What is white noise?
White noise is a random sound with equal power at every frequency. Because each octave up holds twice as many frequencies as the one below, it sounds bright: a steady hiss, like a detuned radio or a TV between channels.
Freeflat: equal power at every frequency
Coming soon to iPhone
What it sounds like
A bright, even hiss, like a detuned radio.
How Hush Machine makes it
Hush Machine makes white noise on the iPhone from a random number generator, sample by sample, as it plays. Nothing is a recording, so there is no loop point to hear.
How people use it
- Covering voices and sharp sounds in an office or a shared room.
- Testing speakers and headphones.
- A starting point on the dial: turn it towards pink or brown if it sounds too bright.
Questions
- Why does white noise sound so bright?
- Every frequency gets the same power, and there are far more high frequencies than low ones in each octave above. So the high end dominates and you hear a hiss.
- Is white noise the same as static?
- Radio and TV static between channels is close to white noise: random, with power spread evenly across the band the set can play.
- What is the difference between white and pink noise?
- Pink noise falls by 3 dB per octave, so each octave has the same power. It sounds softer and lower than white noise.