CrumplePop vs. Adobe Podcast: AI Cleanup for FCPX Users (2025)

If you’re creating podcasts or videos, you know the struggle: that perfect take marred by background noise, echo, or inconsistent levels. Recording in less-than-ideal conditions is often a reality. Thankfully, AI is stepping up to help us rescue our audio. Two prominent solutions are the CrumplePop plugins (now part of Boris FX) and Adobe Podcast’s Enhance Speech tool.

As someone deep in the trenches of  content creation, particularly within the Final Cut Pro X ecosystem, I get asked about these tools a lot. So, let’s dissect them: What do they do? How do they work? And most importantly, which one is right for you?

What Is My Use Case?

I’ve been doing audio and video production for the better part of 25 years and I feel like I’ve used all the tools on the market in that time. For me, the primary focus is ease of use, power, and the ability to integrate seamlessly into my workflow. For the past few years, my focus has been on producing my podcast, Generator. 

Generator is an interview style podcast based around creativity, and most of these are in controlled environments like a home office or studio. While I have a nice setup for myself, often times my guests are not as audio-nerdy as me so I can run into room noise issues, poor mic quality, and so on. 

Overall my process is to record the interview through ECamm or Zoom, bring the combined and local recordings into Final Cut Pro X, edit the video, export the audio, upload the audio to Adobe Podcast for cleanup, reimport the processed audio back into FCPX, then export the final video. While it’s not difficult, it’s tedious.

I love how much time Adobe Podcast has saved me in basic EQ’ing, compression, and level setting but I often found that there are moments where it suffers – such as two people talking over each other – it freaks out Adobe Podcast and there’s no ability to really tweak it without going through a whole reprocess. So I started looking for alternatives that would allow me to stay within FCPX while still removing room noise and making the recorded audio sound extra clean.

Meet the Contenders

CrumplePop (from Boris FX): This isn’t a single tool, but a suite of professional audio plugins designed to integrate directly into your Non-Linear Editor (NLE) like Final Cut Pro X, Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve, or even DAWs like Logic Pro and Audition. Key plugins include:    

• • Voice Enhance: End to end cleanup of voice recordings

     

  • AudioDenoise: Removes background hiss, hum, and buzz.   
    
     
  • EchoRemover: Reduces reverberation and echo from untreated rooms.   
    
     
  • PopRemover: Targets and removes plosive sounds (‘p’, ‘b’ pops).   
    
     
  • Levelmatic: Automatically levels out inconsistent volume levels in dialogue.   
    
     
  • Others for specific tasks like wind noise, rustle, etc.

The Big Idea: Real-time (or near real-time) audio processing directly on your FCPX timeline using familiar plugin controls.

Adobe Podcast (Enhance Speech): This is primarily a web-based service from Adobe. You upload your audio file (WAV or MP3), Adobe’s AI processes it in the cloud, and you download the enhanced version. It aims to make dialogue sound as if it were recorded in a professional studio.   

The Big Idea: A simple, almost one-click solution focused entirely on improving the clarity and quality of spoken word recordings using powerful cloud-based AI.

Feature Face-Off: CrumplePop vs. Adobe Podcast

Let’s compare them across key areas relevant to FCPX users:

1. Workflow & Integration (Winner: CrumplePop for FCPX)

• CrumplePop: Shines here for FCPX users. It works as native FxPlug plugins. You simply drag the desired effect (like Voice Enhance or EchoRemover) onto your audio clip directly within the FCPX timeline. You can tweak settings in the Inspector and hear the changes (often in real-time, depending on system power). It’s non-destructive and stays within your FCPX project.
• Adobe Podcast: Requires an extra step outside of FCPX. You need to export your audio track (or a specific clip’s audio), upload it to the Adobe Podcast website, wait for processing (which can take time depending on file length and server load), download the processed file, and then re-import it back into FCPX, potentially needing to sync it back up. This breaks the flow of editing.

2. Control & Customization (Winner: CrumplePop)

• CrumplePop: Offers granular control. Each plugin has sliders and parameters (e.g., noise reduction amount, echo suppression level, frequency focus). You can dial in the exact amount of processing needed, balancing cleanup with potential artifacts. You can also stack multiple CrumplePop plugins (e.g., Denoise then Levelmatic).   
  
   
• Adobe Podcast: It’s largely an “all-or-nothing” black box. There’s usually just one main control: an intensity slider that adjusts the overall effect strength. You don’t get separate controls for noise vs. echo vs. leveling – the AI makes those decisions. This simplicity is also its limitation.

3. Type of Processing (Different Philosophies)

• CrumplePop: Focuses on fixing specific problems. You choose the tool for the job (noise, echo, pops, levels). It aims to clean the existing audio transparently.   
  
   
• Adobe Podcast: Focuses on overall speech enhancement. It doesn’t just remove noise/echo; it often re-synthesizes parts of the voice, boosts certain frequencies, and applies compression/leveling to make speech sound clearer, fuller, and more “professional” or “produced.” It can sometimes sound too processed or artificial, depending on the source audio and the intensity setting.

4. Quality of Results (Subjective, Use-Case Dependent)

• CrumplePop: Generally provides very good, natural-sounding results for noise and echo reduction when used correctly. Because you have control, you can avoid over-processing. Levelmatic is excellent for dialogue consistency.
• Adobe Podcast: Can produce astonishingly good results on moderately noisy or reverberant audio, sometimes sounding better than what’s easily achievable with manual tools for beginners. However, on very poor audio, or even sometimes on decent audio, it can introduce strange artifacts, phasing sounds, or an unnatural “AI voice” quality. Its effectiveness is highly dependent on the source material and the AI’s interpretation.

5. Speed & Performance (Winner: Depends)

• CrumplePop: Processing happens on your local machine. Simple plugins might be real-time; more intensive ones (or stacking multiple) might require rendering in FCPX for smooth playback. The speed depends entirely on your computer’s specs (CPU, GPU). I run an M2 Mac Mini with 32Gb of RAM and on very long audio clips, I can notice some audio clicking on unrendered portions, but rendering has no artifacts.
• Adobe Podcast: Processing happens in the cloud. Your computer specs don’t matter much, but your internet upload/download speed and Adobe’s server load do. There’s an inherent waiting time for the upload, processing, and download cycle.

6. Cost & Licensing (Check Current Pricing!)

• CrumplePop: Typically sold as a perpetual license for the entire suite or individual plugins, often acquired through Boris FX. There are subscription options too. Historically, it’s been a paid product aimed at professionals. (As of early 2025, check Boris FX for current bundles/pricing).   
  
   
• Adobe Podcast: Enhance Speech has historically offered a generous free tier with limitations (e.g., file duration, number of uploads per day). There are also paid tiers, often bundled with Adobe Express or other Creative Cloud plans, offering higher limits or more features. The free access makes it incredibly appealing for trying out or for occasional use.   
  
   

Pros and Cons Summary

CrumplePop (Boris FX)

• Pros:
  
  • Seamless integration within FCPX workflow.
  • Granular control over specific audio issues.
  • Natural-sounding results when dialed in correctly.
  • Suite of tools for various problems.
  • Works offline, processing on your machine.
• Cons:
  
  • Requires purchasing (can be a significant cost).
  • Steeper learning curve than Adobe Podcast.
  • Performance depends on your computer specs.

Adobe Podcast (Enhance Speech)

• Pros:
  
  • Incredibly simple to use (upload, download).
  • Often free for basic use (check current limits).
  • Can produce dramatically improved results with one click.
  • Doesn’t tax your local computer during processing.
• Cons:
  
  • Disruptive workflow for FCPX (export/import cycle).
  • Very little user control – “black box” AI.
  • Results can sometimes sound artificial or have artifacts.
  • Requires internet connection and upload/download time.
  • Potential privacy concerns with uploading audio to a cloud service.

Who Is It For?

• Choose CrumplePop if:

  • You are a professional or serious hobbyist video editor/podcaster primarily using FCPX (or other non-linear editors like DaVinci or Premiere).
  • You value a streamlined, integrated workflow within your NLE.
  • You need precise control over audio adjustments and want natural results.
  • You frequently deal with specific audio issues (noise, echo, levels) and want dedicated tools.
  • You prefer a one-time purchase (check current licensing) and work offline.

• Choose Adobe Podcast (Enhance Speech) if:

  • You are a beginner, hobbyist, or someone looking for a quick fix.
  • Simplicity and ease of use are your top priorities.
  • You are budget-conscious and the free tier meets your needs.
  • You don’t mind the extra export/import steps in your workflow.
  • You need a general speech “enhancer” more than specific problem solvers.
  • Your source audio isn’t extremely noisy/reverberant (where artifacts are more likely).

The Verdict

There’s no single “best” tool here – they serve different needs and workflows. (But since you asked, I now have converted fully to CrumplePop)

For dedicated FCPX editors who want professional control and seamless integration, CrumplePop (Boris FX) is the superior choice, despite the cost. It keeps you in the edit and gives you the power to fine-tune the audio precisely.

For those prioritizing simplicity, speed for a quick fix, or working on a tight budget, Adobe Podcast’s Enhance Speech is an incredibly powerful and accessible tool. Its ability to magically improve decent-but-not-great audio with minimal effort is undeniable, even if it means stepping outside FCPX temporarily.

My recommendation? Try Adobe Podcast first (it’s often free to test!). See if its results and workflow limitations work for you. If you find yourself needing more control, better integration, or hitting the limitations of the free tier, then investing in the CrumplePop suite is likely your next best step for serious  audio work in your editing system.

What are your experiences? Let me know  which tools you prefer for cleaning up your audio!