Improve audio quality
Most bad recordings have one or two clear problems. Find out which, in plain words, then fix just those. Free, in your browser, and nothing is uploaded.
Never uploaded. Everything runs in your browser.
What do you hear?
Pick the line that sounds like your recording. Each one has its own fixer and a page on why it happens.
- FX-01“It sounds like a big, empty room.”Remove echo from audio
- FX-02“There's a fan, the AC or a hiss behind the voice.”Remove background noise from audio
- FX-03“The voice is dull, like it's coming through a door.”Fix muffled audio
- FX-04“The loud parts crackle or break up.”Fix distorted audio
- FX-05“I have to turn it right up to hear it.”Fix audio that's too quiet
- FX-06“On headphones, the voice is only in one ear.”Fix audio that plays in one ear
- FX-07“There's a low buzz or drone under everything.”Remove hum from audio
- FX-08“Outdoors, it rumbles and thumps when the wind hits.”Remove wind noise from audio
Fix in the right order
Order matters. Lift the highs before the hiss is gone and you get brighter hiss. Set the level first and every later fix changes it again. fix.fm runs the fixes in this order for you.
- 01One earPut the voice in both ears first, so every later fix works on the whole sound.
- 02DistortedRebuild the flattened peaks next, before anything changes the shape of the wave.
- 03HumTake out the hum. It sits on a few exact pitches, so it comes out cleanly on its own.
- 04WindCut the wind rumble, which lives in the lowest notes and comes in gusts.
- 05NoiseTurn down the steady noise that's left: fans, AC, traffic and hiss.
- 06EchoDry out the room once the noise is gone, so the echo is easier to tell apart from it.
- 07MuffledBring back the lost clarity. With the noise and echo gone, lifting the highs lifts only the voice.
- 08Too quietSet the level last, so it measures the finished sound and not the problems.
Get it right next time
Fixing helps, but a better recording helps more. Six things that cost little or nothing:
Get close to the mic
A hand's width away is about right. Close up, your voice is loud and the room and noise are quiet.
Pick a small, soft room
Curtains, a sofa, a rug and full shelves soak up echo. A closet full of clothes works surprisingly well.
Switch off what hums
Fans, the AC, a fridge nearby, fluorescent lights. Record ten seconds of silence first and listen to it on headphones.
Leave room at the top
Set the level so your loudest laugh peaks well under the red. Too quiet can be fixed cleanly; clipped is harder.
Keep a lav on skin, not under cloth
A clip-on mic under a shirt sounds muffled and rustles. Clip it on the outside, or tape it under a collar.
Cover the mic outdoors
A foam or furry windscreen stops most wind before it reaches the mic. Stand with your back to the wind.
Questions
Can it make a phone recording sound like a studio?
It can make it a lot clearer, but not a studio. It takes out echo, noise, hum and crackle and evens the level, which is most of what makes a recording sound cheap. It can't add detail the mic never picked up.
How do I know what's wrong with my audio?
Drop the file in above. It runs eight checks and tells you in plain words what it hears, like "It sounds like a big, empty room", and how bad each one is. If you'd rather listen yourself, the list on this page matches what you hear to the problem.
Is it free, and is my audio uploaded?
It's free with no sign-up and no watermark. Everything runs inside your browser tab, so your file is never uploaded to us or anyone else.
What files can I use?
WAV, MP3, M4A, and video files like MP4. You download the fixed audio as WAV or MP3. For a video, put the fixed audio back under the picture in your editor.
Will fixing it make it sound worse?
It can if a fix goes too far, which is why you hear the before and after and set how much each fix does. Keep your original file, and turn a fix down if the voice starts to sound thin or watery.
My recording has no sound at all. Can it help?
No. It can only fix sound that was recorded, and it will tell you when a file is silent. On a Mac, a silent screen recording usually means the recorder's mic was set to None. Before macOS 27, the built-in recorder also can't capture your Mac's own sound, like a call or a video playing.
How to screen record with sound on a Mac on tonal.fm, our sister site.