clip gain or Utility for basic level control.
- Apply Clear gently when noise or reverb is the main problem.
- Use EQ Eight for corrective equalization.
- Compress for consistent speech level.
- Limit peaks at the end of the chain.
The order is not mandatory. A high-pass filter before Clear may help with low-frequency rumble, but bypass-test every change.
Rank #3
- PLUG IN AND HEAR SOUND IN SECONDS - USB Type-A connector with a 3.5mm stereo headphone output and a separate 3.5mm mono microphone input. No drivers, no software, no external power - the adapter is USB bus-powered and is recognized as a standard USB audio device.
- WORKS ON WINDOWS, MAC AND LINUX - Driverless on Windows 98SE/ME/2000/XP/Server 2003/Vista/7/8, Linux and Mac OSX, and compliant with the USB Audio Device Class 1.0 specification, so any system that supports class-compliant USB audio will see it. Select it as the sound output and input device after plugging it in.
- TWO JACKS, TWO JOBS - The green jack is stereo OUT for headphones or powered speakers; the pink jack is mono microphone IN for a 3.5mm mic. It does NOT support 4-pole headsets on a single combo plug, it does NOT power passive speakers, and it does NOT add surround sound - it is a stereo 2-channel adapter.
- FOR LAPTOPS AND DESKTOPS THAT NEED AN AUDIO PORT BACK - Adds a headphone and mic port to a laptop, desktop, or mini PC whose onboard jack has failed or was never there. Managed and work-issued computers can block new USB audio devices by policy - check with your IT department before ordering for a company machine.
- SABRENT SUPPORT AND WARRANTY - What is in the box: one USB audio sound adapter. Backed by a 1-year limited warranty, extended to 2 years when you register within 90 days on the manufacturer's website.
Music vocals
Start with corrective EQ. Add Clear only when room or environmental contamination is audible, then de-ess, compress and tone-shape as needed. Do not denoise every clean vocal by default.
Streaming and live speech
Use conservative settings, test the complete signal path, monitor CPU and latency, and keep a bypass or fallback input ready. Never rely on the trial during a broadcast: its limitation inserts noise every 60 seconds.
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Audio quality and performance trade-offs
| Approach | Advantages | Limitations |
|---|---|---|
| Live-native effects | Already included with Live; transparent EQ, gating and dynamics; easy automation | Conventional processors may not separate overlapping voice and noise; heavy gating can sound abrupt; EQ cannot remove all reverb |
| Supertone Clear | Purpose-built voice/noise/reverb controls, real-time operation and multiple plug-in formats | Neural processing uses more CPU; strong settings can create artifacts; adds a license and compatibility dependency |
Compare processed and bypassed audio at matched loudness. A louder signal often seems better even when it is not cleaner.
Rank #4
- Podcast, Record, Live Stream, This Portable Audio Interface Covers it All - USB sound card for Mac or PC delivers 48kHz audio resolution for pristine recording every time
- Be ready for anything with this versatile M-AUDIO interface - Record guitar, vocals or line input signals with two combo XLR / Line / Instrument Inputs with phantom power
- Everything you Demand from an Audio Interface for Fuss-Free Monitoring - 1/4" headphone output and stereo 1/4" outputs for total monitoring flexibility; USB/Direct switch for zero latency monitoring
- Get the best out of your Microphones - M-Track Duo’s transparent Crystal Preamps guarantee optimal sound from all your microphones including condenser mics
- The MPC Production Experience - Includes MPC Beats Software complete with the essential production tools from Akai Professional
Compatibility, buffers and system requirements
Ableton Live 12
Ableton’s detailed minimum-requirements page lists Windows 10 version 22H2 or Windows 11 version 22H2 and macOS 11.7.10 Big Sur through macOS 26 Tahoe, plus 8 GB RAM. It specifies a fifth-generation Intel Core i5 or AMD Ryzen with AVX2 on Windows, Intel Core i5 or Apple silicon on Mac, approximately 6 GB on Windows and 8 GB on Intel Mac or 10 GB on Apple silicon for the basic installation, and displays of 1366×768 (Windows) or 1280×800 (macOS). Check Ableton’s current requirements; optional sound content needs substantially more storage. Ableton’s recommended specifications are higher for demanding projects.
Supertone Clear
Supertone lists 64-bit Windows 10 and above, macOS 10.13 and above, native Apple-silicon support, AU/VST3/VST/AAX formats, 44.1, 48 and 96 kHz sample rates, and a recommended I/O buffer of 256 samples or higher. See the technical specifications.
If clicks or dropouts occur, Supertone recommends increasing the buffer to 1024 or 2048 samples, trying Eco Mode, reducing simultaneous instances, or rendering/f freezing the track. Lower buffers suit live monitoring; larger buffers are usually acceptable for offline editing. The full guidance is in Supertone’s dropout article.
Best Value
- The new generation of the artist's interface: Connect your mic to Scarlett's 4th Gen mic pres. Plug in your guitar. Fire up the included software. Start making your first big hit
- Studio-quality sound: With a huge 120dB dynamic range, the newest generation of Scarlett uses the same converters as Focusrite’s flagship interfaces, found in the world's biggest studios
- Never lose a great take: Scarlett 4th Gen's Auto Gain sets the perfect level for your mic or guitar, and Clip Safe prevents clipping, so you can focus on the music
- Find your signature sound: Air mode lifts vocals and guitars to the front of the mix, adding musical presence and rich harmonic drive to your recordings
- With Scarlett 4th Gen, you have all you need to record, mix and master your music: Includes industry-leading recording software and a full collection of record-making plugins
Prices and value
The following U.S.-dollar prices were displayed on August 18, 2026; taxes, promotions, upgrades, education pricing and currency vary.
| Product | Observed price | Best fit |
|---|---|---|
| Live 12 Intro | $99 | Entry-level production or a lightweight Clear host |
| Live 12 Standard | $349 | Full production workflow without the complete Suite bundle |
| Live 12 Suite | $749; $31.21/month rent-to-own displayed | Broadest instruments, effects, Packs and Suite-only features |
| Supertone Clear | $69 one-time lifetime price displayed | Specialist voice cleanup for an existing compatible host |
Verify checkout details at Ableton’s shop and Supertone’s Clear page. Clear’s trial inserts noise every 60 seconds and prevents saving and loading profiles until activated; see the trial limitations.
Which should you buy?
Buy Ableton Live when
- You need a complete DAW for music or multimedia production.
- You want MIDI, instruments, arrangement, mixing, Session View or live performance.
- You do not already own a suitable DAW.
Buy Clear when
- You already have a compatible DAW.
- Your main problem is voice noise, room reverb or dialogue ambience.
- You accept extra CPU use and want a focused control set.
Buy both when
Live is your production environment and you regularly record vocals, interviews, streams or dialogue in imperfect spaces.
Buy neither, or wait, when
Your recordings are clean, basic EQ and compression are enough, the problem is clipping or severe distortion, or your computer cannot run neural processing reliably. Test representative files first.
The Tool Desk
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- Clear is absent in Live: install the correct format, enable its plug-in folder and rescan.
- It remains in trial mode: enter the key for the installed device, then reload the plug-in.
- Windows activation will not persist: update to the latest Clear version; Supertone says version 1.1.0 addressed the issue for most Windows users. See the activation-persistence guidance.
- macOS activation will not persist: follow Supertone’s permissions guidance concerning
/Library/Application Support/Supertone/; do not alter unrelated folders. - Clicks or dropouts: raise the buffer, try Eco Mode, freeze/render tracks and reduce instances.
Alternatives and edge cases
Existing Pro Tools, Logic, Reaper or another compatible-DAW user generally needs no Ableton purchase to use Clear. A podcaster or video editor may find Live excessive unless music production is also required. Ableton Live Lite bundled with hardware may already provide a sufficient host. For clicks, hum, clipping, severe distortion or complex restoration, consider a dedicated restoration suite or another dialogue-cleanup plug-in. Stem Separation in Live 12 Suite should not be confused with Clear’s dialogue-focused processing.
The Bottom Line
Verdict: Ableton Live is the workspace; Supertone Clear is the specialist voice-cleanup tool. Choose Live for complete production, Clear for difficult speech recordings, and both when you need a full Ableton workflow plus dedicated de-noise and de-reverb.
Quick Recap
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
