The shared-room preset
A library with a talker in it, a kitchen table with a family around it, a shared flat on a Sunday: the disturbance is human and it is bright. Measured here, white noise puts 83% of its power above 4 kHz, which is where consonants live. Take the consonants away and speech stops being speech.
That is the one thing white noise does better than any other colour on this site, and it is the reason this preset has nothing underneath it. A second layer would just make the mix louder in a range that is already covered.
The mistake: headphones at the same setting as speakers
Forty-five per cent through a laptop across a table and 45% through in-ear headphones are not the same exposure, and white noise is the least forgiving sound here to get wrong. Its high-frequency weight is what makes it effective and also what makes long sessions tiring.
On headphones, start at about 30% and work up. If your ears feel dull after a two-block session, it was too loud, and the fix is the fader rather than shorter sessions.
When to switch it off entirely
For memorisation — vocabulary, formulae, anything you will need to recall cold — silence is still the safer bet. Masking helps when there is something to mask. In a quiet room it is one more thing for attention to land on.
The honest use of this preset is narrow: a noisy room, bright noise, verbal work you cannot do through it. Outside that, try the block without it first.
What the generator produces
Rendered on 2026-09-04 from the browser's own per-sample algorithm, 30 seconds at 48 kHz, measured with the EBU R128 meter and an averaged 8192-point FFT.
| Layer | Preset level | Loop | Loudness | RMS | Centre | Low / mid / high |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| White Noise | 45% | generated, no loop | -11.5 LUFS | -14.7 dBFS | 12026 Hz | 1% / 15.6% / 83.4% |
- What this preset cannot do: White noise measures 6 dB louder than pink noise at the same fader position and about 4 dB above brown. When you switch colours mid-session, reset the level by ear.
Play white noise for studying
- Open this page in any browser.
- The preset is already applied: white noise at 45%, timer at 90 minutes.
- On headphones, drop to about 30% before you press play.
- Raise it only until the voices stop being words.
Frequently asked questions
Is white noise good for studying?
It is the best colour here for covering speech, because 83% of its power sits above 4 kHz where consonants are. For a quiet room it adds nothing, and for memorisation silence is the safer choice.
How loud should white noise be for study?
On speakers, this preset's 45% is a sensible start. On headphones, begin near 30%. White noise is the easiest sound on this site to set too loud without noticing.
Is white noise or brown noise better for studying?
White for voices, brown for rumble. Brown noise has 66% of its power below 250 Hz and almost none above 4 kHz, so it barely touches a person talking in the next room.
Does white noise help with concentration?
It removes distraction; that is different from adding concentration. A 2024 review found small average gains for young people with elevated attention problems and small average losses for everyone else.
Why a 90-minute timer?
To give the block a finish line. When the sound fades you decide whether to continue rather than drifting on.