Engineering Technology Magazine (Institute of Engineering and Technology, UK) has a well written article concerning research by CLEAR (Center for Law Enforcement Audio Research) concerning the effect of noise reduction on intelligibility of evidentiary recordings and other audio in law enforcement situations.
... most speech-enhancement techniques improve sound quality at the expense of intelligibility, particularly when the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) is very low. Closely related as they are, speech quality and intelligibility are not identical.
This is a classic trap that is easy for a novice to fall into.
Read it all.
(Hat tip: RH)
