Please read this before listening to our online noise data graphs
Disclaimer regarding the online listening experience
Before playing the online noise data graphs, it is vitally important that you understand while listening to the audio that you are hearing an example of the character of the noise and not an exact replication of the noise recorded. This is because of the following reasons:
- The audio was recorded with a sound level meter in a single channel (mono), a real world experience would have inherent directionality (binaural stereo).
- The character of the reproduced audio will be changed depending upon the quality of your audio system (e.g. sound-card, amplifier, speakers) and the environment that you are in.
- It is not easy to ensure the output loudness is set to the correct decibel level without expensive equipment.
- You should make yourself aware of other sources of noise around you, such as from your computer. These recordings were often made in quiet rural areas, sometimes at night, and it is essential that they are listened to in a quiet environment.
Playback through speakers will give you more of the sense of listening to the noise in the real world however if you have computer noise, are not in a quiet environment or do not have high quality speakers then it is best to use headphones.
Playback through headphones may reduce noise from your surroundings and give you more of the lower frequencies but it can sound unnatural as playing a mono signal directly into both ears loses the sense of direction and space.
For these reasons, the best way to accurately hear the recordings is with the Listening Room Experience.
Nevertheless, the audio will give you an idea of the noise character. There are often some other sounds on the tracks, such as a car passing by, which will help place them in perspective.
It is advisable to give your ears time to adjust to the sound. For short clips it might be worthwhile to play them through a few times. The perception of sound level adjusts to its environment so if you have come from a noisy environment you may find that your experience changes as your hearing (or more precisely your perception of sound) adjusts.
Look for this symbol for webgraph playback