'ZDNET Recommends': What exactly does it mean?
ZDNET's recommendations are based on many hours of testing, research, and comparison shopping. We gather data from the best available sources, including vendor and retailer listings as well as other relevant and independent reviews sites. And we pore over customer reviews to find out what matters to real people who already own and use the products and services we’re assessing.
When you click through from our site to a retailer and buy a product or service, we may earn affiliate commissions. This helps support our work, but does not affect what we cover or how, and it does not affect the price you pay. Neither ZDNET nor the author are compensated for these independent reviews. Indeed, we follow strict guidelines that ensure our editorial content is never influenced by advertisers.
ZDNET's editorial team writes on behalf of you, our reader. Our goal is to deliver the most accurate information and the most knowledgeable advice possible in order to help you make smarter buying decisions on tech gear and a wide array of products and services. Our editors thoroughly review and fact-check every article to ensure that our content meets the highest standards. If we have made an error or published misleading information, we will correct or clarify the article. If you see inaccuracies in our content, please report the mistake via this form.
How to remove background noise in Audacity for better-sounding podcasts
Podcasts are everywhere. No matter the subject, you'll find a podcast. But not all podcasts are created equal.
Also: The best podcast app doesn't come from Apple or Google
You might have the perfect idea for a podcast that will blow people's minds, but if you cannot produce quality-sounding episodes, you won't gain listeners.
Within the realm of podcasts, there's nothing more off-putting than poor audio.
The right microphone
Before I get into background noise and how to remove it in Audacity, I want to first address your microphone. If you really want a professional-sounding podcast, you need a pro (or prosumer) microphone, such as my favorite, the CAD E100S. If you use any old cheap mic, you'll find it picks up a lot of extraneous noise and won't produce enough dynamic range to sound professional.
Also: The 5 best streaming mics
I won't go into all the details here (such as dynamic or condenser, cardioid vs. super-cardioid). What I will say is that there are plenty of pro-sounding mics at non-pro prices. One of the best mics on the market for podcasting is the Blue Yeti (reviewed here). When I first started podcasting and audiobook recording, the Blue Yeti was my mic of choice. I've since upgraded to the CAD E100S because I feel like it has more warmth and range. The important thing, however, is that if you opt for a low-quality mic, you'll get low-quality sound.
What is background noise?
Think of this as your AC or heat running. It's the constant hum that seems to be a natural part of the room in which you record.
Also: The 5 best bookshelf speakers
For example, in my studio, I have a very large aquarium with two massive lights that require fans to keep cool. My CAD E100S mic picks that noise up every time. Because of that, I have to remove the background hum.
What doesn't count as background noise is unpredictable interruptions, such as random dogs barking or cars driving by. However, even those sounds can be removed in this same fashion, so long as you can locate them in the timeline.
So, how do you remove background noise from your podcast files before they are submitted? If you're using Audacity, that task is much easier than you might think. Let me show you.
How to remove background noise in Audacity for cleaner podcasts
What you'll need: The only thing you'll need for this is Audacity installed on Linux, macOS, or Windows. The operating system doesn't matter, as the process is the same. You'll also need a recorded file to work with, but I would suggest you don't test this process on a production file just yet. Make sure to use a test file first. Either that or make a copy of your production file, and try it out on that. This is such a simple process that you most likely wouldn't harm your audio recording. However, it's better to be safe than sorry.
1. Open a test file
The first thing you'll do is either open or create a test file in Audacity.
2. Locate and select a noisy section on the audio timeline
If your situation is like mine, you've got background noise running throughout the entire file. If that's the case, highlight any portion of the timeline that doesn't contain voices (or other important sounds).
Selecting a portion of a track to use as a Noise Profile.
3. Open the Noise Reduction effect
Click Effect and then Noise Reduction, which will open a pop-up.
4. Select the Noise Profile
With the noisy section selected and the Noise Reduction pop-up open, click Get Noise Profile, and then click OK.
Applying your noise profile in Audacity.
5. Select the entire track
You now need to select the entire track that needs noise removed. You can do this by either clicking CTRL-A on your keyboard (if all tracks need to have the same noise profile removed) or using your cursor to select the track that needs noise removed.
6. Remove the noise
Go back to Effect > Noise Reduction. When the pop-up appears this time, simply click OK and Audacity will remove all noise associated with the noise profile you selected. When it finishes, you should hear a much cleaner track than what you had previously.
Also: Love listening to records? This simple gadget is a must-have
And that's all there is to removing background noise from your podcasts with Audacity. It's a bit of a cumbersome process, but it works like a charm. If you want your podcasts to sound as professional as possible, consider this a must-do for every file.