When sound waves travel through air and encounter another medium, the wall of a room, for instance, a portion of the sound will be absorbed by the wall while the remainder will reflect from the wall surface. Add to the mix the other surfaces reflecting sound waves in various directions within the room, and the result is a jumble of sound reflections which interfere with the clarity of the original, intended sound. The presence of numerous hard, untreated surfaces is often to blame for the heightened noise levels in busy restaurants as the voices of multiple patrons reflect and produce background noise. Acoustical improvement and sound reduction projects often involve the implementation of treatments designed to absorb sound wave reflections as a part of a comprehensive sound control plan.
Taking into consideration the tendency of sound waves to reflect from surfaces, it is apparent why the absorption of sound reflections is an important element of sound control and acoustical improvement. Capturing sound reflections becomes particularly important in environments such as auditoriums, restaurants and places of worship, where the quality of acoustics experienced within an area is fundamental to its purpose.
The reflective tendencies of the particular surfaces present within a room may contribute to the type and extent of sound absorption treatment necessary to achieve the desired result. Carpet, for instance, is more absorptive than tile, so a carpeted floor would produce less significant sound reflection than would a tile floor with other factors constant. How do we know? By performing the standard ASTM C423 test, independent labs quantify the amount of sound a particular surface material absorbs and assigns to it a value referred to as the Noise Reduction Coefficient (NRC). The NRC, calculated based on testing of a material at various frequencies within a concrete enclosure, can be interpreted as a percentage of noise that is captured and converted by a surface while the remaining portion is reflected. A NRC of 0.44, for instance, would be assigned to a surface which on average absorbs 44% of sound while reflecting the remaining 54%.
Like materials used in construction, soundproofing products are also tested for sound absorption at various frequencies and assigned a Noise Reduction Coefficient. The absorptive value exhibited by a particular sound treatment can help determine the circumstances in which the treatment should be applied. A project aimed at controlling low bass tones, for example, would call for more absorptive treatments than one targeting the higher frequencies produced by the human voice. Since each acoustical improvement solution must be tailored based on characteristics of the targeted area and frequencies to be controlled, it is advised to consult with a knowledgeable soundproofing consultant prior to implementing sound reduction treatments in order to ensure that critical variables are addressed.
About the Author: Mark Rustad is President of NetWell Noise Control, based in Minneapolis, MN. Founded in 1991, NetWell is a leading supplier of acoustic products, soundproofing treatments, sound reduction products and online acoustical consulting services. NetWell?s sound management skills are packaged into the industry?s premier website. Discover first hand why so much of NetWell?s business stems from the referrals and repeat orders they receive from satisfied clients around the world.
There are two types of sound conditioners or white noise machines. The first one is a machine that has a basic set-up that has a fan in it and sometimes a speed switch. This machine has small slots in it and the fan produces a soft noise that relaxes and helps people sleep. The other type of white noise machine is electronic and can have various nature sounds to help soothe you to relax or to drift off to sleep. The volume on a sound machine should be set to a comfortable level. As your ears become more settled with the volume, it can be increased gradually.
Sound machines and white noise machines easily mask noises such as, someone typing on a keyboard, conversations, kids playing, and many other noises as well. Different machines produce different sounds. There are also many different models of sound machines and white noise machines. Some machines produce noises that fit your environment around you to help soothe you. These machines are good for when you are away from home and help relax you when you cannot sleep in a new place. Sound machines can be useful for almost anything. Sound conditioners have been used in many work places and some say it helps productivity in the work place. This being because when a worker has a sound machine in their office, it helps block out other noises from other employees in the building and any other noises that might be heard in the office. This helps them work better and concentrate on their work instead of the noises around them.
White Noise machines and sound conditioners do not totally take away the noise found in the environment; it just masks the noise so it is not as loud as it was before. This is where it comes in handy to use for babies with colic. These will soothe your baby and help them sleep better during their naps and at bedtime. Sometimes babies and kids have a hard time sleeping because of the adults talking and other kids playing. The sound machine will help the noises be not as loud so the baby can sleep easier and it helps the parents get their kids to relax and sleep better.
Sound conditioners have also been known to help people that suffer from tinnitus (ringing in the ears), ADD, ADHD, and anxiety. This might become a new way to help Doctors with patients that suffer from these conditions. The new technology of sound conditioners is helping doctors, therapists, and even the everyday worker.
Sound conditioners can help with so many things it is somewhat hard to believe. Many people around the world have trouble sleeping and relaxing after a hard days work. Sound conditioners are in many homes to help with such problems. They also help with new mothers as well. Becoming a new mother can overwhelming and hard to get used to during the first few months after birth. Sleeping does not come much when there is a new baby in the house, so when the mother does get time, it is hard for them to relax. This is where a sound conditioner comes in good use. New mothers can use sound machines to help them relax while sleeping and they will feel more refreshed and have more energy to take on their new bouncing bundle of joy.
Soundproofing is any means of reducing the intensity of sound with respect to a specified source and receptor. There are several basic approaches to reducing sound: increasing the distance between source and receiver, using noise barriers to block or absorb the energy of the sound waves, using damping structures such as sound baffles, or using active antinoise sound generators.
Soundproofing affects sound in two different ways: noise reduction and noise absorption. Noise reduction simply blocks the passage of sound waves through the use of distance and intervening objects in the sound path. Noise absorption operates by transforming the sound wave. Noise absorption involves suppressing echoes, reverberation, resonance and reflection. The damping characteristics of the materials it is made out of are important in noise absorption. The wetness or moisture level in a medium can also reflect sound waves, significantly reducing and distorting the sound traveling through it, making moisture an important factor in soundproofing.
The use of distance to dissipate sound is straightforward. The energy density of sound waves decreases as they spread out, so that increasing the distance between the receiver and source results in a progressively lesser intensity of sound at the receiver. In a normal three dimensional setting, the intensity of sound waves will be attenuated according to the inverse square of the distance from the source. Using mass to absorb sound is also quite straightforward, with part of the sound energy being used to vibrate the mass of the intervening object, rather than being transmitted. When this mass consists of air the extra dissipation on top of the distance effect is only significant for typically more than 1000 meters, depending also on the weather and reflections from the soil.
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Everyone seems to be busy and chasing after time that they never have a chance to sit down and literally read a book. The technology has done great wonders by providing audio books.
Now you don’t have to find the time to read a book after work.
Now you can have the books reading to you while you are on your way to work, when you fetch your kids to school. You can now enjoy someone reading the book to you. Isn’t that amazing?
With audio books, we also get to enjoy unique advantages of doing other things that take up our hands, but not our minds. We can now do other things like household chores, exercise, etc while still having the book read to us.
More people are embracing the wonders of audio books and are buying their favorite books in audio book version.
If you are considering buying an audio book, below are 6 of the great places you can enjoy an audio book:
1–In bed – There are certain days when we just don’t want to do anything but lie down in bed thinking of certain issues. Or we could just want to lie down in the dark until we fall asleep.
This is a great time to listen to an audio book. You wouldn’t have to bother with putting on the lights, holding the book, flipping through the pages or the stress of reading the book itself.
With an audio book, the entire book will be read to you while you stay comfortable in bed – without flipping any pages, holding the book or putting on the lights.
2–In the kitchen while doing household chores such as washing the dishes or cooking. For some people it can be very boring being in the kitchen, especially washing the dishes or other such chores.
This is a great time to enjoy an audio book because your hands are busy but your mind is free.
Instead of feeding your mind with negative thoughts during this time, an audio book would be a wonderful alternative.
3–In the garden while gardening – You can also listen to audio books while gardening. The audio book can make the gardening fun because you would be concentrating on the beauty of the audio book and not on the difficulty of gardening.
4–While exercising such as jogging – Exercising such as jogging leaves your mind open but your hands, legs and even your entire body busy. This is a great time to enjoy an audio book.
Most people perform exercises for many minutes or even hours while their minds do nothing. But listening to an audio book during this time ensures you don’t waste those times that you exercise.
Talk about killing 2 birds with one stone – exercising your body and mind at the same time!
5–On the road commuting – This could either be in your personal car or a commercial bus or train ride to work. You see, many people lose a great deal of time doing nothing while commuting to and from their jobs.
Why not use that time to listen to an audio book, especially one that develops your mind and/or improves your professional and business skills?
For example, listening to an audio book that improves your skills daily can do a lot of good to your career, instead of listening to a musical song which wouldn’t help you much in the area of skill acquisition.
6–In the air while traveling – You wouldn’t believe it, but there are many people who spend more time in the air than on road. There are professional assignments that involve traveling from one state to the other, or even from one country to the other.
If you are in such a situation, consider the enormous benefits you would get listening to audio books, especially those that can improve your professional skills.
Yes, there are many audio book courses made specifically for professionals to improve their skills in many areas of their professions.
Not only that, you can also find books on health, beauty, sex & relationships
sports, travel, hobbies, religion & spiritual books and new york’s #1 best selling books.
To check out how you can listen to some of the #1 best seller books, visit www.merlionaudio.com
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Recently, there have been a number of cases involving sound effects companies that are offering “free” sound effects as an enticement for people to sign up for their free accounts. Often times this is in order to harvest email addresses and names for marketing purposes or to sell lists to other marketing companies. The problem is that some of these sites are using copyrighted materials illegally. When companies do this they are not only neglecting their customer’s rights to privacy, but also placing them in potentially precarious legal dangers from the rightful copyright owners.
The issue has often risen from people who are either tired of buying sound effects legally, or who just don’t understand the legal implications and then post blogs on the web, solicit their friends and colleagues, and get people to search their computers for sound effects and then upload them to their newly developed, free sound effects site. Their intentions may be perfectly innocent, giving producers access to a wide variety of sound fx in one centralized location, but the real problem is that most of these uploaded sound effects are copyrighted and subject to the same copyright protections as music, movies and everything else.
There have been cases where people download sounds from these free sites to use in jobs for their paying clientele. Only later to get embarrassing and potentially career ending complaints, letters and law suits from their clients, who in turn have recently been contacted by the copyright owner’s attorney for copyright infringement. Not only can this devastating affair make you and your company look unprofessional, it is highly irresponsible as well. Nobody wants to be reflected poorly in professional circles, and in the highly sensitive environment of copyright law and the legal issues surrounding digital media, companies are coming down harder and people are treading lighter than ever before.
This is why it is important to make sure that the sound effects you are using have been obtained legally and with the appropriate licenses. There are many sites out there that offer sound effects legally. Some of these sites are free, others will charge a nominal fee, and still others may create sounds specifically for you that are licensed only to you. It is true that most of the time if you want a really high quality sound effect you will most likely have to pay for it, but the fee is usually small, ranging anywhere from a few cents to a few dollars, and more often that not it is completely worth it!
If you do want something custom built for you, you will probably pay more for it, but this sound will be licensed only to you and your production and will most likely never be available to the general public, unless releasing it was part of your sound effects/Foley creation agreement or if some one steals it and publishes it illegally.
Your best option is to play it safe. Most of the time the sounds you acquire from legitimate sources will be much higher quality anyway and will thus make your production sound much sweeter!
Sound effects are great add-ons to websites and projects. Some might find these sound effects quite a hassle to add, while others think that sound effect are just mere irritants. However, many have overlooked that fact that great sound effects will help to differentiate between the normal, mundane looking websites with the outstanding and spectacular ones. Why let your website become an ‘average Joe’ in the World Wide Web, when you can make it look and feel amazingly different just by using good sound effects?
But of course, not everyone is blessed with a good budget and we all know that websites and projects already require quite a large sum of money to undertake. So, when you are tight for cash, should you still consider adding great sound effects to further enhance your work? The answer is definitely yes, with a big capital Y.
Here is the trick: Most people get their ideas from songs or movies etc and when they are choosing the kind of sound effects that they want, they will usually look for the kind of sound effects that are copyrighted from these songs. But these are copyrighted material after all, so there is no way you can use these songs, unless you are willing to pay for the license. This is definitely not the practical way out.
So, the next step will be to search for any form of FREE downloads. There are plenty of them on the Internet, but the problem as you will soon find out is that these downloads simply sound terrible. Just because they are free, they tend to sound cheap and adding them into your projects will definitely not be a good idea at all.
What you can do however, is to search for royalty free sound effects download. The reason why people love to use royalty free tracks is because these tracks are one in a million. Like a music track? Then download it and it will be yours for use. If you are looking for music sound effects that are somewhat similar to the Batman theme, then you can also find one that is royalty free!
Using royalty free sound effects in your projects would spare you from the fear of being in trouble with the cops. The reason is simply because these tracks can be used over and over and over again over, indefinitely many times! You can even tweak it and make it shorter or loop it to make it sound like a full 3-minute song. As these tracks are royalty free, you as the purchaser will have the right to use it as you wish without any restrictions.
There are also other places for you to download free sound effects such as Limewire or any other P2P (peer-to-peer) networks where music files are shared. But the problem with this is that you will not be able to view the tracks before downloading and you will realize that you will end up with a dozen or more lousy sound effects.
Why waste your time and effort when you can actually have the close-to-real thing easily using royalty free music. And not to mention, you will not need to worry about the quality of these tracks or sound effects, as you will be surprised that some of them are actually composed by experienced music directors and composers.
Royalty free music is cheap and easy to get too. You will be assured of a full 100 percent satisfactory listening pleasure if you use royalty free music.
WO2008070662
An earmuff assembly with a double-shell structure is disclosed for use with a sound-attenuating circumaural headset. The earmuff assembly comprises a cup-shaped outer shell mounted on a resilient outer sealing ring and a cup-shaped inner shell mounted on a resilient inner sealing ring. By means of the two sealing rings the outer and the inner shells are brought into abutment with the head surface around an ear of a wearer. Both shells are structurally rigid. The sound attenuation performance is maximized by isolating the inner shell from the outer shell. The two sealing rings are interconnected through a thin skin layer of soft compliant materials, which acts as a vibration isolating/decoupling means between the outer shell and the inner shell.
WO2008067735
A classing method for sound signal includes: receiving the sound signal, determining updating rate of background noise according to a spectral distribution parameter of a background noise and a spectral distribution parameter of the sound signal; updating the noise parameter according the updating rate, and classing the sound signal according to a sub-band energy parameter and the updated noise parameter. A classing device for sound signal applies above method.
WO2008067719
A sound activity detecting method and sound activity detecting device, the core of the method and device is as follows: when the sound activity needs to be detected, the feature parameters of the current signal frame is extracted, the sound class of the current signal frame is determined according to the feature parameter and the setting parameter threshold value.
US2008127798
Sounds in different frequency range are generated from the rear, top and/or front face of the musical tone apparatus, sounds are generated and spread in all directions around the musical tone apparatus, and the tones sound very realistically acoustic. Vibration of the sound board does not resonate, tones generated from the sound board are not changed unintentionally, and tones of real acoustic musical instruments are realized. Vibration from the sound board is not directly transferred to the whole musical tone apparatus, by means of not allowing the sound board to touch the body of the musical tone apparatus and of pressing and fixing the soundboard to the attachment component with the thickness of the attachment component compressed.
EP1931039
An electronic apparatus (100), to which a portable electronic apparatus (10) is detachably provided, the electronic apparatus including: a sound outputting portion (155) for outputting an audio signal output from the portable electronic apparatus (10) with the portable electronic apparatus attached to the electronic apparatus; a detecting portion (210) for detecting a removal of the portable electronic apparatus (10) from the electronic apparatus (100); and a controller (140) for suppressing an output of the audio signal to the sound outputting portion (155), when it is detected that the portable electronic apparatus (10) is removed.
EP1930875
In order to provide a musical sound generating vehicular apparatus and a program of the same for playing musical sounds based on a status of a vehicle without depending on parameter changes such as volume of the musical sound, a vehicle status detection means (11) which detects a control status of the vehicle, a storage means (13) which stores musical sound data, a musical sound data playback means (3) which plays the musical sound based on the musical sound data stored in the storage means (13), and a control means (1) which determines a playback interval of the musical sound data stored in the storage means (13) based on the control status of the vehicle detected by the vehicle status detection means (11) and controls the musical sound playback means (3) to play the playback interval of the musical sound data are provided.
EP1931140
A television set (1) includes: an internal speaker (108) which outputs sound; a memory (101) which holds information; a remote controller receiver (102) which receives an instruction from the outside of the television set (1); a microcomputer (103) which causes, based on a mode specifying instruction for specifying a sound output mode received by the remote controller receiver (102), the memory (101) to hold any one of (a) information that indicates a first sound output mode in which sound is outputted from the internal speaker (108) and (b) information that indicates a second sound output mode in which sound is outputted from an external speaker that is a speaker outside the television set (1); and an HDMI/CEC communication unit (104) which outputs the information that indicates the sound output mode and that is held by the memory (101), to an amplifier which controls to operate or not operate the speaker outside the television set (1).
Richard Swan is a composer of therapeutic music. His recent works include: . Articles are
flavoured with samples of his original music.
Are you a music lover? Do you want a change in the conventional sound? Do you want to experience the sound coming from every corner of your room? Then you should know about surround sound. Surround sound normally gives you such an effect that you will feel that the sound is coming from every corner of the room, though it is played in front of you.
Surround sound is becoming more and more popular every day. This particular kind of sound is being used mainly in the cinema halls. It gives you a more realistic effect of the film. But apart from cinema halls, it is available for your music system too. How? It’s simple. You can have this effect with the help of a surround sound speakers.
To know more about surround sound, we first need to understand how a surround sound speaker works. The speakers are located in various positions of the room. They receive multiple audio channels. The whole program is located in one source. When the source starts playing, the sound tracks being decoded simultaneously.
Surround sounds have different formats. They are, Dolby Digital, Dolby Surround, Dolby Pro Logic II X, Dolby Digital EX, DTS, Dolby True HD, True Surround XT, and DTS-ES etc. There are a variety of Surround sound speakers.
Front right and front left speakers
These two speakers are most important in the surround sound system. All the major sounds come from these two speakers. For such importance most of the manufacturing companies keep an eye on these two speakers especially. They always try to make it powerful and high quality. These speakers are very much used in CD players, home theatres etc.
Center channel speaker
It is a small size speaker. It is normally placed below or above the TV set. It delivers the dialogues of the TV or cinema. It makes the dialogues clear. This speaker is shielded magnetically. So they are not able to harm the TV set. Normally the mid range frequencies are being handled by this speaker.
Rear channel speaker
This speaker is placed according to the seating arrangement of the listener. The speaker models also define the placement arrangement of this speaker. For instance, in a 5.1 surround sound set up, there are two such speakers and they are placed right behind the listeners. Four speakers are allotted for the 6.1 version. Here, two speakers are placed behind the head of the listener and two on either side of the listener.
Subwoofer
Subwoofer is a very important part of surround sound speaker. The subwoofer produces extremely low frequencies. It will be a great help for you, when you are watching an action movie or listening to a music that consists a lot of percussion. It also produces deep bass. Subwoofer is omni directional and so it can be kept anywhere in the room. It is very essential for a home theatre.
Surround sound speaker have lots of benefits. Listening to music or viewing a cinema becomes very delicious because of this kind of speaker. It makes the movie and music more realistic. In short, this speaker is actually giving a new dimension to the new age sound.
Music is something that knows no discrimination. It is enjoyed by almost everyone in this world. It is in fact very rare to find someone who does not love music. From time immemorial human beings have been engaged in creating music through a variety of instruments. With the passage of time and the advancement of science and technology, people are now not only creating music with the help of instruments but also enhancing the sound quality through sound controlling music gear.
There are several types of music gear available that help in improving the sound quality of an instrument. These equipment are in high demand amongst the musicians and performers worldwide as they make the audience experience superb music.
The most popular sound controlling music gear are amplifiers, microphones, hi-fi mixers, graphic equalizers, and speakers, to name a few. These equipment have different functions with different technologies and are needed in different situations and for different purposes.
An audio amplifier, for example, is a gear meant to increase low power audio signals to a point appropriate for driving loudspeakers and is the ultimate stage in a characteristic audio playback chain. In the collection of amplifiers, mention may be made of valve audio amplifier, audiophile, single-ended triode, tone control circuits, etc.
A microphone, also referred to as the mike or mic, is an acoustic or electric transducer or sensor that converts sound into an electrical signal. Generally in the case of vocal rendition, the vocal sound is converted into electric signal by a microphone. The microphone has become a part of the entire sound system.
A loudspeaker, or simply a speaker, consists of an electromechanical transducer that changes an electrical signal into sound. The term loudspeaker can refer to individual devices, and complete systems consisting of an enclosure incorporating one or more drivers and additional electronics. Loudspeakers are the most variable elements in any audio system, and are responsible for marked audible differences between otherwise identical sound systems.
A mixer is a type of electronic equipment used for combining or mixing, routing and changing the level, tonality and the dynamics of audio signals. There are generally two types of mixers, the analog and the digital.
Another sound controlling music gear often in demand is the tone control circuit. It is an electronic circuit that helps in adjusting an audio signal before it is fed to speakers, headphones or recording devices by way of an amplifier. Often referred to as filters, these circuits help to elevate or assuage the high and low frequencies of the signal.
Multi channel audio is yet another example of a sound controlling music gear that utilizes the techniques for expanding and enriching the sound of audio playback by recording additional sound channels to reproduce the enhanced sound on additional speakers. Popularly known as the surround sound technology, it is the multi channel technology applied to channels surrounding the audience to give them a real life feel.
There are also many other types of equipment that are used to improve the sound quality of musical performances. These sound controlling music gear come in various names and with a range of functions and techniques. Several brands of such gadgets are available in the market as music companies are constantly trying to improve upon their technological and qualitative aspects, offering musicians, performers, and the audience an unprecedented experience of sound quality.
