Frequently Asked Questions

WHAT IS A LIGHT AND SOUND MACHINE?

Utilizing light and sound pulses at a specified frequency, these machines stimulate the brain wave activity of the user, leading the user's mind  from normal waking consciousness to a variety of altered states of consciousness.

WHAT ARE THESE STATES AND HOW DO THEY DIFFER FROM NORMAL?

The specific frequency ranges and their associated mental states are as follows:

BETA 13-30 Hz: Normal waking state; attention directed to surroundings.  Includes agitated, restless/"monkey mind" states which are especially amenable to treatment with light and sound stimulation.
ALPHA 8-13 Hz: Relaxed, tranquil, daydreaming, "inward awareness" state.
THETA 4-8 Hz: Borderline sleep; meditation state with access to the
unconscious; creativity, learning, inspiration.
DELTA 1-4 Hz: Deep, dreamless sleep; trance state.

WHO CAN BENEFIT FROM THIS TECHNOLOGY?

Light and sound can enhance the work of physicians, psychologists, therapists, body workers, any harried professional, as well as the individual experimenter who wishes to explore altered states of consciousness, awareness expansion and sensory stimulation.

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN I HAVE A SESSION?

With special LiteFrames over your closed eyes and headphones over your ears, you are immersed in colorful geometric patterns and entrancing sounds. The light and sound pulse rate shifts from state to state as the session progresses; brain wave activity will follow the pulse rate of the machine and fall into synch with the changes. 

WHAT IS ACHIEVED BY BEING IN THESE STATES OF MIND?

The following are some of the areas being explored by users of these machines: psychological stress relief, deep relaxation, assistance in falling asleep, memory improvement, increased learning, stabilizing emotions, increased intellectual focus, lucid dreaming, greater sound can substance abuse reduction, sensory stimulation, increased physical energy. While some of these benefits have been substantiated by research studies, these machines are experimental and results will vary from person to person.

HOW IMPORTANT IS THE SOUND?

The entrainment mechanism is both visual and aural. Sound and music have been used for centuries in may cultures to manipulate consciousness. Drums, chants, and environmental sounds like wind and rain all provide strong mental pictures and associations. Pleasant sounds are much more enjoyable and relaxing than one-note beeps or tones, such as those used by other machines. Synetic Systems incorporates the most sophisticated sound generation circuitry of any light/sound device, employing digital synthesizers to generate complex wave forms, rich two- -and three- note harmonies, and moving audio sculptures.  Use of special "audiostrobe" CD's can fully synchronize the lights with the audio program.  

WHAT ARE "BINAURAL BEATS"?

Binaural beat generation is a sound feature on most Synetic Systems products. Using two sound synthesizers in the audio circuit, and by specifying slightly different sound frequencies for the left and right channels, it is possible to induce a third frequency which is the difference between the left and right in the mind of the user. This is known as a binaural beat frequency generation. The perceived beat frequency is especially useful as an entrainment tool when paired with pulsing lights. 

WHY ARE LED'S USED INSTEAD OF INCANDESCENT LIGHTS?

Light emitting diodes--LED's--are state of the art solid state devices that convert small amounts of electrical energy into light. They can be switched on and off much faster than incandescent lights, producing the crisp strobe-like pulses which have been shown to be most effective at inducing patterns of brainwave activity. They also create very pure colors--again an important factor in the alteration of consciousness and brainwave activity.

WHAT IS WAVETABLE CROSSFADING?

Proteus includes four different, user-editable audio waveforms.  The waveform, pitch etc. can change from segment to segment, and to avoid a startling "hop" from one to the next, we smoothly mix them together at the segment boundaries; this is called "crossfading".