SoundCurtain app for iPhone and iPad

4.0 ( 8960 ratings )

Business Productivity
Developer: Andreas Raptopoulos

4.99 USD

Current version: 1.5, last update: 7 years ago
First release : 26 Mar 2009
App size: 41.05 Mb

"Best App for Creating Quiet Workspaces"
- Forbes.com, 10 Top iPhone Apps For Road Warriors

"Best App for Shutting Out Noise"
- OReilly, Best iPhone Apps

"Struggling to complete a project, but distracted and distressed by noise? SoundCurtain may be just the tool you need to banish distracting noise while focusing on the task at hand."
- MacWorld

Do you ever find it difficult working with background noise? You find listening to music interferes with your concentration?

SoundCurtain is a unique application that masks distracting noise by automatically adapting its volume, pitch and tone in response to the noise around you.

Comes with seven generative tracks - featuring intelligent, self-adjusting white noise and harmonic sounds that listen and react to your environment.

SoundCurtain requires a wired headset (not compatible with bluetooth).

Powered by FutureAcoustic a3.

REVIEWS

- Forbes: http://bit.ly/soundcurtain7
- Tech Digest: http://bit.ly/soundcurtain6
- Gizmodo: http://bit.ly/soundcurtain5
- Macworld: http://bit.ly/soundcurtain4
- T3 podcast: http://bit.ly/soundcurtain3
- Pocket-lint: http://bit.ly/soundcurtain2
- iphonic: http://bit.ly/soundcurtain1

SOUNDCURTAIN TECHNOLOGY

SoundCurtain is a new concept in sound control using "adaptive masking technology". It works better than Active Noise Cancellation or traditional (steady-state) masking for blocking-out fast-changing, information-rich noise, such as speech.

The app monitors noise in your environment through your headphones or device mic and performs real-time spectral analysis to calculate the energy content across a number of perceptually-important frequency bands. Sound is then generated in response, with its spectral content optimized to mask ambient noise. The sound is generated using probabilistic rules to ensure that it is varied subtly over time, so that it doesnt become tiring.

You are able to customize the generated sound by changing its Sensitivity, which sets how quickly it adapts to sensed noise; its Minimum Volume, which sets the minimum playback level; and the overall volume through the side buttons of you iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch.

SoundCurtain ships with a set of sounds which are optimized for masking, while (critically) staying in the background of your perception - allowing you to concentrate or relax.

The Noise masker is scientifically the most accurate masker that exists in any platform or device today. To test it, use the standard iPhone headset and set the headset volume to maximum; set Sensitivity to maximum and Minimum Volume to the minimum setting; ask someone to talk to you - you should not be able to understand them. The generated sound should match exactly the spectrum of the sensed speech, without any discernible delay.

The other presets use more emotive sounds and pleasant harmonics - they aim at increasing acoustic comfort in a noisy environment by partial masking, transforming noise into sound you control.

To learn more about the technology, visit www.futureacoustic.com

Pros and cons of SoundCurtain app for iPhone and iPad

SoundCurtain app good for

This app does exactly what it claims to, providing an amazing curtain of sound which masks the outside world. This is not a noise cancelation app and you can still be aware off a few outside noises when on quiet but it manages to blend the noises seamlessly into the background well. Ive been using this app for commutes or when I want to block everything out and have also found out its really useful for sleeping in noisy environments. I should point out I use quite good earphones not the standard white iPhone ones so I dont know what difference that makes, but for me it works brilliantly.

Astounding app for iPhone, perfect for our times. Hope you guys develop more apps (and mask sounds)

Amazing coverage for the titled "sound curtain." the usage of this is fantastic with blocking out unwanted noise and the interface is easy and simple. great buy!!

Hi, I just wanted to let you know that this app is fantastic!!! The only thing I would like to see added would be the ability to record and export/email the recordings to my pc so I can burn them to CD. The audio is really quite beautiful ;) Thanks for this, again its great!!! Keep up the good work, Morry

I come from BC and missed falling asleep to the sound of rain on the coast. This is the perfect thing for me although it doesnt do much other than play soothing sounds (doesnt actually cancel noise)

Please add support for pause button on headset, so there is no need to put iPhone out of pocket each time, when you need to hear something.

Some bad moments

It basically does nothing. Cost 5 euros plays zero sound. I want a refund. 1 star was generous I could not give 0

Unfortunately, it simply does not work. Its nothing but a continuous noise that change its volume according to the environment. Your iPod can do the same, in a more interesting way.

I bought SoundCurtain to achieve noise cancelling similar to what I know from my Bose headset. Listen to environment noise and cancel it out with white noise. SoundCurtain does not appear to do any of that. I get some ambient sounds like waves or rain and some pretty red lights. That.s it. No noise cancelling at all. Just some pretty noises to overlay on top of the ambient noise. What the heck? I feel completely misled by the description and advertising.

Hmm... When I first saw this app, I was intrigued by the promise of noise cancellation technology brought to the iPhone by software. Two weeks later, however, I cant say that Ive had a single gratifying experience with the app - not using the bundled Apple headphones on my iPhone 3G, and not using my Vibe Duos. While the app does mask sound, it doesnt seem to do it dynamically in a way that makes any real difference during my subway commute, my wait at the bustling carpool station, or my evenings with a book trying to drown out the neighbours. Very disappointing - and, it pains me to say, possibly iSnakeOil 1.0.

This dosnt even work for me, getting "error loading sound". Just wasted 4$..

Very simple conclusion: The description of the product does not match at all the results!

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