OBS Noise Suppression: Setup and Best Settings
Right-click your mic in the Audio Mixer → Filters, click + under Audio Filters and add Noise Suppression. Keep the default RNNoise method for the best quality, use Speex only if your CPU is struggling, and on Windows PCs with an NVIDIA RTX card add the separate NVIDIA Audio Effects filter instead. Add a Noise Gate after it to silence the mic between sentences.
How to add Noise Suppression in OBS
- In the Audio Mixer dock, right-click your microphone (in OBS 32.1 and newer you can also click its name). In OBS 32.0 and older, the three-dot (⋮) button on the mixer channel opens the same menu. You can also right-click the mic in the Sources dock.
- Click Filters. The Filters for '[your mic]' window opens.
- Click + under Audio Filters and choose Noise Suppression.
- Give it a name (the default is fine) and click OK.
- Pick a Method (see below), then close the window. Talk while watching the mixer meter to hear and see the difference.
Filters are attached to the source, so they follow your mic into every scene. Add them to the mic once, not per scene.
RNNoise vs. Speex vs. NVIDIA Noise Removal
| Method | Where | Quality | Cost | Requirements |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RNNoise (default) | Noise Suppression filter | Good. Neural-network based, no settings to tune | More CPU than Speex, still light on modern PCs | None. Windows, macOS and Linux |
| Speex | Noise Suppression filter | Basic. OBS labels it “low quality” | Lowest CPU usage | None. Windows, macOS and Linux |
| NVIDIA Noise Removal | Separate NVIDIA Audio Effects filter (OBS 31+) | Strongest removal of loud or changing noise | Runs on the NVIDIA GPU | Windows, NVIDIA RTX GPU (RTX 2060 / Quadro RTX 3000 or higher), NVIDIA Audio Effects SDK redistributable |
For most streamers RNNoise is the right choice: it handles fans, PC hum and air conditioning well without any tweaking. Switch to Speex only if OBS reports high CPU usage and you need every bit back. The OBS docs note that the filter is “generally not effective at large amounts of background noise”. If you have a noisy room and an RTX card, NVIDIA’s filter is the upgrade.
Speex: Suppression Level
The Suppression Level slider only appears when Method is set to Speex. It runs from -60 dB to 0 dB and defaults to -30 dB. Moving it left suppresses more; 0 dB turns suppression off. Go too far and it starts to eat into your voice, so lower it in small steps while talking. RNNoise has no level setting.
NVIDIA Audio Effects (RTX)
In OBS 31 NVIDIA’s noise removal was split out of Noise Suppression into its own filter. Existing filters were migrated automatically. To use it:
- Download the Audio Effects SDK redistributable for your GPU series from NVIDIA’s Broadcast SDK resources page and install it. Keep your GPU driver up to date as well.
- Restart OBS, open your mic’s Filters and click + → NVIDIA Audio Effects. If it isn’t in the list, the redistributable isn’t installed or your GPU isn’t supported.
- Choose a Method: NVIDIA Noise Removal, NVIDIA Room Echo Removal or NVIDIA Noise Removal + Room Echo Removal.
- Set Suppression Intensity (default 1.0, the maximum). Lower it if your voice starts to sound processed.
OBS 32.0 added a Voice Optimized option (voice activity detection) that improves suppression for speech. It is on by default when your SDK version supports it. Use NVIDIA Audio Effects instead of RNNoise, not on top of it. Stacking two suppressors mostly adds artifacts.
Add a Noise Gate
Noise suppression cleans up the sound while you talk. A Noise Gate mutes the mic completely when you stop, so viewers don’t hear breathing, keyboard clicks or a distant TV in the pauses. Add it the same way (+ → Noise Gate) and put it below Noise Suppression in the list. OBS processes filters from top to bottom.
| Setting | Default | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Close Threshold | -32 dB | When the level drops below this, the gate starts to close. |
| Open Threshold | -26 dB | When the level rises above this, the gate opens. Keep it higher than Close Threshold. |
| Attack Time | 25 ms | How fast the gate opens. Shorter values avoid clipping the first syllable. |
| Hold Time | 200 ms | How long the gate stays open after you drop below Close Threshold, so it doesn’t chatter between words. |
| Release Time | 150 ms | How long the fade-out takes once the gate closes. Longer sounds more natural. |
How to set the thresholds
- Stay silent and watch your mic’s meter in the Audio Mixer. Note where the background noise sits, for example around -45 dB.
- Talk at your normal streaming volume and note where your voice peaks, for example -15 dB to -10 dB.
- Set Close Threshold a few dB above the noise floor (here roughly -40 dB). OBS recommends a close threshold above the noise volume.
- Set Open Threshold slightly below your speaking voice (here roughly -30 dB to -25 dB).
- Talk quietly and loudly, and check that soft words still open the gate. If the ends of sentences get cut, raise Hold Time to 300 ms or so.
Because Noise Suppression already lowers the noise floor, set the gate after adding suppression. The gap between noise and voice is bigger, which makes the gate much easier to set.
Troubleshooting
- No difference at all: check that you added the filter to the source that’s actually live (the mic in your scene or the global Mic/Aux device), and that the eye icon next to the filter is on.
- Voice cuts in and out: your Noise Gate Open Threshold is too high. Lower it a few dB, or move closer to the mic.
- Noise still audible in pauses: the gate isn’t closing. Raise Close Threshold a little so it sits clearly above the noise floor, or try NVIDIA Noise Removal if you have an RTX GPU.
- Mic too quiet after filtering: fix the level with a Gain or Compressor filter further down the chain. See our OBS mic settings guide for a full filter chain with starting values.
Frequently asked questions
Which is better in OBS, RNNoise or Speex?
RNNoise. OBS itself labels it “good quality, more CPU usage” and Speex “low CPU usage, low quality”. RNNoise is the default, and Speex only makes sense on a PC that is already maxed out.
Where did NVIDIA Noise Removal go in OBS?
Since OBS 31 it is no longer a method inside Noise Suppression. It is a separate filter called NVIDIA Audio Effects, and old filters were migrated automatically. It only shows up on Windows when the NVIDIA Audio Effects SDK redistributable is installed.
Why does my voice sound robotic or underwater?
The suppression is too strong for your room or mic. With Speex, move Suppression Level back toward 0 dB. With NVIDIA, lower Suppression Intensity. Also make sure you are not stacking two noise filters, or running NVIDIA Broadcast and an OBS filter on the same mic.
Can noise suppression remove keyboard clicks?
Partly. The OBS docs say the filter works best on steady noise like a PC fan. Short, loud sounds such as clicks are better handled by a Noise Gate that closes while you are not talking, plus moving the mic away from the keyboard.
Do I need noise suppression and a noise gate?
They do different jobs. Suppression cleans noise while you talk; the gate mutes the mic in pauses. Most streamers with any background noise use both, suppression first.
Sources: OBS Knowledge Base: Noise Suppression Filter · OBS Knowledge Base: Noise Gate Filter · OBS Studio 31.0 release notes · OBS Studio 32.0 release notes · OBS Studio source: obs-filters · OBS Studio source: nv-filters · NVIDIA Broadcast SDK resources