Binaural or isochronic?

[SiriusTraveler]

What is the best way to go between binaural and isochronic brain entrainment? I have read that isochronic tunes are the best but I have no experience with them. Anyone?

[CFTraveler]

I have various binaurals but never tried isochronics. :D

[ButterflyWoman]

I've done both. I don't think one is "better" than the other, particularly. I tend to like binaurals, but that's because I've been using them for years and I respond well. The isochronic tones are also fine, but from an aesthetic point of view, they're not as pleasant to listen to (binaurals can be embedded in anything, including music).

One advantage of isochronic tones is you don't need headphones. They're also effective for people who don't respond to the binaurals.

Really, it's whatever works best for you, IMHO. The software I use can do binaural, isochronic, and I think another (monaural, I think). There's a trial version if you want to give it a go: NeuroProgrammer3 (http://www.transparentcorp.com/products/np/?c=1575823)

[SoulSail]

Hey Sirius,

Having accumulated my fair share of both, I highly recommend the stuff these guys create:

http://www.store.unexplainable.net/?gclid=CKr_0Oay160CFQPf4AoduB3Bng

I'm not affiliated with them in any way, but their mp3s are the only ones that my brain really responds to. I get much "looser" after I listen to their Lucid or Astral tracks. In fact, my second projection came after I meditated to the Lucid track for about an hour.

(Also, oddly, I hit trance states very quickly on Steve Roach and Eric Wollo's work called The Road Eternal. Your mileage may vary).

Soul...

[outofbodydude]

Check this out for a good comparison! http://musicyourmind.com/meditation/isochronic-vs-binaural

Seems overall, isochronic is the way to go.

I have programs which use binaural, isochronic, and monaural beats. They all do the job well.

Besides what the above website says, I have also read that putting any extra audio (such as a vocal track or ocean sounds) over the binaural beats will greatly reduce the effectiveness of the entrainment, whereas with isochronic and monaural beats this is not the case.

[tpratt]

I've used binaurals, which work alright but never isochronics. Is there any information on them within the forums?

[Lionheart]

To get the optimal use you have to listen to Binaural Beats with Headphones, whereas Isochronic Tones can be used without Headphones.

I use Binaural Beats/Isochronic Tones quite a bit, almost daily. The "Brain Entrainment" you receive over a long period of time is priceless.

Some of my favorites are anything by Paul Collier, found in a simple Youtube search. He has over 100 songs on his playlist. More than enough to experiment with and find the ones that work for you personally.

For Isochronic tones I use DJ Vishnu's Meditation Series. He has 10 half hour tacks that are very good. I had to give my email address, but did not receive an influx in Spam, like you do from some other sites. After about 6 months I received one email telling me about 2 new tracks I could get of his.

There are a loads of great Binaural Beats and Isochronic Tone tracks to be found on Youtube. I go there often. I don't like the mono tone ones though. I feel they get boring too quickly. My personal favorites are the ones that have a good background accompaniment.

[CFTraveler]

Having used both (unlike in the beginning of this post) I have to say that they both work for me, even though the isochronics I've used are very 'mechanical' and with some exceptions, that can be annoying.

[John Sorensen]

What is the best way to go between binaural and isochronic brain entrainment? I have read that isochronic tunes are the best but I have no experience with them. Anyone?

I've used some Binaural beats - just basic free ones -as a supplement (but not a replacement), to my ongoing daily meditation practice, and my experiments in minimal sleep, but have not used isochronic tones.

I did but some Binaural beats that were related to exercise physiology that I did not really care for and went back to my free ones.

What are the specific purposes you want to use them for?

I quite like Binaural beats, but more to understand where they are useful and not, I don't really use them in the traditional way, or as intended.

One of my fav ones in a one hour delta Binaural with white noise. I was practising an energy healing technique last year when I had a back injury, and decided to see if it would be more effective when performed in a Delta brain wave state, and found that with practice I could go into the same subjective state without the audio after a few weeks.

I tried that seeing as our bodies do much of their tissue repair and healing in deep sleep anyway, so why not go into that state on purpose and direct intention at a particular "problem" area. There were no EEGs around, but I can feel the subjective difference from one state to another or rather characteristics such as in Delta there is no "content" in your mind, just pure awareness, unless you bring yourself out of that state, also your physical bodies senses are turned off/muted so that you don't feel them, unless you choose to, like when you wake yourself up from your mind awake / body asleep state.

I would always lie down during this, otherwise I would generally collapse and fall over (from a seated position) and I did nearly hit my head a few times, but that happens sometimes in regular meditation for me as the muscle of my neck 'go to sleep', usually unintentionally, so it reminds to be more focused, and not go napping during meditation, tempting and blissful as it is.

[Sinera]

I've used both but like the binaurals much more. During meditation I use more binaurals for the headphones. Recently I've switched to just soundscapes (no binaurals or isochronics in there), such as ocean waves or creek's babbling (here's an example (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKjOZUVeWKM) of my fav). They actually do the same for me. I also have some OM chants now. Some of them I use for relaxation more than meditation, but they "work" either way. I need even flow all the time and this really does it for me.

[ButterflyWoman]

I pretty much agree with CFT. Have used both, both seem to work, but the binaurals are much less... I don't know, jarring, I guess? They're just easier to listen to, I think.

[Lionheart]

I also have some OM chants now. Some of them I use for relaxation more than meditation, but they "work" either way. I need even flow all the time and this really does it for me.
Jurgen Ziewe's OM Chant, known as Far Countries found here is very good. It's 40 minutes long, which is great for a AP session. I didn't care for his other 30 minute Binaural beat found at the bottom of the same page though.
www.multidimensionalman.com/Multidimensional-Man/Free_Deep_Meditation_Sounds_-_Binaural_Beats.html

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[Sinera]

Jurgen Ziewe's OM Chant, known as Far Countries found here is very good. It's 40 minutes long, which is great for a AP session. I didn't care for his other 30 minute Binaural beat found at the bottom of the same page though.
www.multidimensionalman.com/Multidimensional-Man/Free_Deep_Meditation_Sounds_-_Binaural_Beats.html
Cool, thanks, I will check it out.

[Lionheart]

Hey CFT, I think I remember you saying on another forum that you enjoy Shamanic Binaural Beats. If you still do, you have to check out Byron Metcalf. You can find some of his tracks on Youtube. The one I really enjoy is named "Threshold of Intention" off of the Shaman's Heart CD. It's 1:02:47 long. So, its a very good for a OBE/Phase session.

[CFTraveler]

Thanks, Lionheart.

[reid.vfx]

I would just like to say a few things about binaural beats. I will be biased and recommend hemi-sync. The reason I think they are a superior binaural beat is because they use a blend of tones. A lot of these binaural beats you find online will just bean you with a low theta frequency and say perfect for meditation. The reality is if you listen to a single tone of around 3.8 hz which borders delta then you will just fall asleep.

Hemi-sync conversely blends theta with a dash of alpha and a little beta. The idea is you go down to a theta state but you need the beta and alpha to keep you alert. Also the new SAM technology includes gamma frequencies which binaural beats can't recreate. Also a lot of the binaural beats out there don't bring you back properly so you are left ungrounded which is never good

[ButterflyWoman]

Does Hemi-Sync do isochronic beats?

[reid.vfx]

Does Hemi-Sync do isochronic beats?

No, hemi-sync is binaural beat and SAM is somewhere in-between which uses an arc of sound around the head. I think the potential in the SAM technology is very exciting but they are still learning a lot about it.

The main benefit of things like SAM and iso tones over binaural beats is that your brain doesn't have to do extra work. With binaural beats your brain is working to create the third tone all the time. To be honest I know little about isochronic tones apart from they don't sound very nice. Perhaps there are some nice ones but the ones I tried were like meditating to a passing commuter train.

[ButterflyWoman]

Ah. I was wondering if it did, since the topic of the thread is (or was) about comparing binaural and isochronic.

[Energize]

My understanding is that binaural needs decent headphones to work, because of the range of left and right ear tones, while Isochronic do not require headphones.

I'm looking for good reputable Iso tones to download or buy to use with earbuds while walking. Any tips on good Iso tones to get?

...hey, just found an app on itunes that lets you mix and match various tones to a wide variety of background music or sounds, for only $2.50, called AmbiScience (by Tesla Audio Sciences).

[StephaneRaymond]

Which frequencies have you seen the most success with? I'm still experimenting :roll:

[CFTraveler]

For me it's been theta or even delta.

[ButterflyWoman]

I like gamma sessions, but I have to say, using alpha sessions really helped me develop my ability to go into a light meditative state at will. I was always able to go into that state, but using the binaural technology really helped me to be able to just "click" it into place, and to recognise it when I was "there".