A close hearth: embers, small pops, the occasional settling log. Free to play, loops without a gap.
Crackling hearth
Paused
This browser couldn't start audio. The app uses its own engine and isn't affected.
Why a fire helps
A fire is irregular, but none of its surprises mean anything. Pops and shifts arrive at random; your brain checks each one, files it as harmless, and settles a little further. One small 2014 study by anthropologist Christopher Lynn found that people's blood pressure dropped while they watched and listened to a hearth fire, and dropped more the longer it burned. One study proves little on its own, but it matches what most of us feel: a fire makes a room feel inhabited.
When to put it on
Evening reading. Slow work on a winter afternoon. A video call feels less sterile with a hearth murmuring far under it. Fire also pairs unusually well with rain: keep the fire near and the rain outside, and a plain room turns into shelter.
About this loop
A close hearth recording from the Foyer library. No music on top, no wind. It loops without a gap for as long as you leave it running. The app adds two more fires, a campfire and low embers, and lets you decide exactly where in the room each one sits.
Questions
What goes well with fireplace sounds?
Rain is the classic: fire close, rain at a distance. Ocean waves work if the fire is a beach fire in your head. In the Foyer app you can lay brown noise underneath it all to hold the floor.
Can I use this to fall asleep?
Plenty of people do. The crackle is irregular enough to be interesting and regular enough to be safe. Keep the tab open and the loop runs all night; the app version adds a sleep timer that fades the fire out after you drift off.
Where should a fire sit in a spatial mix?
Wherever a real one would be: to one side and slightly behind, never dead centre. In Foyer you drag the fire's orb there once and the room keeps it. With AirPods head tracking, the hearth stays put when you turn your head.