HoMedics SS-2000 Sound Spa Relaxation Sound Machine with 6 Nature Sounds, Silver
|
List Price: Our Price: $12.99 You Save: $12.00 (48%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: Health Care See more product details |
|---|
Customer Reviews of HoMedics SS-2000 Sound Spa Relaxation Sound Machine with 6 Nature Sounds, Silver
Customer Review: Love it, can't live [sleep] without it.
Summary: 4 Stars
We started using this when our daughter was 2 months old and she's almost 3 years old and we're still using it (although we have bought several, see below). She sleeps with it every night and sleeps great! I give it 4 stars because even though it does the job and we LOVE it, we have had a few minor issues that keep it from being perfect. The things we love about it are it has the perfect 'white noise' sound for our daughter, has volume control, and is pretty portable, it also has battery backup which has come in handy when the power goes out.
It comes with several different sound options, but we only use one sound, the one that sounds closest to 'white noise'. The other sounds don't seem very relaxing to listen to; with crickets chirping and birds singing constantly but I know my nephew has the same sound machine and sleeps best with those sounds. So while we don't ever use them, it's nice that there are options for different sounds. It also has a timer option which will shut it off after a certain amount of time, but we dont use that either.
So far we've bought 4, the first one we bought had an issue with the AC power cord connection after about a year and only worked with batteries (so we keep that one at grandma's house and just make sure that we have extra batteries if they need to be changed). The 2nd one which we've been using for about 2 years started to have knob issues, when we turn it to certain volumes the sound stops so we have to adjust it to make sure that it doesn't shut off in the middle of the night. The 3rd one is working fine and stays at our daycare providers house. The 4th one is a backup in case #2 or #3 decide to stop working.
I think it's best to keep this thing away from curious little ones (as with any electronics but kids are curious about all these buttons!) so keep it at a level that they wont be able to play with it. While its pretty sturdy I don't think it does well with overzealous turning of knobs and pushing of buttons (perhaps what happened to our #2 sound machine). Also if you're traveling with it, be careful in the way you pack it, I think in the beginning with our #1 sound machine we were wrapping the cord around the sound machine and this damaged the AC power cord connection.
All in all, it's a wonderful sound machine and I recommend this to any one with children who have sleep issues.
Customer Review: Review from a Daysleeper
Summary: 5 Stars
Let me start by saying that I cannot sleep without this machine.
Now let me explain why. I am a light sleeper, work the midnight shift and sleep during the day. I have a 2yr old daughter(high pitch screamer) and 5 & 11 yr old boys that don't get along. In the past I slept with a window AC running next to my head to block out the noise of the house. When winter came I was reluctant to take the AC out of the window because it was the only thing I had that would muffle the other sounds in the house. I tried earplugs that made my ears raw after a few weeks. I tried running fans on top speed. I tried running the TV, but occasionally gunshots and explosions on the TV would wake me up.
So when I bought this sound machine, I was very happy and relieved. I have had this for 5 months. I only use 2 of the sounds. Rain (wife's favorite) and Waterfall (my favorite). To me the waterfall cranked up loud sounds like my window AC, which is why its my favorite. I set it next to the bedroom door and crank it up loud. I sleep farthest from the door. And I sleep like a baby unless one of the kids do a cannonball run into the bedroom door. I am so happy with this sound machine that I bought another one to stash away just in case this one ever stops working, after all I am a few decades from retiring and getting my kids all grown up and out of the house. Simply put, I need this!
I think the build and style of the machine is fairly nice and low profile. My room is like a darkroom and i am able to find the "on" switch(its also the volume switch) easily in the dark. It really doesn't take much room. The volume is a turn dial that goes plenty loud enough to drown out sibling rivalry in the rest of the house. The speaker is on top with the push button sounds around the speaker. You can turn the unit on and off and it will stay on the selected sound as long as it remains plugged in. And there is also an off timer on the unit. I have no complaints about this device. And with the sleep i have been able to get since owning this, it was well worth the reasonably small price i paid for it.
Customer Review: NOT AS GOOD AS THE OLD MODEL FOR BABIES
Summary: 2 Stars
I HAVE HAD THE EARLIER MODEL OF THIS SOUND SPA FOR OVER A YEAR. YES, THE STAND DID BREAK OFF. AFTER HAVING IT FOR MORE THAN A YEAR THE SPEAKERS SEEM TO HAVE BLOWN BUT THAT'S BECAUSE IT HAS BEEN USED FOR EVERY SINGLE NAP & OVERNIGHT SLEEP MY SON HAS HAD SINCE HE WAS 3 MONTHS OLD. IT HAS BEEN THE BEST WHITE NOISE MACHINE BECAUSE YOU CAN SET IT TO THE VOLUME (MINE WAS ALWAYS AT THE LOUDEST FOR HIM TO SLEEP) AND TURN IT ON & OFF WITH A PUSH BUTTON. MY SON IS OLD ENOUGH NOW THAT HE TURNS IT ON & OFF HIMSELF. HE LOVES HIS SOUND MACHINE. I'M NOT SURPRISED IT'S FINALLY HAVING ISSUES BECAUSE IT'S BEEN USED AND ABUSED AT FULL VOLUME FOR SO LONG. I THINK THE STAND WOULDN'T HAVE BROKEN IF IT HAD JUST STAYED IN HIS ROOM & NOT BEEN TRANSPORTED AS OFTEN AS IT WAS. I WISH THE OLD MODEL WAS STILL IN PRODUCTION.
I BOUGHT THIS NEW VERSION TO REPLACE MY OLD MODEL. HERE ARE THE CONS:
1) THE WATERFALL SOUND IS MOST LIKE WHITE NOISE (NO WHITE NOISE BUTTON ON THIS MODEL) BUT THE WHITE NOISE SETTING ON THE OLD MODEL IS MUCH SMOOTHER, SOFTER, AND MORE CALMING.
2) THIS NEW MODEL IS LESS ATTRACTIVE IN MY OPINION.
3) TO TURN THIS ONE ON YOU HAVE TO TWIST THE KNOB & TURN IT UP TO THE VOLUME YOU WANT EACH TIME YOU USE IT, AND YOU HAVE TO TWIST IT TO TURN IT OFF. THE CONVENIENCE OF LIGHTLY TAPPING A HUGE BUTTON & HAVING A SET VOLUME IS GONE.
I MISS THE WHITE NOISE SOUND ON THE OLD ONE, PLUS THE WAY YOU TURN IT ON & OFF WITHOUT CHANGING THE VOLUME SETTING. MAYBE IF I HAD NEVER HAD THE OLD CONVENIENCES TO COMPARE IT TO, THIS WOULD BE A GOOD CHOICE. IT DOES GET NICE & LOUD LIKE THE OLD ONE TO TRULY BLOCK OUT OTHER SOUNDS. IT'S ALSO SMALL & WOULD BE GOOD FOR TRAVEL TOO. I GAVE IT 2 STARS FOR THE PRICE, LOUD VOLUME, & THE SOUND QUALITY, WHICH IS VERY GOOD. I'LL PROBABLY END UP USING THIS ONE ONLY FOR TRAVEL FOR HIM, AND KEEP TRYING TO FIND MY OLD MODEL SOMEWHERE, SOMEHOW.
Customer Review: Distracting Sound Machine
Summary: 2 Stars
I've been having trouble sleeping lately, so I decided to go back to using Sound Machines. In the past I always set them to the Ocean Waves sounds and left them on all night. Because of this, they frequently died on me due to so much use - so it was time to buy a new one! One great feature about this sound machine is the timer option.
I was looking forward to falling asleep to the sound of ocean waves once again, but unfortunately that has not happened with this machine. Personally it doesn't sound like the seagulls are in the background at all. It sounds like they are right there on the shore near where the sounds are being recorded. In order to hear the ocean waves sounding like more than just white noise you have to turn it up loud enough that the seagulls are distracting and disturbing when trying to get a good night's sleep.
The rain sounds nice, but there are a few dripping sounds that are also distracting. It's like rain dripping off of an awning rather than just pitter-pattering on the ground. Maybe it's because I've had insomnia lately, but it's just really too noticeable to fall asleep to.
I really want to like this product, but if I can't sleep to the sounds of the ocean with it, then it's really just not going to work out between us. I've just not been able to switch it off of "Waterfall" - which is basically just White Noise.
I can't really comment on the other sounds too much. I bought this machine to also tune out the crickets outside my window - so I haven't used the "Summer Night" sounds. The "Rainforest" is basically the same issue, but with birds instead of crickets, so I haven't tried listening to that one much either. The "Heartbeat" I must agree with others and say is a bit creepy - though I understand the use of it for babies.
Customer Review: Works very well
Summary: 5 Stars
Very calming, and very good for somehow masking distracting noises, to let you sleep. I mostly use the waterfall (sounds like white noise) or rain settings. I leave it turned on all night, using mains instead of batteries. I also sleep with earplugs in, to block out noisy neighbours. The combination of the earplugs and the Sound Spa works much better than the earplugs alone. I can turn the Sound Spa up loud enough that I can easily hear it through the earplugs. It works so well that I have to not use it when I need to get up at 5:00 the next morning, or else I will sleep through my watch alarm, and my vibrating pillow alarm ! I bought the vibrating alarm to help me wake up, after I started wearing earplugs to sleep. Yes, its an arms race between the sleep aids and the wake-up aids !
If you listen, you can still hear the noisy neighbours etc, through the Sound Spa, but it seems to trick your brain into not paying attention to the noisy neighbours. Rather than drowning them out by brute strength, if you see what I mean. Sometimes when I wake up, I think, thats funny, I can't hear the Sound Spa ! Then as my brain wakes up a little more, the Sound Spa fades back in to my perception. So some part of my brain that worries about noises seems to have been shut down for the night. Fantastic ! Or maybe thats normal when you sleep.
I had been going to buy one of the cheaper competitors, but judging by their poor reviews, I'm glad I spent a bit more and bought this one instead. Anyway, it was only a tiny bit more expensive, or maybe the same price, I can't remember.