Sometimes I just don’t want to listen to music. I just want some nice ambient sound to wash over me while I’m working. I’ve reviewed Elsewhere for the Mac previously, a free app for OS X which lives in your menubar and provides three ambient sounds, plus rain (with an in-app purchase).
Today I point you to two more great apps, both free, that provide ambient sounds (white noise) to OS X.
Relax Melodies brings 48 individual ambient sounds which you can overlay on top of each other to create the perfect background sounds to suit your style. Relax Melodies Seasons offers 33 sounds, including 8 Christmas-specific sounds like bells, fireplace, and popular Christmas tunes.
Both apps offer to add up to 100 sounds or more with an in-app purchase, but the built-in sounds are pretty darn good on their own. Both apps allow you to combine sounds and adjust the volume of those sounds independently. You can also save your favorite settings in both apps, but I prefer to explore new combinations every time I use the apps. And finally, you can set alarms and timers with both apps.
I love both these apps, though the regular Relax Melodies app is probably more than enough for most users. If I have one complaint about either of these apps, it’s that neither offers a way to hide the interface and the Dock icon and work only as a menubar app the way Elsewhere does. Still, both can help you relax during a busy day designing the next great ad, or writing the great American novel!
