Which OBS noise suppression method is best?

For most people RNNoise is the best default: it is AI-based, removes keyboard clicks, fans and room hum well, and costs very little CPU. NVIDIA Noise Removal (in the NVIDIA Audio Effects filter) runs on the GPU and is worth trying if you have an RTX card, but it needs NVIDIA's Audio Effects SDK installed on Windows. Speex is the oldest and lightest option and only worth it on very weak machines.

Why is NVIDIA Noise Removal missing from OBS?

OBS only offers it on Windows when it finds NVIDIA's Audio Effects SDK, which needs an RTX-class GPU (Turing or newer). It is a separate download from NVIDIA's developer site, not part of the NVIDIA Broadcast app. Install the SDK, restart OBS, and look for a filter called NVIDIA Audio Effects in the + list. In OBS 31 and later it is its own filter; in older versions it was a Method inside Noise Suppression.

Does OBS noise suppression make my voice sound robotic?

It can, especially Speex with the suppression level pushed far below its -30 dB default, or any method fighting very loud noise. Switch to RNNoise (it has no strength slider to over-tune), or ease Speex back toward 0 dB, and fix the source where you can: move the mic closer to your mouth and turn its gain down.

Can OBS remove noise from a video I already recorded?

No. OBS filters only process live audio as it comes in, so they can't fix a file that's already recorded. To clean an existing recording, run it through a noise remover afterwards. CleanNoise takes the video file directly and gives you a free 30-second preview.

How to set up noise suppression in OBS Studio

October 4, 20267 min read

OBS Studio has noise suppression built in. It's a filter you add to your microphone source, and once it's set up it cleans your voice live for both streams and recordings. This guide covers where the filter lives, which method to pick (RNNoise, Speex or NVIDIA), the noise gate settings that go with it, and what to do when a recording already has noise in it.

Step 1: Open your microphone's filters

Find your mic in the Audio Mixer dock at the bottom of OBS (usually called Mic/Aux).
Click the three-dot menu (a gear icon in older versions) next to it, or right-click its name, and choose Filters.
Under Audio Filters, click + and pick Noise Suppression. Name it anything and click OK.

If your mic is added as a scene source rather than a global audio device, you can also right-click it in the Sources list and choose Filters. It's the same window either way.

Step 2: Choose a suppression method

The Noise Suppression filter has a Method dropdown with two options, RNNoise and Speex. If you have an NVIDIA RTX card, there is a third choice in a separate filter. Here is how they compare:

RNNoise (good quality, more CPU usage). An AI model trained on speech. Despite the label, its CPU cost is small on any modern PC. It handles fans, keyboard clatter, PC hum and street noise well. This is the right choice for most people.
NVIDIA Noise Removal. Runs on the GPU and is worth trying on loud or changing noise. It lives in its own NVIDIA Audio Effects filter (in OBS 31 and later; older versions put it in the Noise Suppression dropdown), and it only appears on Windows if you have an NVIDIA RTX card and NVIDIA's Audio Effects SDK installed. It has a Suppression Intensity slider from 0 to 1 (default 1.0); lower it if the voice sounds processed.
Speex (low CPU usage, low quality). The old non-AI option with a Suppression Level slider in dB (default -30 dB). It handles steady hiss acceptably but makes voices sound watery if you push it. Only use it on very weak hardware.

Step 3: Add a noise gate (optional but recommended)

Noise suppression cleans the noise under your voice; a Noise Gate mutes the mic completely when you're not talking, which stops breathing and keyboard noise between sentences. Add one with + > Noise Gate and drag it below Noise Suppression so it works on the cleaned signal.

Close Threshold: the level below which the gate shuts. Watch the mixer meter while you sit silently and set it a few dB above that. -40 to -32 dB is a common range.
Open Threshold: the level that opens the gate. Keep it about 6 dB above the close threshold (e.g. -26 dB) so the gate doesn't flutter.
Attack / Hold / Release: the defaults (25 ms / 200 ms / 150 ms) are fine. If the ends of your words get cut off, raise Hold or Release.

A typical mic chain is Noise Suppression → Noise Gate → Compressor, with an optional Gain or Limiter at the end.

Step 4: Test with a real recording

The mixer meter won't tell you how it actually sounds. Make a 30-second test recording where you talk normally, type a little and stay silent for a few seconds, then listen back on headphones. Check for three things: background noise in the silent parts, a watery or robotic tone on your voice, and clipped word endings. Adjust one setting at a time.

Already recorded with noise? Clean it afterwards

OBS filters only work on live audio. If you recorded a stream, tutorial or gameplay video before setting this up, or the filter wasn't strong enough, the noise is now part of the file and OBS can't remove it. You can clean the recording afterwards instead:

Open CleanNoise's video noise remover and drop in the recording as it is. MKV and MP4 both work, so there's no need to remux first.
Listen to a free 30-second preview of the cleaned audio. No sign-up needed.
If you like it, download the full video with the cleaned audio track for $0.99 (files up to 30 minutes). The picture is untouched.

This also helps when the problem isn't steady noise: if your room is echoey, turn on the echo option as well, or see how to remove echo from audio.

Tips for a cleaner mic in OBS

Fix gain first. If your mic gain is maxed out, you're amplifying the room. Turn it down and speak closer to the mic; the filters then have much less to remove.
Don't stack suppressors. Running NVIDIA Broadcast, Windows' voice processing or Discord's Krisp on top of OBS's filter makes voices sound over-processed. Use one.
Desktop audio doesn't need it. Only add noise suppression to microphone sources. On game or music audio it damages the sound.
Copy filters between sources. Right-click the mic in the Audio Mixer and choose Copy Filters, then right-click another source and choose Paste Filters to reuse the same chain.

Which method should you use?

For anything live, OBS's own filter is the answer: RNNoise plus a noise gate fixes most home setups in a couple of minutes, and it's free. For recordings you've already made, the filter can't help, so clean the file afterwards with CleanNoise and hear the result before you pay.