If two people speak at once in a recording, you need speech separation—software that attempts to produce a separate audio track for each speaker—not just a transcript that labels who spoke when. For a desktop audio-editing workflow, Steinberg SpectraLayers Pro 11 documents a dedicated Unmix Multiple Voices feature. Premiere has Adobe’s Separate Crosstalk feature; AudioShake offers cloud and API processing; and MATLAB provides a code-oriented option for technical users. The right choice depends on your editing workflow, overlap and noise in the recording, and whether cloud processing is acceptable.
What separating overlapping voices does—and what it cannot promise
When voices overlap, a mixed recording contains both speakers at the same time. A speaker-separation tool analyzes that audio and tries to create individual outputs, or stems, that can be listened to and edited separately. You can then adjust a speaker’s level, mute a track, or process it independently. The result is not necessarily a clean reconstruction of what each person sounded like in isolation: the software is estimating which parts of the mixture belong to each voice.
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That distinction matters because diarization and separation are different tasks. Diarization marks who spoke when, often as labels in a transcript. It does not by itself unmix simultaneous speech into independently usable audio. AudioShake describes its multi-speaker tool as producing individual speaker tracks, including for overlapping dialogue; that is the kind of output to look for if your goal is to edit or hear the speakers separately. See AudioShake’s description of multi-speaker separation.
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Which tool fits your workflow?
These options differ more in workflow and constraints than in any independently established accuracy ranking. The product sources below describe capabilities, but they do not provide a shared, independent benchmark that would support a claim that one tool separates voices best across recordings.
| Option | Best fit | Documented capability | Important constraints | Cost information in cited source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steinberg SpectraLayers Pro 11 | Audio editors who want a desktop unmixing workflow. | Unmix Multiple Voices separates voices into layers and supports registering voice profiles. Steinberg documents an unlimited number of voices overall, with up to three overlapping simultaneously. | Register the expected voices; for noisy speech, Steinberg recommends applying Unmix Noisy Speech or Voice DeNoise first. The manual does not establish independent accuracy results. | Not stated in the cited manual: Steinberg SpectraLayers Pro 11 manual. |
| Adobe Premiere Separate Crosstalk | Editors already working in Premiere who want the separation step in a video-editing workflow. | Processes selected audio to create separate tracks for independent editing. A selection must be between one second and ten minutes. | Premium feature using Adobe cloud processing. It costs one Generative Credit per processed second; two seconds of extra audio at each end of the selection are included in the displayed cost. Consent, rights, and location conditions apply. | One Generative Credit per processed second, according to Adobe’s instructions, last updated August 3, 2026. |
| AudioShake Multi-Speaker 2.0 | Cloud/API users and production pipelines that need per-speaker tracks. | AudioShake describes separating overlapping dialogue into individual speaker tracks. Its September 22, 2026 release says the tool accepts audio from 8 kHz phone recordings through 48 kHz broadcast files and returns outputs matching the source sample rate. | AudioShake says performance begins to degrade above about 20% sustained overlap. This is a company statement, not a comparative independent benchmark. | Not stated in the cited product and release pages: AudioShake product page and September 22, 2026 release. |
MATLAB separateSpeakers |
Developers and researchers building a technical audio workflow. | MathWorks documents separation of overlapping speech, an option to specify a known speaker count, and the ability to return residual audio. | Requires Deep Learning Toolbox and a MATLAB implementation workflow; it is not a point-and-click recommendation for most editors. | Not stated in the cited function documentation: MathWorks documentation, which identifies the function as available since R2023b and documents release R2026b. |
Before choosing, check five things: whether the feature explicitly handles simultaneous speech; whether it produces audio tracks rather than only speaker labels; how it handles your speaker count and recording conditions; whether processing is local, cloud-based, or API-driven; and what software, credits, or technical setup you need. A short test using a representative passage can show whether a candidate’s output is usable for your recording, even though it cannot establish which tool is best in general.
Steinberg SpectraLayers Pro 11: a desktop option with voice profiles
SpectraLayers Pro 11’s Unmix Multiple Voices is the clearest fit here for an audio editor seeking a documented desktop workflow. Steinberg says it can separate an unlimited number of voices overall, while limiting simultaneous overlap to three voices. Those are different limits: the documented ceiling is on how many voices overlap at once, not the total number of people who may appear across the recording.
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The feature uses voice profiles. You register a short sample for a voice, using Register Voice or Register Multiple Voices, then run Unmix Multiple Voices on the material to be separated. Registering profiles gives the software examples of the speakers it should distinguish; it does not remove the tool’s documented three-overlapping-voice limit. Refer to the SpectraLayers Pro 11 manual for the feature’s instructions.
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If the recording has background noise, Steinberg recommends processing it first with Unmix Noisy Speech or Voice DeNoise. That is a useful sequencing clue: noisy source material may benefit from treatment before you ask the software to distinguish speakers. It does not mean denoising can restore speech lost to clipping, or guarantee better separation in every recording.
When to choose it
- Choose this route if you want to work with separated layers in a desktop audio editor and can register voice profiles.
- Check whether three or fewer people speak at the same moment. The manual’s unlimited total-voice statement does not mean unlimited simultaneous voices.
- Do not treat the documented capability as a measured accuracy claim: Steinberg’s cited manual does not publish an independent success rate.
Adobe Premiere Separate Crosstalk: selection limits, credits, and cloud processing
Adobe’s Separate Crosstalk feature is aimed at Premiere users who want to process overlapping speakers within their video-editing workflow. Adobe says the result is separate tracks for independent editing. The feature applies to a selected region rather than an unlimited recording: the selection must be at least one second and no longer than ten minutes. Adobe’s instructions recommend selecting and trimming the crosstalk region before processing; see Separate overlapping speakers in Premiere.
Estimate the credit use before processing
The feature costs one Generative Credit for each second processed. Adobe also adds a two-second handle at each end of the selected region, and those handles are reflected in the displayed cost estimate. In practice, the amount charged is tied to the processed duration shown by Premiere, including those extra seconds—not just the apparent length of the dialogue you intend to isolate. Review the estimate before you commit, especially for a selection near the ten-minute limit.
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Understand the cloud and permission conditions
Separate Crosstalk uploads the selected audio to Adobe for processing by a cloud model. Adobe says first use requires consent to process the information and confirmation that you have the necessary rights and permissions for people in the recording. Adobe’s cloud-feature page says the information is used to provide the feature, is not retained beyond that purpose, and is not used to train AI models. The feature is unavailable for files uploaded from Illinois or Texas. These conditions are described in Adobe’s cloud-based AI voice features documentation, last updated September 24, 2026.
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This makes Premiere a less suitable choice when your project cannot send selected audio to Adobe’s cloud, when you cannot confirm the required rights, or when the location restriction applies. Do not assume that keeping a project open in a desktop editor means this particular operation is local.
AudioShake Multi-Speaker 2.0: cloud/API processing and vendor performance claims
AudioShake positions its multi-speaker separation service for producing separate tracks for speakers, including during overlapping dialogue. This can suit a production pipeline or a user who wants a cloud/API service rather than a feature embedded in a conventional desktop audio editor. Its product page describes the separation use case at AudioShake Multi-Speaker Separation.
AudioShake says its accuracy holds up to about 20% sustained overlap and begins to degrade above that point. Treat this as a vendor-published performance statement, not a threshold validated across products or a guarantee for an individual clip. A short interruption or a brief interjection is not necessarily equivalent to a long stretch in which two people speak continuously; the cited material does not define a universal test method that would let readers compare that figure directly with another vendor’s numbers.
On September 22, 2026, AudioShake announced Multi-Speaker 2.0. The company says it supports inputs spanning 8 kHz phone audio to 48 kHz broadcast audio and matches output sample rate to the source. It also describes the release as intended to isolate brief interjections and overlapping lines. These are product and release claims, not independent listening-test results; see the Multi-Speaker 2.0 announcement.
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AudioShake also publishes comparative figures for noise/interference removal, voice separation, and transcription errors. The figures are company claims, and the cited product page does not establish them as independent head-to-head results. They are not a sound basis for ranking AudioShake against SpectraLayers, Premiere, or MATLAB without a shared test set and method.
MATLAB separateSpeakers: for code-based audio work
MathWorks documents separateSpeakers for separating overlapping speech. A caller can specify a known speaker count, and the function can return residual audio as well as separated speaker signals. This makes MATLAB relevant when a developer or researcher needs a programmable component in an existing analysis or processing workflow, not when an editor simply wants to click a control and continue cutting a video.
The function requires Deep Learning Toolbox. MathWorks identifies it as available since R2023b and provides R2026b documentation at separateSpeakers — Separate signal by speakers. Check the documentation and your MATLAB installation for the requirements that apply to your environment before designing a workflow around it. The cited page establishes the function’s purpose and options, not a comparative accuracy result.
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How to evaluate a separation tool on your recording
Because none of the cited sources supplies an independent cross-product benchmark, the practical question is whether a tool produces usable tracks on your audio. Keep the evaluation small and focused before processing a long recording or building a pipeline around one product.
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- Choose a representative excerpt. Include the kind of overlap that causes trouble in the full recording. A clip containing only clear, turn-taking speech will not tell you much about performance during interruptions.
- Check how many people overlap at once. For SpectraLayers Pro 11, compare that number with the documented maximum of three simultaneous voices. For other tools, consult the relevant product documentation rather than assuming the same limit.
- Listen for conditions that may complicate separation. Note sustained overlap, similar-sounding voices, background noise, echo, and clipping. If the audio is noisy and you are using SpectraLayers, Steinberg recommends applying Unmix Noisy Speech or Voice DeNoise first.
- Confirm the output is what you need. Check whether you receive editable speaker tracks or only diarized labels or a transcript. Listen to each stem, particularly where words coincide, and make sure a usable speaker has not been mistaken for a complete recovery of every spoken word.
- Check workflow constraints before processing the full file. For Premiere, confirm the selection is one second to ten minutes, inspect the credit estimate including the extra handles, and establish that cloud processing and the applicable consent and location conditions are acceptable. For MATLAB, confirm the toolbox and implementation requirements.
- Decide based on editability and intelligibility. If the stems let you make the specific edits or review the dialogue you need, the workflow may be suitable. If important lines remain obscured, keep the original mix available and do not rely on a separated track as definitive evidence of what was said.
Common misunderstandings to avoid
“Speaker labels” do not mean “separate speaker audio”
A transcript can assign a name or label to sections of speech without producing individual audio tracks. Confirm the deliverable is isolated audio if you need to mute, remix, subtitle-check, or process each voice independently.
More total speakers does not always mean more simultaneous speakers
SpectraLayers Pro 11’s manual distinguishes an unlimited total number of voices from up to three voices overlapping at once. When assessing any tool, count the speakers active in the same moment, not only the number of people who appear throughout the conversation.
Sample-rate support is not an accuracy score
AudioShake’s stated 8 kHz to 48 kHz input range describes supported sample rates in its Multi-Speaker 2.0 announcement. It does not establish that recordings at every rate will separate equally well, or that AudioShake is more accurate than another option.
Cloud processing is still a workflow choice, even if the editor is on your computer
Adobe explicitly says Separate Crosstalk sends the selected audio to its cloud model. If you cannot use cloud processing for a recording, a desktop interface alone is not enough to make the feature appropriate.
Which tool should you choose?
- Choose SpectraLayers Pro 11 if you want a desktop voice-unmixing workflow with registered voice profiles and your recording has no more than three voices overlapping at once.
- Choose Premiere Separate Crosstalk if you already edit in Premiere, want separate tracks there, and can work within its clip-duration, credit, consent, cloud, and location conditions.
- Consider AudioShake if a cloud/API service fits your production setup and you want per-speaker outputs; assess its vendor-stated performance on a representative excerpt rather than treating published percentages as an independent ranking.
- Consider MATLAB if you are building a code-based workflow and have the required Deep Learning Toolbox.
There is no evidence in the cited product sources to declare one of these the most accurate overall. The sound choice is the one whose output format, overlap handling, deployment model, and processing constraints match the recording and the way you need to use its tracks.
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