Whisper - The Noise Canceler

[daniel94151]

this is a project link

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/wnc/whisper-the-noise-canceler?ref=nav_search

seems revolutionary project..

what do you think of this project?

[ataradov]

Very typical scam.

[edavid]

Seems the same as Muzo: https://www.eevblog.com/forum/crowd-funded-projects/muzo-your-personal-zone-creator-with-noise-blocking-tech/

Certainly an aggressive goal for a scam ($785,000 NZD).

[DrGeoff]

Think carefully about the science of acoustics and you'll see why this won't work...
Like solar roadways, it's using fancy graphics and pseudoscience to suggest to the punter that it might just be plausible.

[ataradov]

It may be a tactic to not appear scammy. That thing can't work. If anything, it will make things even noisier.

Also, I suspect OP may be one of those scammers. Especially given that user with the same name has registered on other forums just to promote this project.

[andtfoot]

If noise entered indoors from outdoors as a point source that can be reliably located, sure... but (admittedly without watching the videos yet) I don't see how this can be effective in reality.

[StillTrying]

I did wonder how the outside unit was connected to the inside one, they appear to just be battery operated. 

ataradov: I suspect OP

+2.5

[daniel94151]

It may be a tactic to not appear scammy. That thing can't work. If anything, it will make things even noisier.

Also, I suspect OP may be one of those scammers. Especially given that user with the same name has registered on other forums just to promote this project.

It's true. I want to publicize the project because I believe and i hope that out on market soon.
but I'm not a scammer, and aren't the creator of the project.

[Kilrah]

You should rather probably save both your time and money by forgetting about it right now...

[StillTrying]

It's true. I want to publicize the project because I believe and i hope that out on market soon.
but I'm not a scammer, and aren't the creator of the project.

I can't see from the video on the site, does it show a sound level meter dropping from 60dB to 57dB when the device is turned on ?

[daniel94151]

when the music is turned in other room and device turned on, with the door is closed there is a reduction from 55 dB to about 38 dB

see video

https://ksr-video.imgix.net/assets/012/798/326/e5bff0500ca34ad950ddd3c58fee8280_h264_high.mp4

anyway, for skeptical. with a 3$ donations (can cancel subscriptions in every moment before finish campaign..) can backer project and ask technical questions to developer.

[Marco]

If you have well isolated walls and sound is leaking in through say a door this would work up to a few 100 Hz.

Just use the headphones, they are better.

[ataradov]

but I'm not a scammer

Then you are the one being scammed.

Just like any good scam, this one is based on a kernel of truth. This method of noise cancelling is used in the industrial equipment to prevent noise and vibrations coming out of the machine. And even then, it requires careful tuning for each individual use case and does not work in all cases.

It is absolutely impossible to silence the entire room with unknown dimensions and furniture locations.

[ataradov]

can backer project and ask technical questions to developer.

  Or you can use your own brains.

Do you have noisy neighbors or something? There are better ways of dealing with that.

[Kilrah]

when the music is turned in other room and device turned on, with the door is closed there is a reduction from 55 dB to about 38 dB

I didn't even look at the numbers because sound already tells you all you need - When they "turn on" their device the "sound from the other room" disappears completely.

One could buy some reduction, but the fact ANY sound vanishes completely reveals that it's an obvious fake.
They've got some music player in the same room as the camera, and a guy is just lowering the volume when the door is closed, then turning it fully down when the girl "turns the device on". One can see it's actually badly synchronised, especially when she "turns it off" again afterwards.

They haven't even made an attempt at making it appear believable, syncing things properly in an editor would take minutes and anyone with a bit of sense would have said "let's not turn volume completely down".
The main presentation video is appalling too.

Not even talking of the physics... such a thing would work, but provided the entire room was airtight, made of an excellent "recording studio"-style insulating/dampening material, and if its size was approximately that of a cube of which the thing is an entire side...

[rrinker]

 I just want to know if I can get a shoe phone to go along with this...

[DrGeoff]

I just want to know if I can get a shoe phone to go along with this...

A Cone of Silence it is not

[edy]

Does sound a lot like Muzo. Lots of neat features like solar panel, magnetic connection and wireless charging to the other half, Bluetooth speaker function, etc. But I don't believe it until I see it or the prototype independently reviewed.

I asked this before in the Muzo thread, what kind of noise dampening do you get by just gluing a heavy mass to your window?

[Frank_22]

It can't work...
Such a waste of money.

[hamster_nz]

And even if it can perfectly cancel noise in one point in the room, what happens for your other ear?

[hamster_nz]

https://www.nzlbusiness.com/company/registered/Noxcel-Limited

Well, the are not in Wellington NZ - two directors both overseas.  Registered office is in Auckland....

[hamster_nz]

Have a look at the other companies registered at the same address:

http://www.coys.co.nz/search/?a=LEVEL+1%2C+40+EDEN+CRESCENT+AUCKLAND

I don't need to see any more....

[b_force]

It's a little funny that something like this is an idea from a company in NZ. In NZ a lot of houses still have single glazed (single paned) windows.

I don't know what it is nowadays, but there are a lot of companies who think that with a sh*t load of electronics you can fix everything. This is just a matter of proper insulation, which is also much more efficient temperaturewise, and therefore also the costs for putting on the heaters (and of course just comfort)

To my opinion it's inventing a difficult solution for a simple problem.

Btw, it's not that revolutionairy, noise canceling in professional environments has been done for years.

[Srbel]

Already exists in some luxury cars, so it is neither innovative nor a scam.

[Kilrah]

A car is s small and well controlled environment, nothing that can be compared to a random room.

[hamster_nz]

Most of the ANC for cars is removing low frequency engine and transmission noise (< 100 Hz, > 3.3m wavelength), and as it is coming from a source is predictable source (rotation of engine components, and the cabin that in a full sized sedan might be 3.5m^3, using a powerful speaker system.

In the video it goes from 68db to 38db, Removing 99% of wide band frequencies, over a larger volume (24m^3 for small bedroom), with a small thin speaker which must have the output qualities of a large Bluetooth speaker would be magic.

So have they invented magic, or did somebody just turn the music down in the video?

[m98]

Actually they show some actual prototype hardware on the project page, that remotely resembles the function this thing is trying to accomplish. So my bet would be that they may actually try to deliver some actual hardware, but that would rather be an overpriced and low quality bluetooth speaker. "Noise canceling doesn't work? You're just installing it wrong."