NoiseTorch-ng vs Utterly

NoiseTorch-ng is a free, open-source Linux application that reduces microphone noise in real time. It uses RNNoise and works with PulseAudio or PipeWire, creating a virtual “Filtered Microphone” for applications such as OBS, Mumble, and Discord. The project describes setup as a two-click process and distributes the app as a small, statically linked binary. A Voice Activation Threshold can be set as high as 95%, or set to 0% to dampen noise without deactivating the microphone. Optional output filtering routes applications through a virtual “Filtered Headphones” device. Microphone filtering adds 10 ms of inherent latency; output filtering is approximately 100 ms with PulseAudio. The project reports a suspected update-server and repository breach, says no malicious code was found, and says updates are retrieved from GitHub releases. GitHub reports no SECURITY.md file or published security advisories. Troubleshooting guidance, including how to collect debug logs, is in the project wiki. The latest listed release is v0.12.2, released June 17.

Utterly has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.