What's the best noise reduction effect in Adobe Audition?

For steady noise like hiss, hum or fans, Noise Reduction with a captured noise print gives the cleanest result. For noise that changes over time, or when you're working in the Multitrack view, use Adaptive Noise Reduction or DeNoise, which don't need a noise print.

Why is Noise Reduction greyed out in Audition?

It's an offline effect that only works in the Waveform editor. If you're in a Multitrack session, double-click the clip to open it in the Waveform editor first. In Multitrack you can use real-time effects like DeNoise or Adaptive Noise Reduction from the Effects Rack instead.

How do I stop Audition's noise reduction from sounding robotic or underwater?

Lower the Reduce By amount (Adobe says values between 6 and 30 dB work well, so try the low end) and the Noise Reduction percentage, and make sure your noise print came from a section with no speech in it. Over-reduction creates bubbly, flanged or warbling artefacts.

Is there a faster way than capturing noise prints?

Yes. In a Multitrack session, Essential Sound's Reduce Noise is a checkbox and a slider, and DeNoise has one main slider (0-100%). Or skip Audition entirely: CleanNoise cleans a file automatically and lets you hear a free 30-second preview before paying $0.99 to download the full file (up to 30 minutes).

How to remove background noise in Adobe Audition

October 4, 20267 min read

Adobe Audition has the most complete set of noise tools of any Adobe app. The classic technique, capturing a noise print and running Noise Reduction, is still the most precise, but there are quicker effects too. This guide covers the main method step by step, then the alternatives and when to use each.

Method 1: Noise Reduction with a noise print

This method teaches Audition exactly what your noise sounds like, then removes that sound from the whole file. It works best on steady noise: hiss, hum, computer fans, air conditioning.

Open your file in the Waveform editor. If you're in a Multitrack session, double-click the clip.
Find a stretch with only background noise, ideally a second or more, and drag to select it. The pause before someone starts talking is perfect.
Choose Effects > Noise Reduction / Restoration > Capture Noise Print (Shift+P).
Select the whole file with Ctrl+A (Cmd+A on Mac).
Choose Effects > Noise Reduction / Restoration > Noise Reduction. The graph shows your captured noise profile.
Set Noise Reduction (how much of the noise to remove, as a percentage) and Reduce By (how far to lower it, in dB). Adobe says Reduce By values between 6 and 30 dB work well; start at the lower end and raise Noise Reduction until the noise drops without voices sounding flanged or bubbly.
Tick Output Noise Only and play: you should hear only noise. If you hear voice, the settings are eating into speech, so back them off. Untick it, preview again, and click Apply.

This edit is destructive, so save a copy first or use File > Save As afterwards. Undo (Ctrl+Z) works until you close the file.

Method 2: DeNoise (one slider)

Effects > Noise Reduction / Restoration > DeNoise is the quick option: one main slider (0-100%), no noise print. It also works as a real-time effect in the Multitrack Effects Rack, so it doesn't change the original file. Use it for light hiss or when you're in a hurry.

Method 3: Adaptive Noise Reduction

Adaptive Noise Reduction, in the same menu, works in real time and adapts as the noise changes. That makes it better for noise that isn't constant, like wind or a room where the air conditioning switches on and off, and it works in Multitrack. Adobe notes that it identifies the noise from the first few seconds, so it works best on a selection that starts with noise and then has the audio you want. Start with a lower Reduce Noise By value (Adobe says 6-30 dB works well) and raise it gradually.

Method 4: Essential Sound panel

If you prefer the Premiere-style workflow, open Window > Essential Sound in a Multitrack session, select the clip, set its type to Dialogue, tick Repair and turn on Reduce Noise (and Reduce Rumble, DeHum or DeEss as needed). Each one is a checkbox with a 0-10 slider. It's fast, and the same panel also exists in Premiere (see our Premiere Pro guide).

Other Audition repair tools worth knowing

DeHummer: removes a narrow band of hum, such as 50/60 Hz mains hum, and its harmonics.
DeReverb: reduces room echo. See also how to remove echo from audio.
Spectral Frequency Display (Shift+D) with the Spot Healing Brush: paint out one-off sounds like a cough, a phone or a door slam.
Sound Remover: learns a specific sound (a recurring beep, say) and removes it throughout the file.

No time for noise prints? Use an AI cleaner

Noise prints work beautifully on steady noise but struggle with traffic, chatter or wind, which change every second. For those, an AI cleaner that recognises speech does better with no settings at all:

Export the audio from Audition, or use the original recording.
Drop it into CleanNoise and listen to a free 30-second preview of the cleaned audio. No sign-up.
Download the full file for $0.99 (up to 30 minutes; audio comes back as WAV) and bring it back into Audition for EQ, compression and mastering.

Tips for cleaner results in Audition

Clean noise first. Apply noise reduction before EQ, compression or loudness normalisation, which all raise the noise floor.
Use a long, clean noise print. A longer noise-only section gives a more accurate profile.
Do two light passes rather than one heavy one if a single pass starts to sound warbly.
Save presets for each mic and room you record in regularly, so you can apply them to a whole series with the Batch Process panel (Window > Batch Process).

Which method should you use?

For steady noise and full control, capture a noise print and use Noise Reduction. For changing noise or Multitrack work, use Adaptive Noise Reduction or DeNoise. When you need it clean fast, or the noise is the unpredictable kind that noise prints can't catch, CleanNoise does it in one step and lets you hear the result first.