AudioScope
Can noise save a quiet note?
Start at a comfortable volume. Listen for a quiet note underneath the hiss in B.
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Why does the note return?
In A, each sample of the quiet tone rounds to zero. In B, we add a small amount of random noise before rounding. More samples cross the rounding threshold when the original wave is higher or lower, so the pattern of those changes carries the tone alongside the hiss.
This four-bit model exaggerates the effect so it is easy to hear. The same playback gain is applied to both passes.
Read the listening sequence
- 0:00 — A. Intentional silence.
- 0:02.1 — B. A 440 Hz tone with hiss.
- 0:04.2 — A. Intentional silence.
- 0:06.3 — B. The tone with hiss again.