Sleep music and white noise sound machines are used for sound masking, commonly used when having trouble falling asleep or staying asleep, due to external sounds. There are a lot manufacturers on the market, with everything from inexpensive white noise machines to moderately expensive machines which deliver quality sound, ensuring a restful good nights sleep for even the most light sleeper.
White noise machines are also very beneficial to people who wrestle with sleep disorders such as insomnia or restlessness. The many sounds which a quality machine can discharge can certainly be helpful in inducing sleep, as well as obstructing nighttime noises that can interrupt sleep.
Another person who would have a preference for these machines are those who have to sleep with one who snores. Despite many great products on the market today to quell snoring, it still occurs regularly with many people. A quality sound machine can mask such annoying snoring sounds.
Another likely use for a sound machine is in an open concept office, where even low volume talking from co-workers several yards away can be disturbing to your concentration.
So, here us a summary of the top selling, and most highest rated sleep music and white noise sound machines on Amazon today:
1. Ecotones Duet Adaptive Therapy Sleep Sound Machine
The Ecotones unit is very well designed. It provides exceptional sound with a separate woofer and tweeter mounted on top.
The sounds provided are of admirable quality. Unlike lesser quality units, which consistently use a recording that keeps repeating and soon proves vexatious, these recordings, which Ecotones calls sound stories, go on for thirty minutes before repeating. It is implicitly impossible to determine when sound story finishes and then starts up again.
There are several different sounds to choose from including something called city... so a city dweller who is away from home can feel right at home! However, the ever popular meadow, brook, the crackling fireplace, waterfall, ocean, are all extremely comforting. For something different, try the train, or meditation. There also is a plain vanilla white noise setting, if you wish.
The Adaptive response feature, whereupon the microphone picks up ambient sounds like coughing and snoring and adjusts the volume appropriately, works extremely well.
Another unique feature to Ecotones is the 'richness' setting. Adjusting this on your sound story will result in variations of your sleep music. A nice feature allowing you to adjust your own personal sound stories.
2. Sound Oasis S3000 Sound Therapy System
This deluxe model features 20 main sounds & 5 mix sounds, which can create 120 sound environment capabilities. It has 3 speakers (including subwoofer), which results in champion sound quality. It also has an AM/FM stereo radio with 3 presets and a backlit, dual 12/24 hour clock with 3 alarm sounds complete with digital calendar.
There's a timer with 4 positions: continuous, 30 min., 60 min. and 90 min. with gentle-off, plus a nap timer. Most appealing is the proprietary 'Bio-Sync' sound, a random assortment of what sounds like musical notes, wind chimes, voices, and more. While it sounds strange, it is incredibly soothing. You can adjust the Bass and Treble. The sound of the speakers are rich and deep without being at max settings but if you turned it all the way up it would be really loud
The "memo" track is unique in the sound machines tested here - it lets you record up to 15 seconds and plays it over and over again. You can use this as an alarm too if you wish. The capabilities are endless as to what you can use that one feature for.
3. Marpac SleepMate 980A
This is the least expensive sound machine, but it is also a white noise machine only... no collection of sounds. There are advantages and disadvantages... the main advantage is, there is zero chance you will hear a sound looping!
There are two rings on the unit which control the tone and to some degree the volume of the white noise:
1. A Top Ring - You can adjust this ring to allow the anywhere from 3 to 8 holes to be exposed, thereby moving the sound level.
2. A Base Ring - Allowing a larger opening into the unit when adjusting this ring will create a lower tone. Making the opening smaller will create a higher tone. Again, adjust the ring to your liking.
One of the most important things for a successful use of this machine is where you place it. Marpac recommends putting it away from you, such as on a dresser across the room. This seems to make the sound bounce around the room and give you a fuller feel of the sound. For some, this won't generate a loud enough sound, so if you wish, you could put it on the nightstand right next to you and enjoy a loud hissing sound.
4. Ecotones Adaptive Sound Therapy Machine
The grand daddy of all sleep therapy machines, this is THE most exclusive of all those we tried. This unit features twelve Sound Stories which include: Soothing Seaside, Calming Waves, Babbling Brook, Gentle Rain, Distant Thunderstorm, Nature's Meadow, Crackling Fireplace, Warming Campfire, Relaxing Fan, Big City Background, Restful Train Ride and Pure Meditation.
The unit's speaker pair and a 2.4-liter sound chamber have been tuned to produce a full range of quality sound that is simply amazing.
This unit, like it's baby brother the Duet, features the adaptive sound technology that will step-up volumes to mask outside (interfering) noise. It works extremely well and is most useful if you live near a noisy street or even if you have a snorer in the room! But this machine also includes a manual mode (stays at user present level) and a background mode which comes on when the room is quiet and automatically dims when conversation is present. This is the "Cadillac" of sleep music sound machines!
5. Marsona TSC-330 White Noise Travel Sound Conditioner
Here's a small-ish sound machine that you can take on the road with you. Who hasn't been in a hotel/motel room and been agitated by noisy guests next door? The Marsona TSC-330 White Noise Travel Sound Conditioner has rain, waterfall, and surf sounds.
This machine is about the size of a thick paperback novel, so is definitely smaller than competitors "non-travel" sound machines. However, it does have a bulky AC adapter with the power brick on the end. It fits fine in a standard suitcase, but if you're only taking a small overnight bag, then it does take up a bit more room than you'll probably like. The unit does have a battery pack so you can leave the AC adapter at home, but it too is somewhat massive.
The sound is very good for such a small unit; base is surprisingly strong and the unit comes with it's own travel pouch.
So there you have it, the best of the sleep music and white noise sound machines. See detailed specs and prices, along with other owners reviews, at my sleep music mate website which is also listed in the Resource Box below.
