A filter settings generation operation includes sampling a communication channel to produce a sampled signal. The sampled signal is spectrally characterized across a frequency band of interest to produce a spectral characterization of the sampled signal. This spectral characterization may not include a signal of interest. The spectral characterization is then modified to produce a modified spectral characterization. Filter settings are then generated based upon the modified spectral characterization. Finally, the communication channel is filtered using the filter settings when the signal of interest is present on the communication channel. In modifying the spectral characterization, pluralities of spectral characteristics of the spectral characterization are independently modified to produce the modified spectral characterization. Modifications to the spectral characterization may be performed in the frequency domain and/or the time domain. One particular spectral modification that is performed is raising of the noise floor of the spectral characterization to meet a budgeted signal-to-noise ratio. Other spectral modifications include modifying spectral components corresponding to an expected interfering signal. In modifying these spectral characterizations, spectral components corresponding to a plurality of expected interfering signals may be modified.