hi this is Ethan green from no sleepless nights and in this video I'm going
to be talking about white noise and sound machines. Now, I've used one of
these myself at night for many years and I think it's really useful if you've got
noise coming from outside your bedroom or outside the house that's disturbing
your sleep or even your work or your study. It just helps to replace that with
a constant, repetitive and relaxing sound that you choose. Now, what makes a really
good white noise machine? In my opinion it boils down to a combination of the
sound type and the sound quality, and all the extra features that you're looking
for. I don't think this is an area where I can say "this one is the best
white noise machine in the world and everyone should go and get it". No, I
think it's a case of there are several really good ones and it's a matter of
understanding the features and the sounds, so that you can find the right one
for you personally. And that's hopefully what I'm going to help you to do by
going through each of these in turn. Now, what features do I look out for when
I'm reviewing them and when I'm testing them? Firstly, there's the sound quality -
that's obviously really important. Whether it has a good range of sounds,
and whether it has either just white noise and fan sounds, or includes nature
sounds as well. Some people will want nature sounds, some people would prefer
just to have white noise and fan sounds. So it's good to understand what sounds
it offers. Then you've got the speaker quality - also really important. Some of
the budget white noise machines that I've tested really kind of don't do well
when you start to turn the volume up. That speaker quality really shows up.
Then you've got other features such as the headphone jack - that's really
important if you want to listen privately and not disturb anyone else.
Whether it has an internal rechargeable battery that you can use anywhere in
your home or even outside of your home, or whether it needs to be plugged in at
all times. And then whether it has auto off timers - that's really useful if you
don't want to listen to white noise all night or if you're playing it to a child,
for example, and you only want to keep it on for a short period of time. So when I
do the individual reviews of each one I'm going to cover some of the
sounds, talk about the features that it has and hopefully help you to find the
exact one that's going to work best for you. So without further ado, let's take a
look at my recommended white noise machines.
So let's start with my favorite for white noise and fan sounds the Lectro
fan Evo. What I really like about this one is that it's dedicated towards
white noise and fan sounds. It has 10 white noise 10 fan sounds, and also two ocean
surf. But it doesn't really do other nature sounds, so this is one for people
who just want white noise and Fan sounds really. It has a headphone jack which
is great for private listening, and also auto-off timers from 1 to 8 hours. Let's
have a listen to some of the sounds. My only real criticisms are the fact that
it doesn't have an internal rechargeable battery so it needs to be plugged
in at all times to work. It also doesn't have many nature sounds - just those two
ocean surf. I think it would be nice if it included a few more nature sounds,
but really as I said this one is a specialist for white noise and fan sounds.
So overall, this is one that I recommend for people who need loud white noise and
who really like white noise and fan sounds, and aren't bothered by nature
sounds. It's also really good for use in the office or study just because of that
range of standard white noise and the maximum volume that it has. It also looks
pretty sleek, it's quite compact, so it doesn't take up much space. So on the
whole, the Evo is a great white noise machine. Next up we have the Avantek
rechargeable, which is really good for variety, particularly of nature sounds.
It has six fan sounds,
six white noise, and 18 nature sounds. What I really like about it is that it has an
internal rechargeable battery which will last for a really long time, easily all
night. If you want auto-off options, you've got one to seven hours or you can
have continuous play if you want. It also has some really useful features, like the
inclusion of a headphone jack which I like a lot. It's very portable so it
doesn't take up much space - it's very small, it's quite lightweight. The speaker
quality of the Avantek is really impressive as well. It's quite small and
lightweight but the sound is really crisp, it's nice. And I like the fact that
the recordings have been done well, and they just sound good even on maximum
volume. The maximum volume is pretty good as well for such a small device so you
can easily mask sound that's disturbing you at night. In terms of criticisms I think my
number one thing would be the fact that it has these subtle touch buttons on it
The previous Avantek that I liked a lot had just normal buttons but these
touch buttons are just a little bit fiddly to find in the dark. So for me, I
think this is one that's best suited to people who are using it either in the
day time or who are just going to set it on one setting before they go to sleep
and then leave it on an auto-off timer. If you want to change it in the night, it's
probably going to be a bit of an issue. It's also the fact that you have 30
different settings and just one or two buttons to scroll through them, so you
might end up pressing those buttons a lot to find the exact sound that you
want. Overall, I think the Avantek is a really good option if you like nature
sounds. It has some particularly interesting ones like the bubbling water and the
frogs which are kind of echoey and very pleasant to listen to.
Sound+Sleep takes a completely different approach to white noise and
tries to include as many different features as possible and it does a
pretty good job on the whole. This is really a premium device it costs around
$99, so it's much more expensive than any of the others that I've looked at in
this review. What it does have though, that's very exciting, is an enormous
amount of variety. On the central control knob, you have 16 main categories.
And then each of those 16 categories, by pressing the selection button, has four
different options - so you have a total of 64 different sounds, which is amazing. One
feature which is unique to the Sound+Sleep is the adaptive sound option. What
that means is that when you have it selected, if the ambient noise levels
change then the machine will also change the volume. So if all of a sudden it
becomes louder outside your bedroom, the volume go up. And likewise, it will drop
automatically. So if I put it on and then start talking, it should turn the volume
up, but then when I stop talking it will go quieter again. You don't have to have
that if you don't want it though, but it is an interesting feature that works
surprisingly well. It's very, very quick to respond.
the Sound+Sleep also has some interesting parts to the side here. If
you have a look, you can see that it has a headphone jack. There's an audio in
cable, so you can play your own audio through the speaker. And it has two USB
charging ports for your smartphone or any other device.
For me, Sound+Sleep is a really good option if you like premium devices with as many
different features as possible. 64 different sounds, I don't think there's
any other device that has that many, not that I've looked at anyway, and with all
these other different features, it just makes it a very interesting device
that's very versatile. However, when it comes to versatility one thing it
doesn't have is the option to be portable. It needs to be plugged in at all
times to work there's no internal battery. It's also quite large as you can
see, so it does take up a little bit of space on your nightstand. But overall,
this is a really good option for people who like nature sounds particularly.
let's talk about the Marpac Uno then. this one is made by Marpac, who've been
making white noise machines since the 1960s. They're kind of famous for it,
particularly when it comes to having an internal mechanical fan. The Marpac Uno
really is very easy to use. All you do is press this one button to turn it on and
that starts up the internal fan, which pushes air out of these
little air holes. The only option you have to change the sound is to twist
this cap and that slightly changes the sound of the air. And that really is it,
there's nothing else to do with the Marpac Uno apart from turn it
on and off and turn the cap Marpac Uno really does a simple
job and it does it pretty well. One criticism I think I would have is that
the sound is quite quiet. It's really good for relaxation if you enjoy the
sound of rushing air but don't want actual movement of air around your
bedroom, it's a really nice option for you. However if you need to mask external
sound it's not really going to do it because it's just quite quiet. And also
if you're looking for extra features like an auto-off timer, or a headphone
jack or a rechargeable internal battery, you're not going to have that. This needs
to be plugged in at all times to work and that's a bit of an issue that I
think some people might have with it. But overall, if you want an internal
mechanical fan that makes authentic air sound the Uno is a good choice.
Next we have the Lectrofan Micro 2. Now, this is my personal favorite for travel
or just using it outside of your home. It has an internal rechargeable battery
that will last for a very long time. 40 hours on the white noise settings, of
which there are five fan. Four white noise. And two ocean sounds.
But also, it will last for 20 hours on the Bluetooth setting. An interesting feature
with the LectroFan Micro 2 is that it has a Bluetooth speaker option, so if you set
it to bluetooth you can then play your own music through your smartphone.
That's a really nice option just to be able to have more variety with your
machine. For such a tiny device, the speaker quality is actually really good.
The maximum volume is pretty loud and it will easily drown out most noise coming
from outside your house if you're using it to do that. Something else that I like
about this one is that the speaker can be moved so that you can have it
swiveled and pointing to the side or you can have it pointing upwards and
filling the room instead. In terms of criticisms, I think my main problem is
that it doesn't have an auto-off timer. I think that would be a nice feature to
include. And the buttons are pretty small as well. They're kind of a little bit
fiddly - it's not an issue for me but it might be for some people. Also it doesn't
have many other nature sounds, just those two ocean sounds - similar to the Lectrofan Evo,
so that's something to bear in mind. Overall though, the LectroFan micro 2
is fantastic for travel, for being on the go, and for using it if you just
don't want to have it plugged in at all times. The dream egg d3 is a reasonable
sound machine with a good amount of variety. It doesn't cost that much - $29 when
I bought it. And it's pretty good in terms of the sound quality and the
variety. You have 10 nature sounds. 10 fan sounds. 7 white noise. It also has some
other interesting features, like the fact that it has an internal rechargeable
battery which will last all night. It has a headphone jack for private listening, and
it has some good auto-off functions. This is one which has been designed thinking
of parents and smaller children as well. It has one lullaby sound.
And a few other standard nature sounds. Something I really like about the Dreamegg
is the way that they've separated the sounds into three buttons. So you've
got a button for all the white noise options. One for the fan sounds. And one
for the nature sounds, which is just very convenient. My main criticism is that it
has relatively short loops on some of the nature sounds. As I said, this is an
issue with many white noise machines so you can't blame just the dream egg.
However, they are quite noticeable on some of the sounds, like the Thunder and
the waves. Another issue that I have is that some of the nature sounds kind of
have a bit of a fan noise in the background, which I think some people
might enjoy, might find a little bit relaxing, but something that bothered me.
However, most of the sounds are very good and I like the fact that it has a good
variety of white noise and fan sound. So on the whole, the dream egg d3 is a good
mid-range option with some very useful features such as the battery and the auto
of timers, good amount of variety and reasonable
sound quality. The speaker's pretty good as well, so I think overall this is a
good solid option. Next let's talk about the Big Red Rooster. This is a budget
device, which has one feature which none of the others do in this review, which is
that you can use it with normal batteries. It takes three double A batteries,
but if you don't want to use batteries you can use the included power cable and
plug it into a wall outlet. Big Red Rooster only has six different sounds. So
if I turn it, you've got white noise, which is very intense white noise.
Rain. Brook. Ocean. Thunder, which is reasonably good but it's on a short loop,
and when you have the volume turned up, the thunder rattles the speaker which is a
little bit irritating. And you've got summer night. I think the big red rooster
then is one that's going to appeal to people who want a budget device with
just a few different sound options and the option to use normal batteries.
However, it's not going to have the most exciting sound quality, doesn't have
particularly loud volume and they are on quite short loops. So this is not one for
someone that's going to listen to white noise a lot and gets bothered by short
loops and not particularly special speaker quality. But for a budget option
it's pretty good. Let's talk about the Marpac Rohm then. This is one which has been
designed for travel, and I think also marketed towards parents and small
children. I'm not a particular fan of this one. I think it's a budget option
which is one thing that's got going for it. However, it only has three sounds and I
just find that very disappointing. I think even when a white noise machine
has six it's kind of a little bit lacking. But three is really lazy I
think. I don't think there's any excuse just to have three sounds, especially if
it doesn't have an audio in or a Bluetooth speaker option. Those sounds
are pretty good though, to be fair. And it has an amazing amount of volume for such
a small device, and for a budget device. You have bright white noise. Deeper white
noise. And ocean surf. Even though I really like
Marpac products in general - the Marpac Dohms, the Marpac Rohm is one that
disappointed me. What I do like about it, to be fair, is that it has an internal
rechargeable battery. And it has a very loud maximum volume - surprisingly so for
such a small device. I think this is one that Marpac designed to be used for
on-the-go, for travel. However, I think they really could have included a few
extra sounds. So for me this is one that might be useful if you want a very small
lightweight device. However, if you want one with any kind of variety this is not
going to be the one for you. Finally, my least favorite white noise machine that
I have ever tried, if I'm honest. The Aurola. This device disappointed me in so
many ways that I think I could make an entire video - well, I have made an entire
video - just talking about why I don't like it. The design itself is very ugly,
it's very old, and I really don't like the fact that it has this incredibly
difficult to use volume knob here. I mean, I'm a climber, I have strong fingers, but
even that taxes my fingers. You'll notice I'm holding the Aurola in two hands and
that's because it has this very strange system where the cable comes out the
back and you need a kickstand to make it stand up. And if you do that, when you try
and press the buttons it just moves around, so you need to hold it with both
hands to change the actual settings. It has a choice of seven sounds which have
individual buttons, which is something that I do like when it doesn't have many
options.
It does have a headphone jack, which is very useful for private listening. That's
one thing the aula does have going for it.
However, on the whole, I think that this is a device which is essentially a waste
of money, and one that I would strongly advise not getting. Finally, let's talk
about ways to play white noise that don't involve using a white noise
machine. Perhaps the easiest way is using your smartphone. There are many different
apps. Whether it's an Android device or an Apple device, many different apps that
you can use to play white noise. Some of them are free. Some of them are free
until they're not, when they ask you to pay for an upgrade. But in my experience,
you can easily find lots of good apps out there that have a good amount of
white noise.
One final option, for people who have a smart home system, is to use that to play
your white noise, as I recently discovered. For example: Alexa, play white
noise. Alexa, play brown noise. Let's see if she can. And there you go. It's really good that you can
just turn it on and off. I quite like Alexa, but I also like Google home. So you
can use your smart home device to play white noise. However, I've also discovered
that she (if I say her name she'll respond) will eventually ask you to pay
for upgrades, depending on which app you've chosen. However, it's worth looking
around and trying to find the right app that you don't have to pay for.
Alexa says "now here's an hour of rain sounds" So there you have it, my top white noise
machines at the moment. I hope you found one that you like the sound of, that
looks good to you, and has the features that you're interested in. If you'd like
to buy any, you can find links in the description below this video. Please also
subscribe to my youtube channel to keep in touch with me. To see my future reviews
of white noise machines, and also other sleep products. Thanks again for watching.
This is Ethan from no sleepless nights.