The white noise is audible at 9volts. Its' not like an overtly louds sound, more like background digital hiss. The 9 volts is from a bench power supply that is adjustable,via a pot on the unit. IF I roll the voltage down,say 9v to 5v, there is an audible signal of arpregiated notes. I have adjusted the pots on the circuit and you can hear the unit (as far as I can tell)doing what is "supposed" to do. If you roll down past 5 volts, it stops. If you roll the voltage from 5v back to the 9v, it ceases to make the arpregiated sound.