# Blind Restoration of Real-World Audio by 1D Operational GANs

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2212.14618 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2212.14618/

## Key facts

- Cited by 3 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 31 of its 51 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 30 Dec 2022.

## Builds on (most cited first, 30 of 31)

- [PyTorch: An Imperative Style, High-Performance Deep Learning Library](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1912.01703/) (2019)
- [Generative Adversarial Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2203.00667/) (2022)
- [Image-to-Image Translation with Conditional Adversarial Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1611.07004/) (2016)
- [Conditional Generative Adversarial Nets](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1411.1784/) (2014)
- [WaveNet: A Generative Model for Raw Audio](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1609.03499/) (2016)
- [Least Squares Generative Adversarial Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1611.04076/) (2016)
- [SEGAN: Speech Enhancement Generative Adversarial Network](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1703.09452/) (2017)
- [MetricGAN+: An Improved Version of MetricGAN for Speech Enhancement](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2104.03538/) (2021)
- [MetricGAN: Generative Adversarial Networks based Black-box Metric Scores Optimization for Speech Enhancement](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1905.04874/) (2019)
- [HiFi-GAN: High-Fidelity Denoising and Dereverberation Based on Speech Deep Features in Adversarial Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2006.05694/) (2020)
- [Self-Organized Operational Neural Networks with Generative Neurons](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2004.11778/) (2020)
- [Operational Neural Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1902.11106/) (2019)
- [Self-Organized Operational Neural Networks for Severe Image Restoration Problems](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2008.12894/) (2020)
- [End-to-End Waveform Utterance Enhancement for Direct Evaluation Metrics Optimization by Fully Convolutional Neural Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1709.03658/) (2017)
- [Improving GANs for Speech Enhancement](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2001.05532/) (2020)
- [Exploring Speech Enhancement with Generative Adversarial Networks for Robust Speech Recognition](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1711.05747/) (2017)
- [FastONN -- Python based open-source GPU implementation for Operational Neural Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2006.02267/) (2020)
- [Heterogeneous Multilayer Generalized Operational Perceptron](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1804.05093/) (2018)
- [Exploiting Heterogeneity in Operational Neural Networks by Synaptic Plasticity](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2009.08934/) (2020)
- [Real-Time Patient-Specific ECG Classification by 1D Self-Operational Neural Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2110.02215/) (2021)
- [Real-Time Glaucoma Detection from Digital Fundus Images using Self-ONNs](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2109.13604/) (2021)
- [Robust Peak Detection for Holter ECGs by Self-Organized Operational Neural Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2110.02381/) (2021)
- [Progressive Operational Perceptron with Memory](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1808.06377/) (2018)
- [Blind ECG Restoration by Operational Cycle-GANs](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2202.00589/) (2022)
- [Global ECG Classification by Self-Operational Neural Networks with Feature Injection](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2204.03768/) (2022)
- [Learning with Learned Loss Function: Speech Enhancement with Quality-Net to Improve Perceptual Evaluation of Speech Quality](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1905.01898/) (2019)
- [Operational vs Convolutional Neural Networks for Image Denoising](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2009.00612/) (2020)
- [BM3D vs 2-Layer ONN](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2103.03060/) (2021)
- [Super Neurons](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2109.01594/) (2021)
- [Speech Command Recognition in Computationally Constrained Environments with a Quadratic Self-organized Operational Layer](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2011.11436/) (2020)

## Built on by (most cited first, 3 of 3)

- [SHIELD: A Secure and Highly Enhanced Integrated Learning for Robust Deepfake Detection against Adversarial Attacks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2507.13170/) (2025)
- [Exploring Sound vs Vibration for Robust Fault Detection on Rotating Machinery](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2312.10742/) (2023)
- [BRSR-OpGAN: Blind Radar Signal Restoration using Operational Generative Adversarial Network](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2407.13949/) (2024)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Objective: Despite numerous studies proposed for audio restoration in the literature, most of them focus on an isolated restoration problem such as denoising or dereverberation, ignoring other artifacts. Moreover, assuming a noisy or reverberant environment with limited number of fixed signal-to-distortion ratio (SDR) levels is a common practice. However, real-world audio is often corrupted by a blend of artifacts such as reverberation, sensor noise, and background audio mixture with varying types, severities, and duration. In this study, we propose a novel approach for blind restoration of real-world audio signals by Operational Generative Adversarial Networks (Op-GANs) with temporal and spectral objective metrics to enhance the quality of restored audio signal regardless of the type and severity of each artifact corrupting it. Methods: 1D Operational-GANs are used with generative neuron model optimized for blind restoration of any corrupted audio signal. Results: The proposed approach has been evaluated extensively over the benchmark TIMIT-RAR (speech) and GTZAN-RAR (non-speech) datasets corrupted with a random blend of artifacts each with a random severity to mimic real-world audio signals. Average SDR improvements of over 7.2 dB and 4.9 dB are achieved, respectively, which are substantial when compared with the baseline methods. Significance: This is a pioneer study in blind audio restoration with the unique capability of direct (time-domain) restoration of real-world audio whilst achieving an unprecedented level of performance for a wide SDR range and artifact types. Conclusion: 1D Op-GANs can achieve robust and computationally effective real-world audio restoration with significantly improved performance. The source codes and the generated real-world audio datasets are shared publicly with the research community in a dedicated GitHub repository1.