This page contains links to recordings of speech through a Comtek FM system in quiet and in noise, through the FM (on the lapel of the speaker) and/or environmental (on the body of the listener) microphones, at a distance of three and twelve feet from the listener. Multi-talker babble speech noise was presented from behind the listener at a level of about 60 dBA. Sentences are taken from a Hugh Gallaher essay (see below). The files are in Windows .wav format and range in size from 135 to 379 K.

Recordings in Quiet
Environmental Microphone only, in quiet, person speaking is 3 feet from listener.
I am a dynamic figure, often seen scaling walls and crushing ice. - Size 151k

Environmental Microphone only, in quiet, person speaking is 12 feet from listener.
I am a dynamic figure, often seen scaling walls and crushing ice. - Size 154k

FM Microphone only, in quiet, person speaking is 3 feet from listener.
I am a dynamic figure, often seen scaling walls and crushing ice. - Size 153k

FM Microphone only, in quiet, person speaking is 12 feet from listener.
I am a dynamic figure, often seen scaling walls and crushing ice. - Size 149k

Recordings in Noise

Environmental Microphone only, in noise, person speaking is 3 feet from listener.
I can hurl tennis rackets at small moving objects with deadly accuracy. - Size 159k

Environmental Microphone only, in noise, person speaking is 12 feet from listener.
I can hurl tennis rackets at small moving objects with deadly accuracy. - Size 190k

Environmental and FM Microphones, in noise, person speaking is 3 feet from listener.
I can hurl tennis rackets at small moving objects with deadly accuracy. - Size 173k

Environmental and FM Microphones, in quiet, person speaking is 12 feet from listener.
I can hurl tennis rackets at small moving objects with deadly accuracy. - Size 135k

FM Microphone only, in noise, person speaking is 3 feet from listener.
I can hurl tennis rackets at small moving objects with deadly accuracy. - Size 152k

FM Microphone only, in noise, person speaking is 12 feet from listener.
I can hurl tennis rackets at small moving objects with deadly accuracy. - Size 190k

Direct Comparison Recordings

Environmental Microphone only first, then FM Microphone only second, in noise, person speaking is 3 feet from listener.
I can hurl tennis rackets at small moving objects with deadly accuracy. - Size 311k

Environmental Microphone only first, then FM Microphone only second, in noise, person speaking is 12 feet from listener.
I can hurl tennis rackets at small moving objects with deadly accuracy. - Size 379k

Information About the Quotes used in these Recordings

This is a copy of an essay that was written by Hugh Gallagher. The urban myth is that is that it was submitted by him for consideration in admission to NYU. The truth is, that this essay earned Mr. Gallagher first place in Scholastic Inc.'s high school writing contest in 1990.

3A. ESSAY: IN ORDER FOR THE ADMISSIONS STAFF OF OUR COLLEGE TO GET TO KNOW YOU, THE APPLICANT, BETTER, WE ASK THAT YOU ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTION:

ARE THERE ANY SIGNIFICANT EXPERIENCES YOU HAVE HAD, OR ACCOMPLISHMENTS YOU HAVE REALIZED, THAT HAVE HELPED TO DEFINE YOU AS A PERSON?

I am a dynamic figure, often seen scaling walls and crushing ice. I have been known to remodel train stations on my lunch breaks, making them more efficient in the area of heat retention. I translate ethnic slurs for Cuban refugees, I write award-winning operas, I manage time efficiently. Occasionally, I tread water for three days in a row.

I woo women with my sensuous and godlike trombone playing, I can pilot bicycles up severe inclines with unflagging speed, and I cook Thirty-Minute Brownies in twenty minutes. I am an expert in stucco, a veteran in love, and an outlaw in Peru.

Using only a hoe and a large glass of water, I once single-handedly defended a small village in the Amazon Basin from a horde of ferocious army ants. I play bluegrass cello, I was scouted by the Mets, I am the subject of numerous documentaries. When I'm bored, I build large suspension bridges in my yard. I enjoy urban hang gliding. On Wednesdays, after school, I repair electrical appliances free of charge.

I am an abstract artist, a concrete analyst, and a ruthless bookie. Critics worldwide swoon over my original line of corduroy evening wear. I don't perspire. I am a private citizen, yet I receive fan mail. I have been caller number nine and have won the weekend passes. Last summer I toured New Jersey with a traveling centrifugal-force demonstration. I bat 400. My deft floral arrangements have earned me fame in international botany circles. Children trust me.

I can hurl tennis rackets at small moving objects with deadly accuracy. I once read Paradise Lost, Moby Dick, and David Copperfield in one day and still had time to refurbish an entire dining room that evening. I know the exact location of every food item in the supermarket. I have performed several covert operations for the CIA. I sleep once a week; when I do sleep, I sleep in a chair. While on vacation in Canada, I successfully negotiated with a group of terrorists who had seized a small bakery. The laws of physics do not apply to me.

I balance, I weave, I dodge, I frolic, and my bills are all paid. On weekends, to let off steam, I participate in full-contact origami. Years ago I discovered the meaning of life but forgot to write it down. I have made extraordinary four course meals using only a mouli and a toaster oven. I breed prizewinning clams. I have won bullfights in San Juan, cliff-diving competitions in Sri Lanka, and spelling bees at the Kremlin. I have played Hamlet, I have performed open-heart surgery, and I have spoken with Elvis.

But I have not yet gone to college.

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