Noise
Brown noise
A deep, steady rumble, with most of its energy in the low frequencies.
Brown noise, also called Brownian or red noise, is random noise whose power falls by about 6 decibels each time the frequency doubles, so most of what you hear is low: a steady rumble rather than a hiss. In Background Noises it is one of four noise colors under Noise. On Premium it plays for up to 12 hours; the free plan plays a 60-second sample.
Synthesized by eleMusic. How the sound is made.
What does brown noise sound like?
People compare it to a waterfall heard from a distance, wind pressing on a window, or the hum inside an airplane cabin. There is no rhythm, no melody and nothing that starts or stops, so the ear has nothing to follow. Next to white noise it sounds darker and rounder, because the treble that makes white noise hiss is far quieter here.
Why is it called brown?
Not after the color. The name comes from Brownian motion, the random drift of tiny particles that the botanist Robert Brown described. A signal that wanders the same way, each moment a small random step from the one before, has exactly this spectrum.
Brown, pink, white or grey?
Brown is the deepest of the four noise colors, below pink and white, and noise colors compared sets all four side by side, with a quick way to choose.
How do I play brown noise in Background Noises?
Tap Brown Noise
In the web player or the app, it is under Noise. It plays at once.
Set the sleep timer, if you like
It stops the noise after 15, 30 or 45 minutes, or 1, 1.5, 2, 4 or 8 hours. Without it, brown noise plays on Premium for up to 12 hours.
Does brown noise sound different on a phone speaker?
Yes. A phone's small speaker reproduces little of the deepest bass, so brown noise sounds thinner there than on headphones or a larger speaker. Turning it up does not bring that bass back; it only makes the rest louder. A small bedside or desk speaker usually keeps more of the low end.
How loud should it be?
Quieter than you might expect. Set it just loud enough to cover the sounds you want covered, and lower still with headphones. If you have to raise your voice to talk over it, it is too loud.
Read on: brown noise at night, sounds for sleep and background noise and ADHD.
Press play.
The Free plan plays a 60-second sample of everything. Premium plays the eight music and four nature stations, the noise colors and the tones for hours.
