The colors of noise

How to set it up

1. Use headphones or a decent speaker. A phone speaker cannot play the lowest notes, so brown and black noise will sound thin.
2. Play White first, then Pink, then Brown. Each step moves energy from the highs to the lows.
3. Play Blue and Violet to hear the other direction: thinner and brighter.
4. In the studio, the color buttons only reshape the noise bed. You can start from any color and move the ten equalizer sliders to make your own.

Why noise has colors

The names borrow from light. White light contains all visible colors, so noise with equal energy at every frequency is called white. Light weighted toward low frequencies looks pink or red, so noise weighted toward low pitches is called pink. Brown noise is named after Robert Brown and Brownian motion, not the color, though the name fits its dark sound.

Each color in one line

White: equal energy at every frequency, a bright hiss. Pink: equal energy in each octave, softer, like steady rain. Brown: even more weight in the lows, a deep rumble like a waterfall far away. Grey: shaped so it sounds equally loud at every pitch to human ears. Green: the middle of the range, a soft natural wash. Black: almost only rumble, or silence, depending on who you ask. Blue: more highs, thin and airy. Violet: the brightest, a fine high hiss.

Which noise color is best?

For sleep, most people end up with brown or pink. For covering voices, pink or a speech-shaped curve. For tinnitus, a curve that matches your ringing. White noise covers the most but is the hardest to listen to for a long time.

Questions