AetherDSP Settings¶
AetherDSP Settings is a dialog that lets you tune the client-side noise-reduction engines available in AetherSDR: NR2, NR4, MNR, DFNR, RN2, and BNR. Each engine has its own tab. Open the dialog from Settings > AetherDSP Settings....
From v0.9.7 the dialog hosts an embedded AetherDspWidget that contains all controls. Existing signal connections to the dialog continue to work without change.
NR2 tab¶
NR2 is AetherSDR's musical-noise-reduction engine.
Steps¶
- Click
Settings > AetherDSP Settings.... - Click the NR2 tab.
- Select a Gain Method radio button.
- Select an NPE Method radio button.
- Check or uncheck AE Filter (artifact elimination) as needed.
- Drag Reduction Depth:, Smoothing:, and Voice Threshold: to the desired values.
- Click Reset Defaults to return all NR2 controls to their factory values.
What each control does¶
| Control | Kind | Default | Valid range | Setting key |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gain Method | Radio button | Gamma | Linear / Log / Gamma / Trained | NR2GainMethod |
| NPE Method | Radio button | OSMS | OSMS / MMSE / NSTAT | NR2NpeMethod |
| AE Filter (artifact elimination) | Checkbox | On | On / Off | NR2AeFilter |
| Reduction Depth: | Slider | 1.50 | 0.50–2.00 | NR2GainMax |
| Smoothing: | Slider | 0.85 | 0.50–0.98 | NR2GainSmooth |
| Voice Threshold: | Slider | 0.20 | 0.05–0.50 | NR2Qspp |
| Reset Defaults | Button | — | — | — |
NR2GainMethod is stored as an integer 0–3 (Linear=0, Log=1, Gamma=2, Trained=3). NR2NpeMethod is stored as an integer 0–2 (OSMS=0, MMSE=1, NSTAT=2). NR2GainMax is stored internally as value × 100.
Tips¶
- Gamma gain method suits most SSB voice work. Trained can improve results on weak signals.
- Raise Voice Threshold: if NR2 is suppressing speech. Lower it if noise breaks through during pauses.
- Click Reset Defaults to restore: Gamma / OSMS / AE on / 1.50 / 0.85 / 0.20.
NR4 tab¶
NR4 uses the libspecbleach engine.
Steps¶
- Click
Settings > AetherDSP Settings.... - Click the NR4 tab.
- Select a Noise Estimation Method radio button.
- Check or uncheck Adaptive Noise Estimation as needed.
- Adjust Reduction (dB):, Smoothing (%):, Whitening (%):, Masking Depth:, and Suppression: sliders.
- Click Reset Defaults to return all NR4 controls to their factory values.
What each control does¶
| Control | Kind | Default | Valid range | Setting key |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Noise Estimation Method | Radio button | SPP-MMSE | SPP-MMSE / Brandt / Martin | NR4NoiseEstimationMethod |
| Adaptive Noise Estimation | Checkbox | On | On / Off | NR4AdaptiveNoise |
| Reduction (dB): | Slider | 10.0 | 0.0–40.0 | NR4ReductionAmount |
| Smoothing (%): | Slider | 0 | 0–100 | NR4SmoothingFactor |
| Whitening (%): | Slider | 0 | 0–100 | NR4WhiteningFactor |
| Masking Depth: | Slider | 0.50 | 0.00–1.00 | NR4MaskingDepth |
| Suppression: | Slider | 0.50 | 0.00–1.00 | NR4SuppressionStrength |
| Reset Defaults | Button | — | — | — |
NR4NoiseEstimationMethod is stored as an integer 0–2 (SPP-MMSE=0, Brandt=1, Martin=2). NR4ReductionAmount is stored internally as value × 10.
Tips¶
- Leave Adaptive Noise Estimation on unless the noise floor is stable and you want to lock the estimate.
- Increase Whitening (%): to flatten residual colored noise after reduction.
- Click Reset Defaults to restore: SPP-MMSE / adaptive on / 10 dB / 0 / 0 / 0.50 / 0.50.
MNR tab¶
MNR is AetherSDR's MMSE-Wiener noise reduction engine, available on macOS only.
Before you start¶
- AetherSDR must be running on macOS. The Enable MNR (macOS only) checkbox is present only on macOS builds.
- No radio connection is required to adjust these settings.
Steps¶
- Click
Settings > AetherDSP Settings.... - Click the MNR tab.
- Check Enable MNR (macOS only) to activate the engine.
- Drag the Strength slider to set aggressiveness. 0 is the mildest setting; 100 is maximum noise reduction.
What each control does¶
| Control | Kind | Default | Valid range | Setting key |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Enable MNR (macOS only) | Checkbox | (read from audio engine at startup) | On / Off | MnrEnabled |
| Strength | Slider | 100 | 0–100 | MnrStrength |
MnrStrength is persisted internally as a normalized value between 0.00 and 1.00.
Tips¶
- Start with Strength at 100 and reduce it if you notice speech artifacts or a hollow sound. Lower values trade noise suppression for more natural voice reproduction.
- Because MNR's initial enabled state is read live from the audio engine at dialog open time, the checkbox reflects the current engine state rather than a fixed saved default.
Troubleshooting¶
- The MNR tab is visible but "Enable MNR (macOS only)" has no effect — confirm you are running AetherSDR on macOS. The checkbox label explicitly notes macOS-only availability; on other platforms the engine is not active regardless of this setting.
RN2 tab¶
The RN2 tab displays information about the RNNoise engine. There are no adjustable parameters on this tab.
BNR tab¶
The BNR tab displays information about the NVIDIA noise-reduction engine. Intensity is controlled from the overlay menu, not from this dialog.
DFNR tab¶
DFNR uses the DeepFilterNet3 engine.
Steps¶
- Click
Settings > AetherDSP Settings.... - Click the DFNR tab.
- Drag Attenuation Limit to set the maximum noise attenuation. Set to 0 for passthrough; set to 100 for maximum attenuation.
- Drag Post-Filter Beta to apply additional post-filtering suppression. Leave at 0.00 if no extra suppression is needed.
What each control does¶
| Control | Kind | Default | Valid range | Setting key |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Attenuation Limit | Slider | 100 | 0–100 dB | DfnrAttenLimit |
| Post-Filter Beta | Slider | 0.00 | 0.00–0.30 | DfnrPostFilterBeta |
DfnrPostFilterBeta is stored internally as value × 100.
Tips¶
- Reduce Attenuation Limit if DeepFilterNet3 is over-suppressing and causing artifacts on voice peaks.
- Leave Post-Filter Beta at 0.00 unless residual noise remains after adjusting Attenuation Limit.