Help Background Noise

Audio Hardware & Software Sound Cards & DACs & Other Hardware
1

I Recently got the audiobox from presonus included is:

  • StudioOne Artist software
  • Audiobox usb Computer Interface 
  • M7 Condenser Microphone
  • HD7 Professional Monitoring Headphones

Now the problem is this:

when i use the microphone to record there is a lot of background noise. Youtube seems to have a similar theme of use audacity noise reduction however one of the comments said you loose quality 'I don't want that under any circumstances.

So my idea is this:

i'm going to kit out my room with an acoustic solution (tiles bass traps etc) and replace my PC fans with BeQuiet and the CPU cooler with a BeQuiet cooler. Then use an isolation screen a pop filter and a shock mount. 

So my question is:

Will this solve the issue? 

Thank you in advance. 

2

Can you post a sample of the noise. PS, adobe audition has a far better noise reduction)

 

When using a USB mic, it is important to ensure that you do not use more gain than needed. If your focus is vocals only, then you want the mic to be within 1-2 inches of your mouth (about the same location where you would place a headset mic.

 

This will get rid of all or almost all of the noticeable noise, then if needed, a very light noise reduction can be applied, and you shouldn't be able to notice any loss of quality.

 

A moderately quiet PC is good enough if you have a cardioid mic, just make sure it is located in the opposite direction of the PC.

 

When setting up your levels, lower the gain to a very low level (far too low to be useful) then begin talking at a level where you can comfortably project your voice, then begin increasing the gain until your vocals hit -3dB on the levels monitor.

 

After that, you can you can apply multiband compression, and other audio processing in post, to keep the volume constant, and account for any variations from when you move your head a little.

 

The only time when noise reduction cannot be used, is if you are recording music. computers cannot differentiate noise from music.

 

PS it takes a lot of noise to begin impacting audio quality from noise reduction.

For example, here is a video I recorded for a Dom Bower photographer HDR challenge

In the audio, you will notice very little noise, even though my PC has 3 120MM fans running at full speed, and a top 140MM fan also running at full speed, with a 120mm fan on the heatsink at the time, also running at full speed, making for a very noisy system. (and I did not follow the rule of keeping the mic very close and the gain down, due to the mics size)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tl8yb1ESUjI

and here is a video with a similar mic setup, but with no noise reduction (couldn't use it because I was doing a quick video to show the sound leakage of a pair of headphones) (skip to 27 seconds)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDWcd6nj9_s&feature=player_detailpage#t=27

3

I think it has alot to do with the gain thanks for your input man i thought i wasint going to get a reply and here is an example of an unfinished song with the vocal recording noise the vocal track starts at about 8 seconds but the singing doesint start untill about 30 - 32 seconds in. this was just a test to get the lyrics done before i get rid of the background noise: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgB-USM5FIw thanks BTW this was without a shock mount/pop-filter/isolation screen. Also do you think i should still buy the acoustic dampaners and new fans? i do not mind paying the money if it helps 

4

Hard to tell, there is not much background noise that sounds like a computer fan. Usually a cheap way to handle a small amount of noise, will be to have a recording area set in a room, for example, having the mic recessed into a closet with some clothing (or building a little cubicle area which will act as a barrier between the mic, and the rest of the room, will pretty much get rid of all sound reflection, and significantly reduce noise levels, even in a noisy room. (it will also prevent room sounds from making it into the vocals).

 

If background noise levels are low enough, generally, you will get better results from changing the room dynamics, than modding the computer case.

If the noise is constant, then adobe auditions sample based noise reduction can do wonders. it is far higher quality than the adaptive noise reduction, as you can tweak it to a great degree to not impact the vocals, (you can simply use the frequency analysis to find your vocal range, and apply no noise reduction to the fundamental frequency of the voice, and minimal noise reduction across the vocal range, then heavy noise reduction outside of the vocal range. so it will not only target just the sampled noise from the room, it will also be adjusted to make sure it does not impact the vocals.

 

I usually do not do it because I will do things where the noise will change, for example, if something loads the CPU a lot, the fan speed will increase, same with the GPU, and the single sample noise reduction will not handle that. so for my recordings, I use adaptive noise reduction which automatically adjusts everything and compensated for any new noise.

5

Thanks for the help man i will have to look into the adobe auditions but i reckon i should at least get the isolation screen (to make more of a secluded area for the mic) plus that gain trick seems like it should have good results i shall let you know how everything goes i get paid soon :)