Overview
Adobe Podcast (formerly known as Project Shasta) is a suite of next-generation audio tools designed to democratize high-quality sound production. In the past, achieving "broadcast-quality" audio required expensive microphones, sound-treated rooms, and complex Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) software like Pro Tools or Adobe Audition. Adobe Podcast changes the game by using advanced artificial intelligence—specifically Adobe Sensei technology—to fix bad audio after it has been recorded.
The platform is best known for its viral "Enhance Speech" tool, which acts as a "magic button" for content creators. You can record a voice memo on an iPhone in a windy street, upload it to Adobe Podcast, and within seconds, the AI strips away the background noise, reduces the room echo, and smooths out the frequencies to make it sound like it was recorded in a professional sound booth. Beyond simple cleaning, the Adobe Podcast ecosystem includes "Studio," a web-based workstation that allows for remote recording and text-based editing. Whether you are a solo podcaster, a YouTuber fixing a bad take, or a journalist conducting remote interviews, Adobe Podcast serves as an essential, cloud-based audio engineer that requires zero technical knowledge to operate.
Key Features
- Enhance Speech: This is the flagship feature of Adobe Podcast. It uses deep learning to separate human speech from background noise. Unlike traditional noise gates that just cut volume when silence is detected, Adobe Podcast reconstructs the voice frequencies, effectively filling in the gaps to create a rich, full sound. It creates a stark difference, often salvaging audio that would otherwise be unusable due to traffic, fans, or poor microphone quality.
- Mic Check: Good audio starts at the source, and Adobe Podcast helps you get it right before you hit record. The "Mic Check" tool analyzes your physical setup in real-time. You read a short phrase into your microphone, and the AI provides feedback on your "Distance to Mic," "Gain" (volume), "Background Noise," and "Echo." It then gives specific advice, such as "move closer" or "turn down your gain," ensuring your raw recording is as clean as possible.
- Adobe Podcast Studio: This is the platform's browser-based editor. It allows you to record high-quality audio locally (even if your internet drops) and sync it to the cloud. Adobe Podcast Studio features "text-based editing," meaning it automatically transcribes your audio. You can edit the podcast simply by deleting words in the text transcript, and the tool automatically cuts the corresponding audio waveform, making editing as easy as working in a Google Doc.
- Bulk Uploads & Video Support (Premium): While the basic tool handles one file at a time, the Premium version of Adobe Podcast allows for bulk processing. This is a lifesaver for editors with multiple tracks. Additionally, it supports video file uploads (MP4, MOV), allowing users to strip and enhance the audio from video clips directly without needing to extract the audio track first.
Use Cases
- For Content Creators (YouTubers/TikTokers): Creators often film on the go where environmental noise is uncontrollable. Adobe Podcast allows them to salvage vlogs or street interviews where the wind or traffic noise is overpowering, ensuring the dialogue remains intelligible and professional.
- For Remote Interviewers: Podcasters who interview guests over Zoom or Skype often suffer from audio compression artifacts. Adobe Podcast Studio records the guest's audio locally on their device and uploads the high-quality WAV file, bypassing the low-quality "internet sound" typical of video calls.
- For Corporate & Students: Business professionals use Adobe Podcast to clean up conference call recordings for better clarity. Students use it to enhance lecture recordings where the professor's voice is distant or drowned out by a lecture hall's echo.
Pricing Plans
Adobe Podcast uses a freemium model, making its core technology accessible to everyone while reserving workflow efficiency tools for power users.
The Free Plan is surprisingly generous. It grants access to the "Enhance Speech" tool with a limit of 30 minutes per file and a maximum file size of 500 MB. Free users can process up to 1 hour of audio per day. It also includes full access to the "Mic Check" tool. This is usually sufficient for hobbyists or those working on short clips.
The Express Premium Plan (typically $9.99/month) unlocks the full potential of Adobe Podcast. This tier increases the limits significantly, allowing for 4 hours of audio per day and larger file sizes up to 1 GB. Premium users also get "Bulk Upload" capabilities to process multiple files simultaneously and the ability to adjust the "strength" of the enhancement via a slider (preventing the AI from over-processing natural background ambience). Notably, Adobe Podcast Premium is often included if you already have an Adobe Creative Cloud All Apps subscription.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Adobe Podcast offers the most impressive "one-click" noise reduction currently available, often beating complex manual plugins.
- The web-based interface means there is no software to install; it works on any computer with a browser.
- "Text-based editing" in Adobe Podcast Studio drastically speeds up the editing workflow for narrative content.
- The "Mic Check" tool is a fantastic educational feature that teaches beginners proper microphone technique.
- Integration with the broader Adobe ecosystem allows for smooth workflows for existing Creative Cloud users.
Cons
- Adobe Podcast can sometimes sound "robotic" or produce digital artifacts if the source audio is extremely noisy or if the enhancement strength is too high.
- The free version lacks the "strength slider," meaning users are stuck with the default (often aggressive) enhancement level.
- It requires an active internet connection to process audio; there is no offline desktop app version of Adobe Podcast independent of the browser.
- The "Studio" features are sometimes simpler than dedicated DAWs (like Audition or Logic Pro), limiting advanced sound design capabilities.