Now, Dr Cummer and his colleagues have shown off an acoustic cloaking technique that works in air, for audible frequencies between one and four kilohertz - corresponding to two octaves on the higher half of a piano.

BBC: Acoustic 'cloaking device' shields objects from sound

The missing ingredient turned out to be sub-bass: The lowest frequencies audible to the human ear, used extensively by dance acts to give their rhythm tracks an added wallop.

BBC: Sound of 2013: Haim

Philips DoubleBASS uses the powerful processing of the system to detect ultra-low frequencies and then recreate them within the audible frequency range of the subwoofer, giving the impression of delivering bass down to an amazing 20Hz.

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