Practical tips to improve your audio quality for calls, recording, and streaming. Covers room acoustics, microphone technique, noise reduction, and software settings.
Whether you're on video calls, recording a podcast, streaming, or creating content — audio quality matters. Bad audio makes you hard to understand and exhausting to listen to. This guide covers everything you need to sound professional.
Room acoustics — the biggest factor
Your environment has the single biggest impact on how you sound. Even a cheap microphone sounds good in a treated room, while an expensive mic sounds terrible in a bathroom.
Hard surfaces reflect sound waves, creating echo and reverb that makes your voice sound distant and unprofessional.
Soft furnishings: Rugs, curtains, upholstered furniture, and beds absorb sound
Bookshelves: Books are excellent at diffusing and absorbing sound
Closets: Recording in a closet full of clothes can sound surprisingly good
Avoid: Empty rooms, kitchens, bathrooms, and spaces with hard floors and bare walls
Quick test: Clap your hands in your room. If you hear a noticeable echo or ring, the room needs acoustic treatment.
Free: Move to a room with carpet, curtains, and soft furniture
$20-50: Hang moving blankets or thick curtains on walls behind and to the sides of you
Where you place your microphone dramatically affects your sound quality. Small adjustments make a big difference.
Distance from the microphone affects volume, bass response, and background noise pickup.
Too close (1-2 inches): Boomy bass (proximity effect), plosives (popping on P/B sounds), breathing sounds
Too far (12+ inches): Thin, distant sound, more room echo, lower signal-to-noise ratio
Ideal for USB/condenser mics: 4-8 inches (10-20 cm) from your mouth
Ideal for dynamic mics: 2-4 inches (5-10 cm) — they're designed for close use
Rule of thumb: One fist-width away for condenser mics, one to two finger-widths for dynamic mics.
Pointing the mic directly at your mouth isn't always best.
Off-axis positioning: Angle the mic 15-30 degrees to the side to reduce plosives
Below mouth level: Position mic below your mouth, angled up — avoids breathing directly into it
Side-address vs end-address: Know which part of your mic is the "front" — USB mics are often side-address
Side-address mics: Speak into the side with the logo, not the top. This is a common mistake with Blue Yeti and similar mics.
Pop filters stop the burst of air from P, B, and T sounds that cause distortion.
Mesh pop filters ($10-20): Classic round filters that mount on a gooseneck
Foam windscreens ($5-15): Slip over the microphone — less effective but more compact
Metal pop filters ($20-40): More durable, easier to clean, some say more transparent sound
DIY: A thin sock stretched over a wire hanger works in a pinch
Position the pop filter 1-2 inches from the microphone, between you and the mic.
Microphones pick up vibrations through their stands and mounts.
Boom arm: Keeps mic off desk, eliminates most vibration transfer ($25-100)
Shock mount: Suspends mic in elastic bands to absorb vibrations ($20-50)
Budget option: Place a folded towel or mouse pad under your mic stand
Best combo: Boom arm + shock mount gives professional-level isolation and flexible positioning.
Gain and volume settings
Proper gain staging ensures your audio is loud enough to be clear but not so loud that it distorts.
Your goal is to have your voice peak at about 70-80% of maximum, leaving headroom for louder moments.
Too quiet: Background noise becomes more audible when others turn up their volume
Too loud: Audio clips (distorts) on loud sounds — this sounds terrible and can't be fixed
Just right: Peaks in the upper third of the meter, never hitting red/max
How to test: Open your system sound settings or our microphone test, speak at your normal volume, then speak louder (laugh, exclaim) to check that peaks don't clip.
Gain can be adjusted at different points in the signal chain:
Hardware gain knob: On USB mics or audio interfaces — adjust first
System input level: Windows/Mac sound settings — use to fine-tune
Application settings: Zoom, Teams, etc. have their own mic controls
Microphone boost: Windows feature that adds +10/+20dB — use only if needed
Best practice: Set hardware gain first to get a good base level, then fine-tune in software if needed.
Many apps have "Automatically adjust microphone volume" or similar. This can cause problems.
Problem 1: Pumping — volume goes up during silence, amplifying background noise
Problem 2: Inconsistent levels — your voice gets quieter after loud sounds
When it helps: If you move around a lot or have highly variable volume
Recommendation: Disable automatic gain control in Windows sound settings and in your video calling app. Set a consistent manual level instead.
Speaking technique
How you speak matters as much as your equipment. Good technique makes any microphone sound better.
Volume changes dramatically with distance. Moving from 6 inches to 12 inches cuts your volume in half.
Stay aware: It's easy to lean back or turn your head while speaking
Use a boom arm: Position the mic where it stays in front of you
Visual reference: Put a small mark on your desk to remind you where to sit
Audio compression in video calls reduces clarity. Speaking clearly helps people understand you.
Slow down slightly: Speaking too fast makes words run together
Project your voice: Speak from your diaphragm, not your throat
Don't mumble: Open your mouth and articulate — this isn't being dramatic, it's being clear
Pause between thoughts: Gives listeners time to process and reduces "um" and "uh"
If your environment is noisy, push-to-talk or manual muting keeps your audio clean.
Keyboard shortcut: Most apps let you set a push-to-talk key
Mute toggle: Stay muted and unmute only when you need to speak
Physical mute button: Some USB mics have a mute button — faster than software
Zoom tip: Hold spacebar to temporarily unmute. Release to mute again.
Software enhancements
Software can help clean up your audio, but it's best used to polish already-good sound, not fix bad setups.
Modern AI-powered noise suppression can dramatically reduce background noise.
Disable auto-gain: Automatic level control often causes inconsistent volume
Use a pop filter: The most effective solution
Angle the mic: Position 15-30 degrees off-axis so you're not speaking directly into it
Increase distance: Plosives are worse when you're very close
Speak across the mic: Not into it — air should pass by, not hit it directly
Eliminate at source: Turn off fans, close windows, silence notifications
Increase signal-to-noise ratio: Move closer to mic and reduce gain
Use AI noise suppression: RTX Voice, Krisp, or built-in app features
Use push-to-talk: Mute when not speaking in noisy environments
Check polar pattern: Position a cardioid mic so noise is behind it
Use headphones: The #1 fix — prevents mic from picking up speaker audio
Lower speaker volume: If you must use speakers, keep them quiet
Enable echo cancellation: Turn on in your app and system settings
Move speakers away from mic: Physical distance helps
Want to test how you sound right now? Use our microphone test to hear your audio and check your levels. For microphone connection and setup issues, see our microphone setup guide, or learn about microphone polar patterns to understand how your mic picks up sound.