We live on a street corner which seems to be the nexus of every loud sound conceivable. Whether it be rumbling motorcycles, backfiring junkers, a myriad of barking, shouting, yelling and occasionally burping that fills the air outside of our window, our ears are bombarded daily. It's likely the reason every chance we get, we go hiking or camping so we can enjoy the novel experience of silence. Knowing that many of us urban dwellers experience this choral assault each day, Adaptive Sound Technologies has created Ecotones, a sound masking system that dynamically adjusts to your sound environment...

Ecotones masks loud sounds around you using a digital signal processing technique to analyze background sound and dynamically generate what they call SoundStories (aka, pleasant natural sounds). Sounds include the crackle of a fireplace, a tranquil meadow, the crash of waves, or the deep rumble and pattering of a rainstorm; a sound library is offered here. We'd like to request the 2.0 version of this device include the sound of sizzling bacon and maybe the sound of Scarlett Johansson whispering sweet nothings into our ear.