audio question

[wemc1977]

I have extracted the audio from an MPEG so i can try to fix it to sound better but i have no idea what i am doing. I recorded something in a public place and there is a lot of background noise, people talking and other things. I have been trying to use Sound Forge to work with it but again, not sure what to do. I tried reading the help guide but the audio restoration isn't working which is what it suggested doing. Can someone possibly help? Maybe suggest a different program or what I am doing wrong? I also want to stress that I don't know very much about working with audio or Video but am trying to learn.
Thanks

[redwudz]

In general, all you can do is experiment with some filters. I wouldn't expect any large improvements. Try a high pass filter. It will take care of some of the lower frequency voices. But realize it will also remove some of the background audio you may want. I would apply it lightly and see if you can live with it.

A repetitive noise like a low frequency hum is fairly easy to mask. Voices with background noise is very difficult, even with very high end equipment. But, give it a try.

Our ears are 'selective'. We can 'hear' one voice in a crowd if we want. Recorded audio is different. Sorry, no easy answers.