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Microsoft's Anechoic Chamber: The Place Where Sound Goes To Die
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FawnNimpy
10/02/09

In reply to Microsoft's Anechoic Chamber: The Place Where Sound Goes To Die
They should have these in prison so people would literally be in solitary.

3 days would probably do pretty nicely. :)
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PregoNation
10/02/09

In reply to Microsoft's Anechoic Chamber: The Place Where Sound Goes To Die
I surprised it hasn't been said yet. But I'd like to drop acid in this thing.
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nobodycares
10/02/09

In reply to Microsoft's Anechoic Chamber: The Place Where Sound Goes To Die
Altered States? remember William Hurt in the sensory deprivation chamber?
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PSUSkier
10/02/09

In reply to Microsoft's Anechoic Chamber: The Place Where Sound Goes To Die
I was able to stand in the anechoic chamber at the Klipsch facility... I started hearing my pulse after about a minute.
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brutek
10/02/09

In reply to Microsoft's Anechoic Chamber: The Place Where Sound Goes To Die
I hope that experience provides more appreciation for the hearing impaired.

I wanted to relate to my son's impairment, so I wore ear plugs for several days (to work, social settings, etc.). It was a very humblng and worthwhile the experience, although I always knew I could take them out, which vastly modifies the true understanding.

I suggest giving it a try. For those who are not hearing impaired, you will gain a deeper appreciation for sound (at the least).
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Hank Scorpio
10/02/09

In reply to Microsoft's Anechoic Chamber: The Place Where Sound Goes To Die
In a previous job, I worked for a while in the Zenith offices in Glenview just outside of Chicago. (This was right when Zenith was taken over by LG. The old Zenith building is home to AON now). They had a room like that there. Being in it really was a bizarre thing that's not easily explained unless you experience it directly.

What's even freakier is being in one and turning the lights out!
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yeptruthhurts
10/02/09

In reply to Microsoft's Anechoic Chamber: The Place Where Sound Goes To Die
well written, i always wanted to know what being in this room was like

what i dont get is if it changes our voices so much, then wont it change to sounds from the hardware they test as well? i understand outside sounds dont get in but the sounds on the inside--sound differently?
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Wilson Rothman
10/02/09

@yeptruthhurts: Their reflections sound differently. The original sound itself is pure--but too pure for us to relate to. It's good for diagnostics, but you wouldn't, say, record your acoustic folk album in there.
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3waygeek
10/02/09

In reply to Microsoft's Anechoic Chamber: The Place Where Sound Goes To Die
"Microsoft uses this newly built chamber to test all kinds of hardware products"

That's just a cover story -- Ballmer had the chamber built so he'd have someplace where he could scream and throw chairs.
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kentsmithnz
10/02/09

In reply to Microsoft's Anechoic Chamber: The Place Where Sound Goes To Die
The silence is deafening
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avconsumer2
10/02/09

@kentsmithnz: Having experienced one of these first hand, this is no exaggeration.
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ZeemanCaballerial
10/02/09

In reply to Microsoft's Anechoic Chamber: The Place Where Sound Goes To Die
Paradigm, in Toronto, has the biggest one in North America. It's nuts... when you talk it's like it's coming out of your forehead.
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Reyn Yonashiro
10/02/09

In reply to Microsoft's Anechoic Chamber: The Place Where Sound Goes To Die
Yo Microsoft, I'm really happy for you, and Imma let you finish, but Steve Orfield had one of the best anechoic chambers of all time!
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Reil: Save Stars, Save Peach
10/01/09

In reply to Microsoft's Anechoic Chamber: The Place Where Sound Goes To Die
I went into this humongous anechoic chamber at NASA's Houston center. It was used to test some satellite equipment. Crazy stuff. Thin, blue, foamy square-pyramids everywhere, even on the floor, except for some bits to stand on to place the device. Those were made of more foam.

I was actually afraid of falling and stabbing myself before I noticed that they weren't solid, but soft.
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jjswee
10/02/09

@Reil: Don't Ignore this: I too was in a similar room for an Aerospace company. It was very freaky and kind of scary. I knew if the door didn't open, no one could hear me scream. It was just weird.

Nice SN btw. Hah.
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geodesigner
10/01/09

In reply to Microsoft's Anechoic Chamber: The Place Where Sound Goes To Die
@ ECHO OFF
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d1zzle
10/01/09

In reply to Microsoft's Anechoic Chamber: The Place Where Sound Goes To Die
Let's build one each for the following individuals and padlock/toss key:
Carrot Top
Rush Limbaugh
Oprah
Gilbert Gottfried
Kanye West
Fran Drescher

That is all.
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ThisIsSharksTerritory
10/01/09

@d1zzle: I say lets build ONE and toss them ALL in it and install a camera and padlock/toss key
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Barry99705
10/01/09

@ThisIsSharksTerritory: My money's on Carrot Top. Dude has some guns! I remember when he was just a skinny geek.
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badhatharry
10/02/09

@d1zzle: Gallagher. I fucking hate that guy.
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zjgz
10/01/09

In reply to Microsoft's Anechoic Chamber: The Place Where Sound Goes To Die
How do people go mad in a place like that? Is it a result of sensory deprivation?
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tyskkvinna
10/01/09

@zjgz: Yes. We depend on our senses far more than we'd like to admit usually.

For several years I worked in a planetarium. It had a couple of layers of light protection so that when inside absolutely NO outside light came in. It took me a good six months to get used to being in the dark all the time, and that wasn't total blackness - you still had some lights from various equipment. One day I spent several hours there with no lights whatsoever. Just switching into dim light made me extremely dizzy - and then I realised that for the first hour of total dark I'd had the same symptoms but couldn't identify it as dizzy because I had nothing to relate it to.

Sound is even worse because we use our inner ears for a lot of balance and perception.

I imagine a quick road to going mad would be to go into one of these anechoic chambers in total darkness.
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Identity (Metric)
10/02/09

@tyskkvinna: Yikes! Complete darkness in an anechoic chamber? *shudders*

I've been in complete darkness also for extended amounts of time. It's pretty creepy, and time seemed to go so slowly.
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