Skip to main content

​
Noise Suppression

Nobody wants to hear someone’s mechanical keyboard in a voice call. Tavrn has noise suppression built in to handle exactly that.

​
What is Noise Suppression?

Noise suppression is an audio processing feature that filters background sounds out of your microphone feed, things like:
  • 🎹 Keyboard clicks
  • 💨 Fan or HVAC noise
  • 🐶 Pets (sorry, fluffy)
  • 🎵 Background music
  • 🚗 Street noise
  • 📺 TV or ambient audio
The idea is that other people in the call hear you, clearly, without a bunch of ambient junk layered on top.

​
How It Works

Tavrn applies noise suppression at the audio processing level before your microphone audio is sent to other participants. It uses algorithms to distinguish between:
  • Speech (consistent patterns of human voice) → kept
  • Background noise (irregular, non-speech patterns) → reduced or removed
The result is a cleaner audio feed in real time.

​
Is Noise Suppression Always On?

Noise suppression is enabled by default in all Tavrn calls. You don’t have to do anything to turn it on.

​
When Noise Suppression Gets Too Aggressive

Occasionally, noise suppression can over-filter and start cutting out parts of your voice, especially if:
  • You speak softly
  • You’re using a low-quality microphone
  • You have an unusual vocal quality
  • You’re playing music through your mic intentionally
If people keep saying you “cut out” or your voice sounds robotic or choppy, noise suppression may be the culprit.
If your voice sounds robotic or like it’s cutting in and out, noise suppression is usually the first thing to investigate. It can be very aggressive with some microphone/voice combinations.

​
When Noise Suppression Doesn’t Seem to Help

The flip side, if background noise is still bleeding through despite suppression:
  • Your microphone might be picking up more ambient sound than suppression can handle
  • The noise might be very close to human speech frequencies (like a TV nearby)
  • Your microphone gain might be set too high
In these cases:
  • Move your microphone closer to your mouth
  • Lower your microphone gain in your system settings
  • Use a directional (cardioid) microphone rather than an omnidirectional one
  • Use headphones with a built-in mic instead of desktop speakers + a room mic

​
Microphone Best Practices

Noise suppression is a great tool, but a good mic setup beats it every time:
SetupAudio QualityNoise Suppression Needed
Phone earbudsDecentMedium
Webcam microphoneFairHigh
Headset with boom micGoodLow
USB condenser micExcellentLow–Medium
XLR mic + audio interfaceProfessionalMinimal
You don’t need professional equipment to have good audio on Tavrn. A simple gaming headset with a boom mic makes a huge difference over a laptop microphone.

​
Echo Cancellation

Closely related to noise suppression, echo cancellation prevents your speakers’ output from looping back into your microphone, the effect that causes that horrible feedback sound. Echo cancellation is also enabled by default in Tavrn calls. If you’re experiencing echo (others hearing themselves repeated back), check:
  • Are you using speakers instead of headphones? Headphones are the most reliable echo fix.
  • Is your microphone volume set very high while your speakers are also loud?

​
Frequently Asked Questions

There isn’t currently a per-user toggle for noise suppression within Tavrn’s UI. If you need to broadcast system audio or music, use the screen share audio option or a virtual audio cable setup rather than your regular mic.
This is almost certainly noise suppression over-processing your audio. It usually happens with soft speech or lower quality microphones. Try speaking slightly louder and more clearly, or increasing your microphone gain slightly.
Their noise suppression is either not working well for their setup, or their microphone is picking up a lot of ambient sound. You can gently let them know, they may not realize how much background noise is coming through.
The audio processing is lightweight and handled at the browser level. On modern computers, you shouldn’t notice any performance impact. On very old or underpowered devices, there might be minimal additional load.