Noise suppression is a pretty old topic in speech processing, dating back to at least the 1970s. As the name implies, the idea is to take a noisy signal and remove as much noise as possible while causing minimum distortion to the speech of interest.
NoiseTorch-ng and noise-suppression-for-voice both use RNNoise, a noise suppression library based on a recurrent neural network (RNN). A RNN is a class of artificial neural networks where connections between nodes can create a cycle, allowing output from some nodes to affect subsequent input to the same nodes. RNNs are particularly effective for background noise removal because they can learn patterns across time which is essential for understanding audio.
This article selects our pick of the available noise suppression tools. This type of software suppress a wide range of noise origins including computer fans, office, crowd, airplane, car, train, and construction. We only explore free and open source software here.
Click the links in the table below to learn all about each tool. We’ve written detailed reviews for NoiseTorch-ng, noise-suppression-for-voice, and Easy Effects.
| Noise Suppression Tools | |
|---|---|
| NoiseTorch-ng | Creates a virtual microphone that suppresses noise |
| noise-suppression-for-voice | Noise suppression plugin based on RNNoise |
| Easy Effects | GTK4 audio manipulation which includes a range of tools |
| noise-repellent | Suite of lv2 plugins for noise reduction |
 Read our complete collection of recommended free and open source software. Our curated compilation covers all categories of software. The software collection forms part of our series of informative articles for Linux enthusiasts. There are hundreds of in-depth reviews, open source alternatives to proprietary software from large corporations like Google, Microsoft, Apple, Adobe, IBM, Cisco, Oracle, and Autodesk. There are also fun things to try, hardware, free programming books and tutorials, and much more. |