Skeptics Stack Exchange
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Questions tagged [sound]

A mechanical wave that is an oscillation of pressure transmitted through a solid, liquid, or gas, composed of frequencies within the range of hearing and of a level sufficiently strong to be heard, or the sensation stimulated in organs of hearing by such vibrations.

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Do expensive, "premium" speaker cables make a difference?

I was tempted to go drop $8500 on these awesome speaker cables so I could be like Whiplash (see customer pictures), but I'm curious, if I use them for my audio system, will they actually make a perceptible difference over some low gauge copper…
Nick T
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Are there any perceptible differences between the sound quality of 192 versus 320 kbps MP3 files?

I have friends that are very picky when it comes to MP3 bitrate, and will always look for the 320 kbps version of a file. However, I have never noticed any differences, they sound the same to me. I remember reading somewhere, can't remember where,…
Mihai Rotaru
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Is the world record for staying in an anechoic chamber an hour or less?

There is an anechoic chamber in Minneapolis, supposedly the "quietest place on earth", with isolated walls that absorb 99.99% of all echoes. It is claimed that the world record for staying in this room is 45 minutes (one source claims 60 minutes). I…
HugoRune
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Does a -9 dB room cause hallucinations?

Does being in an anechoic chamber cause hallucinations? According to several blogs (that likely copy each other), it does. The Orfield Laboratory in Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States is reported to be the quietest room in the world…
gerrit
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Is the sound from records (vinyl) superior to digital formats (CDs, music files, etc.)?

Quasi-related Are there any perceptible differences between the sound quality of 192 versus 320 kbps MP3 files? Do expensive, “premium” speaker cables actually make a difference? I've heard this here and there in various casual conversations…
Hendy
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Did 528 Hz sound broadcasts help clean polluted water in the Gulf of Mexico?

Attuned Vibrations is a vendor with articles making numerous claims about the benefits of certain audio frequencies. On the 528 Hz – The Love Frequency page, they claim that 528 Hz sound helped clean oil from the Gulf of Mexico. In 2010, John…
user1605665
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Do trackers hold their ears to the ground?

There is a trope (in movies and cartoons and elsewhere) of Native American (or other) trackers are sometimes depicted as listening to the ground to presumably hear far away horses or other animals moving. Examples: TV Tropes: Scarily Competent…
User
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Do car alarms provide a significant reduction in automobile theft?

Noise That movie got me thinking, because it makes a number of claims about car alarms that jive with my personal feelings about them. They're noisy, obnoxious, tend to go off at night, and are almost universally ignored by passersby, people in…
John Rhoades
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Do falling bombs make whistling sounds?

I grew up watching movies that depict the sound of a bomb dropping overhead like this: Feeeeeeeeewwwwwwwwwww Is that for real? I have never heard a bomb dropping over my head. Just curious how it would sound in real life.
Question Overflow
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Can a 7-Hz tone kill chickens via resonance?

In the Sound function section of the Turbo C Version 2.0 Reference Guide 1988, I found the following comment. Emits a 7-Hz tone for 10 seconds. True story: 7 Hz is the resonant frequency of a chicken's skull cavity. This was determined empirically…
duongntbk
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Is 432Hz sound frequency more "natural" or beneficial to human body than 440Hz?

I have been reading about tuning musical instruments to A=432 frequency instead of recently (meaning in the last century) arbitrarily defined standard of tuning to A=440Hz. Supposedly the 432Hz frequency and its derivative tones have been…
Aambro
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Do active-noise cancelling headphones produce ear fatigue?

lstnsound writes in Why noise-cancellation isn't all its cracked up to be: Neat, right? Well....not exactly. Unfortunately, this technology comes with its fair share of flaws. The opposing sound waves generated by active noise cancellation…
Christian
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Do AVS/Psychowalkman/Mind Machine devices work?

There are plenty of so called Audio-Visual-Stimulation (AVS) tools you can buy on the market (used to be called Psychowalkman). They usually claim that it can stimulate brain with sound/visualization to increase mental abilities such as ability to…
user35854
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Is there any scientific explanation for this trumpet noise from the atmosphere?

According to this Daily Mail article, there have been recordings of trumpet like noises from the atmosphere. However, nobody knows the cause of it. However, as it is from the Daily Mail, I am taking it with a pinch of salt, as usually their articles…
George
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Is there a Taos hum?

I have been dipping in and out of this one over the years.... Seems the hum was first brought to public attention in 1992 by Taos residents who claimed they'd been hearing it for more than a year. Nine of 12 locals contacted by the paper said…
Monkey Tuesday
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