Why your podcast audio has background noise, and how to fix it
Podcast background noise usually comes from the room and the setup, not the microphone: fans, air conditioning and fridges, echo from bare walls, a microphone too far from your mouth with the gain turned up, and electrical hum from cables. Fix as much as you can while recording, by getting closer to the mic, lowering the gain and softening the room, then clean the rest afterwards with a low cut, noise reduction, breath and plosive removal, gentle compression and loudness normalisation. octuedit, an AI video editor for Mac, can do all of that from one sentence as part of editing a video podcast.
By Shivank Goura, co-founder of octuedit·Updated 27 October 2026
What is the fastest way to fix noisy voice audio in a video?
Fix what you can at recording time, then run one cleanup chain. Getting closer to the microphone, lowering the gain and softening a bare room solve most noise before it starts. Afterwards, apply a low cut to remove rumble, noise reduction for steady hiss, breath and plosive removal, a gentle presence lift, compression and loudness normalisation to about -14 LUFS for online video. In octuedit, an AI video editor for Mac, one request such as "clean up my voice and level the audio" runs that whole chain on your Mac, using RNNoise for the noise reduction, while it edits the video. It can also duck music under speech and cut filler words and long pauses in the same sentence, and every change stays editable on the timeline. No cleanup can fully remove echo or speech buried under loud noise, so the recording still matters most. octuedit costs $99 once.
What causes noisy podcast audio?
Most podcast noise comes from six sources: fans and traffic causing hiss, hard rooms causing echo, a distant microphone with the gain too high, electrical hum, plosives on P and B sounds, and mouth clicks or loud breaths. Each one has a fix at recording time, which is cheaper than cleaning it up afterwards.
| What you hear | Usual cause | Prevent it while recording |
|---|---|---|
| Steady hiss or rumble | Fans, air conditioning, computers, traffic | Turn off what you can, record away from it, get closer to the mic |
| Hollow, roomy sound | Echo from hard walls, floors and windows | Record in a smaller, furnished room; add soft surfaces |
| Noise that rises with your voice | Microphone too far away, gain too high | Speak closer, lower the gain |
| Low hum or buzz | Electrical interference or ground loops | Check cables, keep audio cables away from power |
| Pops on P and B sounds | Plosives hitting the microphone | Use a pop filter and speak slightly off axis |
| Mouth clicks and loud breaths | Close mic technique, dry mouth | Drink water; turn your head slightly for breaths |
How do you clean noisy audio afterwards?
Noise reduction can't fully remove echo or speech that is buried under loud noise, so the recording itself matters most.
- Low cut (high pass) to remove rumble below the voice.
- Noise reduction for steady background noise.
- Breath and plosive removal for pops and loud breaths.
- A gentle presence lift so the voice cuts through.
- Compression to even out loud and quiet moments.
- Loudness normalisation; -14 LUFS is a common target for online video.
How do you clean podcast audio in octuedit?
octuedit is an AI video editor for Mac: you describe the edit and your own Claude Code or Codex cuts the video on a timeline. Audio cleanup is one part of that. Ask "clean up my voice and level the audio" and it runs a low cut, plosive and breath removal, RNNoise noise reduction, a presence lift and compression, then normalises loudness to -14 LUFS, all on your Mac. Ask it to duck music under speech and it lowers the music whenever someone talks. You can also cut filler words and long pauses in the same request.
Which free tools on a Mac can clean podcast audio?
You may already have what you need for basic cleanup. Details are from Apple's and Audacity's own pages, checked 27 October 2026.
- GarageBand: free on every Mac, with a noise gate that silences low level noise between phrases.
- Audacity: free and open source for Mac, Windows and Linux, with a Noise Reduction effect that learns from a sample of room noise.
- Logic Pro: $199.99 once for Macs with Apple silicon, with Noise Gate, Denoiser and Remove Silence for more control.
- octuedit: $99 once; one request runs a low cut, noise reduction, breath and plosive removal, compression and loudness levelling while it edits the video.
octuedit's audio chain is described from the app itself. Sources: octuedit.com/features/podcast-editing, apple.com/mac/garageband, audacityteam.org/features/noise-reduction, apple.com/logic-pro, support.apple.com/guide/logicpro/denoiser-overview-lgcef2cbe4bd/mac.
FAQ
Why does my podcast audio have background noise?
Usually because of the room and setup: fans and appliances, echo from bare walls, a microphone too far away with the gain turned up, or electrical hum. Getting closer to the mic and lowering the gain fixes a lot.
How do I remove background noise from a podcast on Mac?
Apply a low cut, noise reduction, breath and plosive removal, compression and loudness normalisation. In octuedit, an AI video editor for Mac, asking to "clean up my voice" runs all of these while it edits your video.
Can AI automatically cut pauses from my podcast recordings?
Yes. octuedit removes filler words, stutters and long pauses at light, medium or aggressive strength using word-level transcription, and every cut stays editable.
