Waves X-Crackle was created to address a specific and often overlooked problem in audio restoration—the persistent, low-level crackle that appears on aging vinyl, shellac records, and other legacy media. While tools like Waves X-Click are designed for eliminating isolated clicks and pops, X-Crackle focuses on the more subtle, continuous surface noise that can muddy the clarity of a recording. This type of noise, though less aggressive, can cause listener fatigue and obscure the tonal and spatial details of the audio. Recognizing that traditional broadband noise removers or de-crackling tools often compromise audio quality, Waves developed X-Crackle with a psychoacoustically-informed algorithm. The goal was to intelligently remove crackle while preserving the original tonal integrity, transients, and stereo image—making it ideal for restoration engineers, archivists, and producers who need clean, high-quality audio from compromised sources.