Phantas – A browser-based binaural strobe engine (Web Audio API)
Hi HN, I’m a new developer with Aphantasia (no mental imagery). A side effect of this is that regaining focus after a distraction takes me a long time (the "23-minute lag"). I tried standard binaural beats, but I discovered a technical flaw: streaming compression (AAC/MP3 on Spotify/YouTube) often muddies the specific phase differences required for effective entrainment. I realized that to get effective entrainment, I needed lossless audio. Since I couldn't stream lossless easily, I decided to generate it locally. I built Phantas – a browser engine that uses the Web Audio API to…
In plain words
Phantas is a browser-based tool that generates binaural beats and visual strobes in real-time using the Web Audio API. It creates lossless audio through client-side sine wave generation, avoiding compression artifacts from streaming services. The tool is designed for people who need focus assistance, particularly those with aphantasia who experience extended refocus periods after distraction. It combines dual-channel audio generation with a cyan strobe visual component for brainwave entrainment.
written from the facts on this page · September 2026
From the sources
In the maker’s words, at launch
Hi HN, I’m a new developer with Aphantasia (no mental imagery). A side effect of this is that regaining focus after a distraction takes me a long time (the "23-minute lag"). I tried standard binaural beats, but I discovered a technical flaw: streaming compression (AAC/MP3 on Spotify/YouTube) often muddies the specific phase differences required for effective entrainment. I realized that to get effective entrainment, I needed lossless audio. Since I couldn't stream lossless easily, I decided to generate it locally. I built Phantas – a browser engine that uses the Web Audio API to generate raw sine waves in real-time on the client side. This ensures mathematical precision with zero compression artifacts. For audio it uses Native AudioContext for dual-oscillator generation (Left/Right channel split). For visuals I pair the audio with a 490nm Cyan strobe. The hardest part was syncing the visual flash (using requestAnimationFrame) to the audio pulse without "drift" caused by JavaScript's event loop latency. I built this primarily for myself. Subjectively, it has reduced my "ramp-up" time from ~20 minutes to about 5 minutes. I’m releasing the generator for free (no login) to see if this works for others or if it's just my specific brain chemistry. I’d love feedback on: - Audio/Visual Sync: Does the strobe feel tight on your specific browser/refresh rate? - Intensity: Are the default 14Hz flickers too aggressive?
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