The listening reference Glossary
Sleep sound glossary
Plain-language definitions for binaural audio, soundscapes, colored noise, and playback controls.
- Binaural audio
- A two-channel recording made to preserve cues between the ears. Stereo headphones usually give the intended sense of position.
- Soundscape
- The sounds you hear together in a place or scene. An app may let you move around a scene or adjust its layers.
- White, pink, and brown noise
- Steady noise profiles with different balances across frequencies. Pink and brown noise generally sound lower and less bright than white noise.
- Sound masking
- Using a background sound to make another sound less noticeable. How well it works depends on the sounds, levels, and listening conditions.
- Fade-out
- A gradual reduction in volume. The guide’s samples fade at both ends, and some apps let you adjust a timer’s fade-out.
- Audio loop
- An audio segment played repeatedly. A seamless loop avoids an obvious cut where playback returns to the beginning.