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2Hz Binaural Beats
Despite the name, this file is not a binaural beat. A 2 Hz binaural beat needs each ear to get a slightly different tone, and here both ears get the same tones, so nothing beats. What you actually hear is a dark, wide, low drone.
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Put this under rain or a fire, keep the blend you end up with, and play it through the night with your screen off. The Slo app does that on iOS, Android and Mac.
What the measurement shows
A binaural beat needs each ear to get a tone the other ear does not. Check the strongest tones in this file and every one of them turns up in both ears at the same pitch, nowhere near the 2 Hz difference the name implies. The two sides do differ in loudness, which is what makes the file sound wide, but loudness is not pitch, and a difference in loudness makes no beat. There is no 2 Hz pulsing in it either: the slowest movement you can find is far slower than that.
For contrast, the Schumann Fundamental file on this site really is a binaural pair: each ear gets its own tone, and the two are clearly apart. That is what one of those sounds like. This file is nothing like it. Taken for what it actually is, it is a dark drone, deep and low, with almost nothing bright anywhere on top of it.
What binaural beats are, and what the research says
Binaural beats work by giving each ear a slightly different tone, so they need headphones. Over speakers both ears hear both tones and the effect largely collapses. The research is inconsistent. One systematic review went through fourteen studies of brain activity and found five results that supported the idea, eight that went against it and one mixed, and the authors called the evidence inconclusive at best.
So this page claims nothing about what binaural beats do, and this particular file is not one in any case. To hear what a real binaural pair sounds like, use the Schumann Fundamental player with headphones. For the drone this file actually is, Cosmic Drift and Celestial Visions are its closest neighbors, and the 2Hz Binaural Beats and rain blend in the free sound mixer gives it some movement. The full catalogue is on the sound library index.
Frequently asked questions
Is this file really a binaural beat?
No. Both ears get the same tones at the same pitches, so there is no 2 Hz difference for a beat to come from. A binaural beat needs a different tone in each ear, and this file does not have one.
Do binaural beats change your brainwaves?
No dependable evidence shows that they do. One systematic review went through fourteen studies of brain activity and found five supportive results, eight contradictory and one mixed, and called the evidence inconclusive at best.
Can binaural beats work over speakers?
No. They need headphones. Over speakers each ear hears both tones and the effect largely collapses.
What does this file sound like, then?
A dark, wide, low drone. It is nearly all deep rumble, with almost nothing bright on top of it.