Sound

These days, you can’t go more than a few hours without encountering some gadget with a human-sounding voice. The Science Elf provides a concise look at the history of machine-made speech, from early mechanical devices through modern voice assistants like Siri and Alexa.

Artblox can take the waveform from a musical passage, words, or any other short sound, and etch it onto a block of clear acrylic. They can be personalized with your choice of color scheme, and an optional QR code which lets you play back the recorded sound via a mobile device.

In a just barely Halloween-themed episode, musical expert 12tone walks us through the complexities of distortion, and what it is about such sounds that make them more creepy and off-putting than others – sort of like the way he draws from right to left across the page.

Musician Steve “SamuraiGuitarist” Onotera presents a hyperbolic short film about an itch he’s been wanting to scratch – stringing together all 37 of his stomp boxes, to hear what it sounds like when he routes his guitar through them all. That Miku stomp box is hilarious.

During most of his concerts, musician Rob Scallon performs Rain, a tune that relies heavily on a delay effect pedal. But he recently decided to see if he could replicate the sound through a combination of room acoustics and enlisting the help of two other guitar players.

This electromechanical sound maker uses moving turntable arms to select and play grooves carved into an enormous cylinder. The positions of the arms and sounds played correspond to the positions of 27,000 pieces of space junk drifting about over our heads.

Do you fart $100 bills and dig slow jams? Grab the BeoLab 50 Speakers ASAP, then. The deluxe speaker delivers 2100w via seven drivers and seven 300w amps, and Active Room Compensation measures room acoustics and creates custom filters for it. (Thanks Todd!)

Like all Bose SoundLink speakers, the Micro is exceptionally loud and clear for its size. It also has a flexible strap and a durable silicone rubber case. It’s water-resistant up to 3.3ft and lasts up to 6h per charge. The biggest downside? No 3.5mm input.

Dr. T ASMR sends a pleasant tingle down our spines as he opens up a LEGO Star Wars kit and makes as many crinkly, crunchy, tappy, and whispery noises as possible. As with all ASMR videos, it’s best enjoyed with headphones on.

Film Radar explores how effective sound design, sound editing, foley work, and sound effects serve to elevate scenes to a level of intensity and immersion that even the best visuals alone could never achieve on their own.

Not only is this rugged Bluetooth speaker portable and water resistant, its docking station at home adds a subwoofer and a 15-watt amp for lots of extra bass boom. The speaker also has 2GB of built-in storage if you want to save tunes to it. Save 81% in The Awesomer Shop.

You’ll want to put your headphones on and go full-screen to get the most out of Stereokroma’s hypnotic video, featuring super crisp macro photography of frozen fruits and veggies being thawed, accompanied by appropriate, if not exactly realistic ASMR sound effects.

Pyle just took wraps off what could the baddest Bluetooth speaker ever. This beast blasts out an impressive 1,000 watts of power to turn any space into an instant dance party. Supports NFC pairing, and has an FM tuner and 3.5mm input. Plays for up to 5.5h on battery power.

You’ll want to put your headphones on for this one. Car fanatic 19Bozzy92 decided to record his latest video with a 3D binaural microphone. The resulting audio is the next best thing to standing trackside as these amazing Ferrari F1 cars zip around the circuit at Mugello.

Place the Sounddeck under your big screen, and connect a single cable for instant theater quality sound. Six full-range drivers, two subs, and a 280w Class-D amp push out impressive volume and expansive acoustic imaging. Also supports wireless music streaming.

German-engineered audiophile grade bookshelf speakers that deliver big, warm sound, a wide soundstage, and wireless streaming, supporting iOS, Android, and PC music libraries, Internet radio, Spotify, Soundcloud, Last.fm, Rhapsody, and TIDAL. Multi-room capable too.

Stereokroma’s macro video of incense slowly burning uses a combination of sounds to create the ASMR effect, which produces a “distinct, pleasurable tingling sensation in the head, scalp, back, or peripheral regions of the body.” Best enjoyed with headphones.

(Gore) Editor Jacob T. Swinney compiled this short series of scenes from Quentin Tarantino’s films in which sound effects sit front and center, demonstrating how effective and important the use of good audio is to complement visuals.

We’re used to optical illusions, but sounds can play tricks on us too. The Pulse on WHYY demonstrates how we make sense of gibberish by providing our brains with context. Part of the Your Brain exhibit at Philly’s Franklin Institute.

Headphones on, folks. By using radio data collected from a satellite, then transposing and filtering the inaudible signals, Andrew Williams extracted sounds which make us feel like we’re deep in the rainforest, not in the silence of space.

Gearheads, are you having a bad day? Just hit play and crank the speakers for two minutes of some of the most glorious noise you’ll ever hear, recorded from inside Maximilian Werner’s Ferrari 250 SWB GT Breadvan rounding Nürburgring.

A short film by Gioacchino Petronicce for Pix’n Love Editions which harnesses the power of sound to communicate some of life’s little game-enders. Crank up your speakers or headphones for this one.

Orfield Labs has an anechoic chamber that absorbs 99.9% of sound but becomes unbearable after just 45 minutes. Apparently having no external noise to reference causes your mind to hallucinate.

Like its big brother, the HD 700’s open ear cups flaunt its 40 mm Duofol transducers, mounted on steel gauze and angled for natural sound. A comfy headband and ear cushions round out the package.

When we go to the cleaners, we’re too busy making sure they didn’t forget any of our shirts to notice anything else. But when Diego Stocco stops in, all he sees are a bunch of musical instruments.

While Transformers: Dark of the Moon won’t be winning any Oscars for its plot, you still have to admire the work of the guys who create the cacophonous sounds throughout the film.

We’ve heard our share of beatboxing, but Kenny Muhammad has a uncanny talent. This guy manages to make the sound of an entire drum kit – even multiple instruments at the same time.

Liked the looks of TDK’s retro-mod boombox? Their Sound Cube is equally cool, with dual 5-1/4″ coax drivers and two passive reflectors on the sides, filling rooms with sound from the inside out.

Designed to capture moments from motivational words to “I Love Yous” to a baby’s first words, VoicePrints allows anyone to turn their unique voice into a custom, one of a kind work of art.

You’d think that modern movies would just use digital effects to create sounds, but there’s still a need for the professional Foley artist, who crafts noises with just their body, props, and mouth.