Honestly, I've been there with the AC hum and it's the absolute worst. I used to rely on standard gates, but they basically destroy the frequency response of your voice... so annoying. For your situation, I would suggest checking out Descript's Studio Sound feature. It's built into their editor and honestly does a better job at preserving those natural mid-tones than most stuff I've tried.

Another one that's seriously underrated is Supertone Clear. It’s a plugin, but the way it handles separation using de-reverb and de-noise simultaneously is pretty wild.

Quick questions though:
- Are you recording into a laptop or a dedicated interface?
- Also, how close are you actually sitting to the mic?

Sometimes if the gain is cranked too high to compensate for distance, the AI has a harder time rebuilding the transients without it sounding... well, kinda crunchy. gl with the podcast!!

In my experience, dealing with AC hum and street noise is basically the rite of passage for every podcaster. Over the years, I've tried everything from hanging moving blankets to just giving up and recording in a closet. The thing about AI noise removal is that it's all about finding that sweet spot between "total silence" and "sounding like a human being."

I mean, I've been at this for over a decade, and honestly, the biggest lesson I learned is that you can't just slap a filter on and expect it to be perfect. You gotta treat it like a DIY project. So, here's what I recommend: instead of looking for one magic button, look for tools that let you dial in the intensity. Basically, you want something that offers a "strength" slider. When I first started out, I'd crank the noise reduction to 100%, and yeah, I sounded like a glitchy Nintendo character lol. Now, I usually hit it at about 70-80%. It leaves a tiny bit of room noise, but it keeps the richness of ur voice intact.

Also, a pro tip from my years of trial and error—if ur street noise is really sharp (like sirens or honking), try to run the AI pass twice at lower settings rather than once at a high setting. It's way less destructive to the audio frequencies. Most of the newer browser-based tools have a free tier that's honestly good enough for a weekly show. Just gotta watch ur export limits! But yeah, don't over-process... sometimes a little background atmosphere actually makes the podcast feel more "real," you know? Anyway, good luck with the recordings, it gets easier with practice!

In my experience, I've spent about a decade messing with audio, and honestly, the market has changed so much lately. Over the years, I've tried basically every brand under the sun to kill that annoying AC hum. I've found that the market is really splitting into two camps right now: the big legacy software companies that are tacking on AI as an afterthought, and the newer startups that are building "voice-first" tech from the ground up.

- The older brands tend to be more stable but sometimes their "noise removal" still feels a bit like those old-school filters.
- The newer AI-focused companies are literally doing magic with spectral subtraction, but they can be resource heavy.
- Most of the top-tier options now have a free tier or a "lite" version, which is a lifesaver when you're starting out.

I remember back in 2018 when I had to manually gate everything... it was such a nightmare lol. Now, I just run my tracks through a cloud-based processor I've been using for the last year and it's night and day. Definitely stick with the AI stuff over the basic Audacity tools tho!!

honestly, basic filters just cut frequencies, which is why u sound like a robot. AI actually "rebuilds" the speech using deep learning. Adobe Podcast is literally magic for this and it's free. before u go deeper tho, what kind of mic are u using?? and is the room treated at all? hit me back and i can give u some better specs.

Solid advice 👍

For your situation, i've found that the long-term play for persistent AC hum and traffic is actually specialized VSTs rather than just web tools. Since you're already using Audacity, you should look into iZotope RX 11 Elements. I've used the RX suite for like, five years now, and the 'Voice De-noise' module is basically the industry gold standard for exactly what you're describing. It's way more surgical than the basic Audacity noise reduction because it tracks the noise floor in real-time.

Another one that's lowkey a lifesaver is Bertom Audio Denoiser Pro. It's super affordable (literally name your own price for the basic version) and it doesn't use that heavy-handed 'rebuilding' tech that makes you sound like a robot. It's more about zeroing in on those specific 60Hz hum frequencies from your AC without killing your vocal's high-end.

Be careful tho—even with AI, if you push the reduction past like 12dB, you're gonna get those 'underwater' artifacts. I usually run two light passes of Accentize VoiceGate instead of one heavy one. It's a bit more technical to set up, but the clarity is sooo much better for professional podcasting. Also, just a quick tip: try to grab about 10 seconds of pure 'room tone' (just the AC and traffic with you being silent) at the start of every recording. It helps the AI learn the noise profile much faster!! gl with the pod haha

yo! for real, traffic and AC hum are the worst to deal with. if you're looking for budget-friendly but high-quality, i'd definitely look at Waves Clarity Vx. it's a plugin, but the AI is literally insane for cleaning up background noise without making you sound like a robot! i think it's usually on sale for like $30-40.

another great option is Goyo Voice Enhancer (now known as Supertone Clear, but they have a free version/trial iirc). honestly, Clarity Vx is my go-to tho because it's so simple to use. gl with the podcast!!

Unfortunately many of the popular web-based solutions have some pretty frustrating compatibility issues and often mess with the original bit depth of your files. Ive spent a ton of time trying to get a clean sound without that metallic ringing and honestly, many tools arent as good as expected when you deal with high-frequency traffic noise.

• Acon Digital Restoration Suite 2
• This is a very solid set of tools and the DeNoise module is much more stable than most free stuff.
• Auphonic Desktop App
• They have a free tier that gives you 2 hours a month, and it handles traffic noise remarkably well without destroying the vocal texture.
• Accentize VoiceGate
• This uses a deep neural network that is specifically trained for speech and handles AC hum way better than basic subtractive filters. The reason those standard filters make you sound like a robot is basically because they just chop out frequencies, which creates phase distortion. AI tools actually try to reconstruct the vocal profile using neural networks... its more about resynthesis than just filtering. Just be careful with VST3 compatibility in your software since that can be a real nightmare to troubleshoot if things dont align perfectly.

^ This. Also, honestly, i am stuck in the same boat and it is driving me insane lately. I have been trying to clean up my home office recordings for over two years now because the street noise outside my window is relentless and nothing seems to truly kill it without ruining the vocal. It is beyond frustrating because every tool i try claims to be the magic fix but usually ends up being a disappointment.

• that low rumble from the bus stop that never goes away
• AC hum that somehow gets louder the more i try to filter it
• sirens cutting through every five minutes I really thought we would have a perfect solution by now but i am still hearing those metallic artifacts every single time i try to push the processing. Just feels like i am chasing my tail at this point and none of the suggestions so far have quite hit the mark for my specific setup... total nightmare.

For your situation, I've honestly spent years dealing with this and learned the hard way that you gotta be careful with how much processing you apply. I used to use this one specific AI tool that's pretty popular now, but honestly, it stripped out so much high-end that it made my voice sound like a tin can lol. Basically, if you push the noise reduction past 50 or 60 percent, it starts to get sketchy and that's when you lose that crisp vocal clarity you're looking for. My current setup involves a dedicated hardware noise gate first because it's way safer for the raw file, and then I just use a light touch with the software. I mean, it's really easy to over-process and ruin a good take, so I'd suggest always keeping a dry backup just in case!