To help you muffle embarrassing toilet sounds and provide much-needed privacy to relieve yourself in peace, Japan’s LIXIL and audio company Roland have jointly developed a device that will successfully mask the nasty sounds with aurally pleasing ones. The idea of sound masking devices for toilets isn’t new and is becoming common in public lavatories, especially in Japan. But the ones currently available in the market only mask the sounds by playing recorded audio files. To develop the ‘Sound Decorator,’ LIXIL and Roland closely analyzed the frequency band of the different sounds when using the toilet to come up with masking sound that cancels out the sound frequencies of lavatory noises.
To make the masking sounds comfortable to ears, Roland used its vast experience in audio technology and also turned to nature’s soothing sounds. The company also says that this device will greatly help conserve water by eliminating the unnecessary need of keeping the water running as a way of masking sounds. The device will be available in both automatic as well as manually operated versions. The auto version is priced at 32,800 Yen (approximately $300) while the hand operated type comes in at 21,800 Yen (roughly $200 in US money). Both will be available for sale starting 1st Feb, but only to be sold in Japan.
[Via:Roland]
