Can I remove background noise from a mic recording I already made?

Yes, but not with a live setting. Noise suppression in Windows, macOS, Discord and similar apps only works on live audio. A saved file needs a separate pass through a noise remover. CleanNoise takes the recording, lets you hear a free 30-second preview, and charges per file if you want the full version.

Does CleanNoise work live in Discord or on calls?

No. CleanNoise processes recorded audio and video files, not a live microphone feed. Use Discord's Krisp, your OS's voice isolation or NVIDIA Broadcast for live use, and CleanNoise for recordings.

Should I run more than one noise suppressor at once?

Usually not. Stacking Windows voice enhancements, NVIDIA Broadcast, Discord's Krisp and an app's own filter processes your voice repeatedly, and it tends to sound thin or robotic. Pick one, test it, and only add another if you still hear noise.

Is a better microphone better than software for reducing noise?

Often, yes. A dynamic, cardioid mic placed close to your mouth picks up much less of the room than a laptop mic or a sensitive condenser. Software works best on top of a good source, not instead of one.

How to reduce background noise on your mic (Windows, Mac, Discord)

November 7, 20267 min read

There are two different problems here, and they have different fixes. If the noise is happening right now, on a call, a stream or a Discord chat, you need to reduce background noise on your mic as it goes out. If you already have a recording with noise in it, no live setting can help, and you need to clean the file. This guide covers both, starting with the fixes that cost nothing.

Fix the source first

Software can only subtract what it can recognize as noise. The less noise your mic picks up in the first place, the better any filter works and the less your voice gets touched.

Get closer. A mic a few inches from your mouth hears your voice much louder than the room, so the room fades into the background. A mic at arm's length does the opposite.
Lower the gain. High input gain amplifies everything, including the fan and the street. Turn gain down and move closer instead.
Pick the right mic type. Dynamic mics pick up less distant sound than condensers, which is why they suit untreated rooms. Whatever you use, a cardioid pickup pattern aims at you and rejects sound from behind. A laptop mic hears the whole room.
Switch off the obvious. Fans, AC, a PC under your desk and a window facing a road all show up on the recording.
Soften the room. Rugs, curtains, a sofa or a blanket behind the mic cut echo, which many people mistake for background noise.

Windows 11: built-in options

Windows has a few ways to clean up your mic, and which ones you see depends on your PC's hardware and drivers.

Audio enhancements. Open Settings > System > Sound, then click your microphone under Input. On many PCs you will find an Audio enhancements option there, which can include Microsoft's Voice Clarity (AI noise and echo reduction) or Voice Focus. Menu wording varies between Windows builds and audio drivers, and some microphones do not offer it at all. These enhancements generally apply only to apps that use Windows' communications audio mode, so an app with its own processing may bypass them.
Windows Studio Effects (Voice focus). Microsoft lists Voice focus, which isolates your voice and minimizes background noise, as a Studio Effects option. Studio Effects needs a PC with an NPU (neural processing unit), such as a Copilot+ PC. If your PC supports it, the Studio Effects tile sits in Quick settings.
NVIDIA Broadcast. NVIDIA's app for GeForce RTX 2060 or newer cards. It creates a virtual device called Microphone (NVIDIA Broadcast): you choose your real mic inside Broadcast, then pick the virtual one in Discord, OBS or your meeting app.
AMD Noise Suppression. Part of AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition on supported Radeon GPUs and Ryzen processors with integrated graphics. Check AMD's current list, since support depends on your hardware.

Mac: Voice Isolation

On a Mac, noise reduction is a per-app setting. Open an app that uses the mic and supports Mic Modes (FaceTime is the easy test), click Control Center in the menu bar, then Mic Mode, and choose Voice Isolation. Apple describes it as filtering out background sounds. The other choices are Standard and Wide Spectrum, which lets in the sounds around you, so make sure you did not leave it on that. Options vary by app, .

Discord: turn on Krisp

In Discord, open User Settings > Voice & Video and find Noise Suppression. Select Krisp. Discord says Krisp uses machine learning to remove non-voice sounds such as dogs barking, vacuums and slamming doors, that it runs locally, and that it only filters your own microphone. You can also toggle it from the Noise Suppression control in a voice channel. The exact labels and extra options in that menu change between Discord versions, so use the one called Krisp.

Zoom, Teams and OBS

Meeting and streaming apps have their own filters, so check there before layering anything else on top. For Zoom, see our guide to removing background noise in Zoom. For streamers, the OBS noise suppression guide covers RNNoise, NVIDIA and a noise gate. In the Teams desktop app, the noise suppression toggle is under Settings > Devices.

Why does my mic sound like it's underwater?

A watery, muffled or robotic voice is almost always a side effect of something trying to help. The common causes:

Suppression turned up too high. Aggressive filters cut parts of your voice along with the noise. Lower the strength, switch to a lighter option, or turn off one of two stacked suppressors. Some Windows users report a distant, muffled voice when Voice Clarity is on, so try it off.
Bluetooth headset in hands-free mode. When an app opens a Bluetooth headset's mic, the headset usually switches from stereo to the hands-free profile. That profile carries mono audio at a low bitrate, so everything sounds thin and compressed. Use a wired or USB mic, or use your computer's own mic while the Bluetooth headset handles playback.
Low-bitrate calls. Some call and voice-chat connections compress audio hard when the connection is poor, which sounds like talking through a tube.
Distance. A mic too far away captures room echo and loses the close, warm part of your voice.

Already recorded with noise? Clean the file

None of the settings above can fix a recording after the fact. If you saved a podcast take, a voice-over, a Discord or Zoom recording or a video with a noisy mic, the noise is part of the file now. CleanNoise cleans recorded files. It does not work on a live mic feed.

Upload your recording to the background noise remover. For a video file, use the video noise remover, which keeps the picture untouched.
Listen to the free 30-second cleaned preview. No sign-up is needed.
If it sounds right, pay $0.99 for the full file (up to 30 minutes), with no account needed. You can pick MP3, M4A, WAV or FLAC on the download page; video comes back in the same format you uploaded.

There are no settings to tune. If the room was echoey, there is an optional Remove echo / reverb toggle. Files are deleted automatically after 48 hours. See pricing for longer files and plans.

Which method should you use?

Fix the mic position and gain first, since that helps everywhere. Then turn on one noise suppressor for live use: your app's own if it has one, otherwise Windows, macOS or Krisp. Test it with a short recording and back it off if your voice starts to sound underwater. For anything you have already recorded, clean the file with CleanNoise and hear the result before you pay.