Do you ever listen to a podcast or some other audio file and wonder how on earth the person on the other end could possibly know what they’re saying?
If so, you’re not alone: A lot of people have trouble understanding things in noisy situations and many websites and apps offer noise reduction features.
However, if you’re looking for a way to extract clear voice from an audio file without any noise reduction, this post is for you! It tells why it’s useful to extract clear voice from noiseless files, what equipment you can use to do that, and also provides instructions on how it’s done.
Table of Contents
What is Audio Noise?
Before we go into the details of the process, let’s first briefly discuss what is audio noise in terms of a sound wave. Audio noise refers to a sound wave that’s not from a specific source or is from multiple sources at once.
When you talk, your voice produces a single sound wave, but if there are multiple people talking in a room at once, you will hear separate voices with individual waves. If you are in a quiet room with another person, their voice will be the only sound wave you hear, but if there are some background noises, your ear may perceive some combination of that person’s voice and some background noises.
Thus, it is possible to extract clear voices from different sources because each of them will have different sound waves. But why would we want to do this? Well, for one thing, a lot of videos and other audio content contain a lot of background noise. Extracting clear voices from those files can make them easier to understand or less distracting.
Is the Noisy Audio harmful?
It depends on the context. If the speaker is not talking about anything sensitive or if their voice is quiet, no one will be bothered by the noise in the file. In many cases, it’s extremely difficult to tell whether a particular sound wave is from a person or from background noises.
If you can’t distinguish between them when listening to a podcast or when watching videos on YouTube, sometimes using tools that remove background noise may be helpful, but it’s still not a practical solution in all cases.
Noise-induced stress because of a poor office environment has been found to contribute not only psychologically but also physiologically as well. In a study by researchers at the University of California in Los Angeles, it was found that in a high-stress environment, there was a lot more cortisol involved in the bodies of the subjects.
The study asked the researchers to measure the cortisol levels when around someone else who was yelling at them and when alone. The results showed that there were higher levels of cortisol in both cases when compared to control groups. The reason for this finding is because cortisol is known to be involved in stress, anxiety, and fear.
Another reason why noise can be harmful is because of the effect it has on memory. A study by researchers at the University of California showed that when there is a lot of background noise present, the ability to discriminate what the researcher says becomes affected. This means that you are less likely to remember exact details of what was said which could lead to loss of valuable information or even miscommunication.
Steps to Extract Clear Voice from a Noisy Audio file:
The most common way to do it is to process the audio with an equalizer, which processes the frequencies of all frequencies in an audio signal. However, when many frequencies are processed at once they can create too much noise in the original file for it to be heard clearly.
SoundEdits software was designed by scientists and engineers for this exact job. In fact, they have been found in the work of the US Navy, NASA and many other research institutions to be used in speech recognition systems where speech is not loud enough to hear over the noise.
Get the right equipment:
The easiest way to extract clear voices from noiseless files is to use a dedicated noise reduction system. But if you don’t have one or can’t afford it, you can still do it using some common hardware and software.
Find the right software:
First, you’ll need some software to record audio files. You can use any of these applications but of course, there are some more effective than others. My favourite is Audacity because of its versatility and easy to use interface. If you need something more simple, try Sound Recorder for Windows or one of the many voice recording apps available on Android.
Find the right audio file with Voice Extractor software:
There are several ways to do this but I recommend using a tool called Voicemeeter Banana. It’s free and easy to use, allowing you to select several options for removing background noises.
Find the right settings:
With your audio recording software open, click on the red record button to record audio. After you do so, you’ll see the waveform display in the middle of your screen. When you are done with recording, press stop and wait for it to process.
It may take a few minutes depending on your computer’s processing speed. Press play and listen to see if there’s anything left that you need to remove manually or if it’s all clear enough. Then, proceed to save your pressed file using the same method as before.
Use a third-party tool to edit the audio:
This is where it gets interesting. You can choose from a variety of software packages to make your audio file sound better, but I recommend using Voice Media Studio.
It’s extremely easy to use and converts your voice recording from WAV or FLAC into a more efficient format that includes the volume and pitch of your voice. This is a lot more useful than just removing background noise without fixing the pitch of the audio.
FAQ’s:
How to Reduce Audio Noise in Your Recordings?
- Step 1: Record your room tone audio and voice over. Pretty straight forward. …
- Step 2: Apply the DeNoise filter. Click the filters and effects button, click “+” sign to add an effect, and choose Remove Noise. …
- Step 3: Check your voice over.
How can I make an audio file clearer?
- Open Audacity, and import your audio file.
- Open your file and click “Effect”, then “Equalization, then “Graphic Equalizer”
- Decrease the frequencies below 60 Hz by clicking any slider marked 60 Hz and below by dragging them downward.
How do you extract clear voice from a noisy audio WavePad?
To remove background noise, load your audio file into WavePad. On the Effects tab, click the Cleanup button and select Noise Reduction, Audio Spectral Subtraction. Click the preset drop menu and select voice or music, then click OK to apply.
How do I isolate whispers in audio?
- Click the Cleanup button on the Effects tab toolbar.
- Select Noise reduction from the submenu.
- Select Multi-band Noise Gating.. from the Noise reduction submenu.
- Select the Remove Hum and Hiss preset.
- Click OK.
How do I get rid of static sound on my mic?
- Lower the gain on your amp, audio interface, or mic to remove static.
- Push your headphone and mic cables in all the way to secure them.
- Position the microphone at least 10 ft (3.0 m) away from speakers, amps, or devices.
- Hold the mic 1–3 inches (2.5–7.6 cm) from your mouth when you talk.
Conclusion:
If you want to remove background noise from a video or audio file, or if you just want to remove the noise from a normal voice recording, this is a pretty simple process. There are many other tools and software packages available for this purpose, but I have found the one described in this article to be the best.
In addition, this process is pretty easy and you can complete it in a few minutes using the right tools and programs. I personally prefer Audacity because of its versatility and easy to use interface, but there are plenty of other free or paid alternatives available on the web. However, if you need something more simple, try Sound Recorder for Windows or one of the many voice recording apps available on Android.