Encountering Ambient Noise: Noisley Vs. White Noise Vs. Rain and Rain
Ambient noise apps drown out distractions so you can focus on work or create a serene, peaceful environment that encourages you to fall asleep. But with dozens you can download, it’s hard to tell which one is better. Noisli , White Noise, and Rain Rain are all at the top of this game, so it’s time to increase them to 11 and see which one creates an atmosphere that you can practically breathe in.
Applicants
As simple as the concept of an ambient noise application may seem, no two things are the same. Of course, they all reproduce sounds, but what they play and how they work, to distinguish good from bad. Let’s take a closer look at our three big competitors and see what each of them has to offer:
- Noisli : The Noisli app has 16 different sound loops, and any sounds can be mixed together or adjusted to your liking. You can save your favorite sound combinations, it has a built-in timer, and the web app has a simple text editor that won’t distract you. There is also a color-changing background to help you be productive or relaxed. Noisli is available for iOS ($ 1.99) , Android ($ 1.99) , and as a free Chrome plug-in or web app .
- White Noise : White Noise is available in three flavors: Free, Full, and Professional. The free version has in-app ads and boasts a whopping 40 mixable sound loops as well as alarm sounds, the full version ($ 1.99) has no ads and no more alarm sounds, and the pro version ($ 2.99) has an extra 50 high quality sounds. loops and allows you to adjust the volume and pitch when mixing sounds. You can save your favorite mixes, set timers for your sounds, and download more loops for free from a separate app store . The full and professional versions of the White Noise app also let you play ambient sounds in the background while you use other apps on your device. The free version is available for iOS , Android , Mac , Windows , Chrome, and Kindle Fire . The full version is available on iOS , Android and Kindle Fire . And the professional version is available on iOS , Android and Mac .
- Rain Rain : The Rain Rain app has 26 listening loops and there are several additional sound packs available for purchase. Similar to Noisli and White Noise, you can mix loops together to create your own saved mixes. You can also set a sleep timer for your sounds, and it has a sound response feature that changes the background color to help you relax. Rain Rain is available for free on iOS , Android, and Kindle Fire devices. The web app is currently not available, and additional sound packs range from $ 0.99 to $ 2.99 (original 26 cycles are free).
There are many other decent ambient noise apps like A Soft Murmur , Coffitivity, and SimplyNoise , but these three apps were the most recommended by readers and seem to be the most comparable in terms of price, sounds available, and settings. …
Rain Rain brings quality sound, but white noise brings variety
Many people, myself included, like specific sounds for certain scenarios. For example, I like the sound of birds, rain, or the beach when I try to be productive, and I prefer the sounds of frogs, crickets, and trains when I want to sleep. For this reason, it is important to know which audio loops each application provides and if those audio loops are really good.
Noysley’s 16 sound loops include :
Rain, Thunderstorm, Wind, Forest (birds chirping), Leaves (rustling), Water stream, Primorsky (roaring waves), Water (like on a lake dock), Bonfire, Summer night (crickets), Fan (oscillating), Train ( tracks don’t whistle), Coffee Shop, White Noise, Pink Noise and Brown Noise.
With Noysley, you get what you see. No additions or updates. In terms of sound quality, Noisli falls somewhere between White Noise and Rain Rain. Its loops are not as crisp as Rain Rain’s (or just as long), but they sound better than the White Noise loops in the free and full versions. Of course, Noisli also lacks the huge variety that White Noise has, so here it is (the lack of a good frog croak loop is especially disappointing to me). Rain Rain and White Noise also offer different versions of each sound genre. Whereas with Noisli, if you don’t like its only version of rain, well, very bad.
The 40 main White Noise sound loops include :
Air conditioning, Airplane travel (low hum), Amazon jungle, Beach waves, Blue noise, Boat rocking, Brown noise, Car rain (inside the car), Passing cars, Cats purring, Bells, City streets, Clock, Clothes dryer, Chirping Crickets, Crowd, Heavy rain, Fan, Fire, Frogs, Hairdryer, Heavy rain, Heartbeat, Light rain, Ocean waves, Pink noise, Storm rain, Shower, Sprinkler, Hand water, Tibetan singing bowl, Thunder, Train ride, Vacuum , purple noise, washing machine, running water, a drop of water, white noise and the wind is blowing.
The professional version of the app also offers an additional 50 high quality loops, and there are almost 1000 more to download on their market . As you can see, White Noise definitely has the Noisli and Rain Rain beat when it comes to the amount of noise available, but some are a little curious. I don’t know who wants to listen to a hair dryer, vacuum cleaner, or heartbeat (horror movies and movies ruined me), but they are there if you want to. Plus, the audio quality in the free and full versions ($ 1.99) is the same, and not all that impressive.
26 Free Rain Sound Loops Include :
Rain Rain Original, Rain Rain 3D (surround sound), Ocean waves, Thunderstorm, Crackling fire, Thunderstorm cracks, City rain, Rain on a tent, Forest rain, Heavy rain, Summer rain, Rain dripping, Seagulls in the harbor, Windy storm, Slow Stream , Outdoor Fountain, Ocean Pier, Seagulls Above the Ocean, Desert Wind, Blizzard Wind, Airliner, Train, Car in the Rain, Dishwasher, Clothes Dryer, Washing Machine and Ticking Alarm Clock.
Also available for purchase are five sound packs: Wind Chimes (four sounds for $ 0.99), Sounds of Summer (eight sounds for $ 1.99), Weather Sounds (six sounds for $ 1.99), Sounds of Nature (seven sounds for $ 1.99) and Memories of House (11 sounds for $ 2.99). Most Rain Rain loops are rain or water oriented (see illustration), but they sound great. It’s also nice to have a ton of variety on the popular rain sounds theme. Forest Rain sounds very different from City Rain, Summer Rain or Heavy Rain. And Desert Wind even sounds different from Blizzard Wind. The only free animal sounds are seagulls, which is a little disappointing, but there are more options in the nature sounds pack if you need them.
It should be noted that none of these apps require data to be used to play the loop other than Rain Rain, and this is only on the first play. The sound is then saved to your device. However, you don’t need to worry about them taking up too much space on your device. All sounds are loops, so you end up with pretty small audio files.
Noysley brings extra services and white noise requires you to pay
At the most basic level, all three applications do the same thing. But Noisli, White Noise and Rain Rain have their own characteristics that make them stand out. All three apps reproduce ambient sounds, but Noisley also adds a timer ( like the Pomodoro technique ), a distraction-free text editor andchromotherapy features to the mix. The timer and text editor are as simple as you can imagine, but they give the application some functionality that goes beyond the “sound machine”. For example, I could run rain and thunder, change the background to red to stimulate productivity, set a timer for a short work interval, and write something that I can save in the application and later move to another location.
If you want to listen to multiple sounds at the same time, all three apps let you create your own mixes and save them for future reference. White noise, however, is a little shackled in this regard. In the free and full versions of the White Noise app, the not-so-pleasant sound gets a little muddy when you mix loops together. And while it would be helpful if you could adjust the volume for individual loops, none of these versions allow. The pro version ($ 2.99) lets you control the volume (and pitch) of each loop, but you pay extra money for what I think should be included in at least the full version. When it comes to creating your own mixes for Rain Rain and Noisli, they have white noise (and Rain Rain does it all for free).
Update : We incorrectly stated that the free version of the White Noise app does not allow you to adjust the volume of individual sounds in your mixes. In fact, you can adjust volume, balance, pitch, position, dispersion, and speed if you dive deep enough into the menus. Go to Manage Sounds> select or create your mix> tap the information symbol (the “i” with a circle around it)> Edit Mix. However, the DJ-like Mix Pad is only available in the Pro version of the app. Small changes have been made to this part to reflect this.
Noisley is more than atmosphere, white noise has the best variety and rain please don’t go away
When it comes to design, Noysley is the best apple. The interface is sleek, easy to use, and the multicolored chromotherapy backgrounds make it the best choice when you’re in the browser or want to quickly chill out on your phone. It doesn’t have as many loops as the other two, but the loops it does sound fantastic. And fewer Noisli loops, represented by clean icons instead of stock photos, allows the app to focus and makes room for other cool features. Do you want to relax or do some work? Ok, here are your favorite sounds and colors. Need a timer? Great, that’s all. Oh, are you writing? Let me remove the distractions. In general, Noysley feels like a helper, not just a soundboard.
White noise, without a doubt, gives you the greatest variety of sounds. If you choose the pro version for $ 2.99, you get over 100 loops and alarms. You will probably need more ambient sounds someday and you can download them for free from their marketplace app. But if you’re looking for more confusing sounds to work or fall asleep, White Noise is the way to go. And the fact that you can record and use your own sounds is pretty sweet. The built-in sleep timer and alarm functions are also helpful, making it the best choice for anyone strictly looking for a sleep machine. However, the free version isn’t perfect. It offers more loops than buying a Noisli or Rain Rain pre-sound pack, but the main sounds are not as clean and some of the loops are very short and repeat quickly.
Rain Rain was the biggest surprise and it offers the most bang for your buck. Without paying a dime, you get 25 great-sounding loops (and they’re pretty long), individual loop volume control in mixes, a sleep timer, saved custom mixes, color-changing backlights (although not as good as Noysley’s), and background playback. so you can listen using other apps on your device. However, Rain Rain does not have a web app, so it is only available on your portable devices. And sound packs are quite expensive compared to other apps that take a more comprehensive approach. However, if you want weather sounds, Rain Rain is the way to go. Actually I’m a Noisley fan, but I actually found myself listening to Rain Rain as much as I wrote this.
Update : this piece has been changed. See above.