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I'm listening to this right now [1] and (for those of you who don't have a chance to hear it right now) it definitely isn't what I would call a "hum"... that's

I'm listening to this right now [1] and (for those of you who don't have a chance to hear it right now) it definitely isn't what I would call a "hum"... that's way too gentle and not bass enough to describe this sound. I'd call it more like low-frequency rumbling (though that's probably not a perfect word for it either). [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPDILKQjJW8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPDILKQjJW8

blfr 9y ago
It's actually a not unpleasant brown noise-like sound. At least that's how it comes out of my hifi. Over bluetooth and after YouTube compression so perhaps high fidelity isn't the right term.
- throwaway613834 9y ago
  I'm not sure... for me the unfiltered version was annoying but bearable for a bit... but I could see getting driven mad by it after a while. The filtered version was so bad that it almost made me wonder if I'm going to damage my ears, so I stopped listening to it halfway. I was using decent BT headphones so I'm not sure if that makes any difference... it may depend on how decent your speakers are at playing 30-40 Hz. (Side note: Does BT audio do some kind of lossy compression? Why is it relevant that you mentioned it here?)
  - blfr 9y ago
    Exactly, BT audio uses lossy compression. There are several codecs available but I'm on Linux and the receiver is pretty old so it's probably the weakest of them: SBC. The filtered sound is pretty bad, yes, dread inducing.
    - throwaway613834 9y ago
      Thanks! I had no idea.
      - throwaway613834 9y ago
        Update: For what it's worth, I just tried it with wired headphones (again, a decent pair) and they don't sound different as far as I can tell, so BT compression doesn't seem to be having any observable effects.
  - tzahola 9y ago
    “Does BT audio do some kind of lossy compression?” Yes. Bluetooth audio is never lossless. Proprietary Bluetooth codecs like Sony LPAC or Qualcomm AptX come close to being lossless, but they’re still lossy.
  - Arn_Thor 9y ago
    Listened to the recording (via Bluetooth) on headphones known for their good reproduction of low hertz sound, and the original recording was downright uncomfortable for even a few seconds
- kortex 9y ago
  I'm wearing over-ear monitors and the rumble is very slightly unsettling in an uncanny way. And that's with all the highpass of the recording. Real life has all that sub 20 Hz that most mics can't pick up. I can see how this could easily drive someone bonkers
ryanmarsh 9y ago
So today I learned I’m sensitive to sounds like this. I’ve been hearing stuff like this my whole life when nobody else could. Sometimes I get high pitched noise too. I just thought it was me. I never have quiet. Even in a hearing test with the headphones on I can hear a loud brown noise. My wife and mom say I have hearing damage but I don’t do terrible on hearing tests. I don’t do great either they just always act like it’s nothing so I don’t know what to think.
incompatible 9y ago
I don't know how good my headphones are, but the crickets are more annoying than the hum.

blfr 9y ago

It's actually a not unpleasant brown noise-like sound. At least that's how it comes out of my hifi. Over bluetooth and after YouTube compression so perhaps high fidelity isn't the right term.

throwaway613834 9y ago
I'm not sure... for me the unfiltered version was annoying but bearable for a bit... but I could see getting driven mad by it after a while. The filtered version was so bad that it almost made me wonder if I'm going to damage my ears, so I stopped listening to it halfway. I was using decent BT headphones so I'm not sure if that makes any difference... it may depend on how decent your speakers are at playing 30-40 Hz. (Side note: Does BT audio do some kind of lossy compression? Why is it relevant that you mentioned it here?)
- blfr 9y ago
  Exactly, BT audio uses lossy compression. There are several codecs available but I'm on Linux and the receiver is pretty old so it's probably the weakest of them: SBC. The filtered sound is pretty bad, yes, dread inducing.
  - throwaway613834 9y ago
    Thanks! I had no idea.
    - throwaway613834 9y ago
      Update: For what it's worth, I just tried it with wired headphones (again, a decent pair) and they don't sound different as far as I can tell, so BT compression doesn't seem to be having any observable effects.
- tzahola 9y ago
  “Does BT audio do some kind of lossy compression?” Yes. Bluetooth audio is never lossless. Proprietary Bluetooth codecs like Sony LPAC or Qualcomm AptX come close to being lossless, but they’re still lossy.
- Arn_Thor 9y ago
  Listened to the recording (via Bluetooth) on headphones known for their good reproduction of low hertz sound, and the original recording was downright uncomfortable for even a few seconds
kortex 9y ago
I'm wearing over-ear monitors and the rumble is very slightly unsettling in an uncanny way. And that's with all the highpass of the recording. Real life has all that sub 20 Hz that most mics can't pick up. I can see how this could easily drive someone bonkers

ryanmarsh 9y ago

So today I learned I’m sensitive to sounds like this. I’ve been hearing stuff like this my whole life when nobody else could. Sometimes I get high pitched noise too. I just thought it was me. I never have quiet. Even in a hearing test with the headphones on I can hear a loud brown noise. My wife and mom say I have hearing damage but I don’t do terrible on hearing tests. I don’t do great either they just always act like it’s nothing so I don’t know what to think.

incompatible 9y ago

I don't know how good my headphones are, but the crickets are more annoying than the hum.