How to Remove Background Noise in DaVinci Resolve

To remove background noise in DaVinci Resolve, select the clip and turn on Voice Isolation in the Inspector's Audio tab if you have Resolve Studio. In the free version, drag Audio FX › Fairlight FX › Noise Reduction onto the clip, keep Auto Speech Mode on, and lower the Dry/Wet mix if the voice starts to sound thin.

Which tool works best depends on two things: the kind of noise, and whether you use the free version or Studio. This guide covers both, with starting settings for hiss, hum, rumble and traffic, and fixes for the problems that appear when you push the settings too far.

Free version or Studio: what you get

DaVinci Resolve has some of the best free audio tools of any editor, but its strongest noise remover is reserved for the paid version.

Studio is a one-time purchase (US$295 at the time of writing) rather than a subscription. If you only need clean dialogue now and then, the free tools below plus an online noise remover for the hard cases may be enough.

Method 1: Voice Isolation (Studio)

Voice Isolation is an AI model, built into Resolve's Neural Engine, that separates speech from everything else. Unlike a classic noise filter, it doesn't need a noise sample and adapts as the noise changes.

1. On the Edit page, select the clip with dialogue.
2. Open the Inspector (top right) and switch to the Audio tab.
3. Turn on Voice Isolation.
4. Play the clip. If the voice sounds hollow or artificial, lower the amount until it sounds natural again. A setting that leaves a hint of room sound almost always sounds better than total silence.

To process every clip on a track at once, open the Fairlight page and switch on Voice Isolation for the track in the mixer.

Voice Isolation is demanding on older computers. If playback stutters, switch it off while you cut and turn it back on before you export.

Method 2: The Noise Reduction effect (free)

The Noise Reduction effect works in the free version and handles steady noise well.

1. On the Edit page, click Effects at the top left and open Audio FX › Fairlight FX.
2. Drag Noise Reduction onto the clip. The effect window opens. To reopen it later, select the clip and click the effect's settings icon in the Inspector.
3. Leave Auto Speech Mode on. Resolve then tracks the noise floor between words by itself. This is the right choice for most dialogue.
4. Play the clip and raise the reduction until the noise drops into the background.
5. If the voice starts to sound watery, turn down Dry/Wet to blend some of the original back in.

Using a noise profile instead

For a constant noise such as a fan, a manual profile can work better than Auto Speech Mode:

1. Find a stretch where nobody is speaking.
2. Switch to manual mode and click Learn.
3. Play the noise-only section for a few seconds, then click Learn again to stop. The effect now knows what the noise sounds like.
4. Play the whole clip and fine-tune the reduction.

This is the same idea as the noise profile in Audacity. Our Audacity noise reduction guide explains why a clean, voice-free sample matters so much.

Method 3: Remove hum and rumble

Some noise is easier to remove with a specialised effect than with general noise reduction.

Electrical hum. Drag Fairlight FX › De-Hummer onto the clip and set the frequency to match your mains power: 50 Hz in Europe, Asia and Australia, 60 Hz in North America. Raise the amount until the hum disappears, and include its harmonics if it sounds buzzy rather than smooth.

Low rumble. Traffic rumble, desk bumps and low wind sit below the voice. In the Inspector's Equalizer for the clip (or the track EQ on the Fairlight page), turn on the low band as a high-pass filter at about 80 Hz. For deep male voices, stay nearer 60 Hz so the voice keeps its warmth.

Noise between phrases. On the Fairlight page, the track's Dynamics include an Expander/Gate. Set the threshold just above the noise so the gaps between phrases get quieter while the voice passes through.

Recommended settings by type of noise

For a deeper look at hiss and crackle, see our guide to removing static from audio.

Fixing common problems

The voice sounds robotic or underwater. Lower the Voice Isolation amount, or the Dry/Wet mix on Noise Reduction. Two gentle effects, such as a high-pass filter plus light noise reduction, usually sound more natural than one effect at full strength.

The noise is gone but so is the atmosphere. Voice Isolation keeps only speech. For a vlog or documentary where the location sound matters, use a lower amount, or place a separate ambience track under the dialogue.

The audio is quieter after cleaning. Noise reduction removes energy from the signal. Raise the clip volume in the Inspector, or use the Fairlight page's loudness meter to bring the mix back to your target.

Effects seem to have no effect on export. Check that the effect isn't bypassed in the Inspector and that you're exporting the right timeline. Effects added on the Fairlight page apply to the track, so clips moved to another track lose them.

DaVinci Resolve or an online noise remover?

Resolve is a complete editor, and its audio tools match that. For a one-off clip, though, it can be a lot of software to open.

If you use the free version, the online tool fills the gap Voice Isolation would cover. Our video noise remover takes an MP4 or MOV and returns the video with a clean soundtrack, or just the audio as MP3 or WAV for your timeline. For podcasts and voice-overs, the audio noise remover handles audio files, and the AI audio denoiser page explains how the model separates voice from noise.

Record cleaner audio next time

• Use an external mic. A lavalier or shotgun mic close to the speaker beats any camera's built-in mic.
• Use a windscreen outdoors. A furry cover on the mic stops most wind before it becomes noise.
• Record room tone for 10 seconds at every location. It gives Noise Reduction a clean profile to learn.
• Keep peaks around -12 dB. Clipped audio can't be repaired by any noise remover.

If the voice still sounds flat after cleaning, the AI voice enhancer improves level and clarity in one step. Editing in Adobe instead? Read our guide to removing background noise in Premiere Pro.

Frequently asked questions