Marpac SleepMate 980A Electro-Mechanical Sound Conditioner
|
List Price: Our Price: $54.49 You Save: $5.46 (9%) Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Category: Health Care See more product details |
|---|
Customer Reviews of Marpac SleepMate 980A Electro-Mechanical Sound Conditioner
Customer Review: Capturing elusive sleep
Summary: 5 Stars
Update 7/3/10: Still using the SleepMate after a year and I can't sleep without it! I take it with me whenever I go on vacation or spend the night somewhere else. It worked wonders while camping to drown out the sounds of early risers. (well only if you camp w/ electricity!) It does take a little while to get used to since it's a different sound, and I've found it's better at about 3-4 feet from the bed. Trust me when I say, if you need white noise to sleep, this is the product to use.
I've had the SleepMate for a few months now and I've certainly noticed a difference in my sleep. I work third shift, and my house is on the corner of a three-way stop. So you can imagine my annoyance at the non-stop work commuters who screech to a halt and then floor it.
I always use a fan to try and drown out the sounds, even earplugs sometimes, but they both only mask the higher frequencies, and not the lower frequencies that well. So I ended up doing some research and purchased this. I've seen the comments on the expense, but what is a good night's sleep worth anyway? It's not too exorbitant, no more expensive then those ugly Ugg boots people wear.
I was surprised at the compact design. Very simple and unobtrusive. And although it doesn't get as loud as a fan on high, what can you expect from a little machine? You can adjust the tone and volume to a degree, which helps with the aforementioned lower frequency sounds of car engines. They suggest keeping the machine between yourself and the sound you want to block, and also not right next to your head. This is good advice, as I put the machine 2 feet from the bed and then 3 feet, and I noticed a difference in the perceived volume.
It's a pleasant whooshing sound, like a fan but with less choppy air movement. It did not bother me in the slightest and so far I really like it. I think it would be perfect for travel, as one who spent the night listening to a fellow hotel dweller hack up a lung, it would certainly be useful in places where you can't get a fan. It's small enough to even fit in carry on luggage.
Customer Review: Wonderful idea; needs to be louder and less ugly.
Summary: 4 Stars
I live in downtown Manhattan, in an apt with rather leaky windows (I can smell cigarette smoke through them), on a street directly opposite a post office and a nightclub. Thus, I suffer tremendous noise levels every day; the school-bell alarm of the post office 30-50x a day, the pounding music, drunken hollering, and SWAT-team provoking fighting due to the nightclub, cars and buses and car alarms, the grinding and scraping of the immense garbage trucks at 5 am. It's horrific; I have never lived anywhere noisier (and I've lived in many places), and I need to sleep right by the window or I don't wake up.
For that and other reasons, I will be moving when my lease is up. But in the meantime I need to get some sleep, and the noise pollution is one of the biggest impediments. This device creates a wonderful white noise; it is truly entirely blank. There is no pattern. It is the sound of pure rushing air, and is immensely soothing. In fact, I feel sleepy just turning it on! However, even on the higher volume setting (this machine has low and high volumes, and then off - that's it for settings!), it's just not loud enough. If it were louder or there were a way to increase the volume, I would give this 5 stars.
Even not being loud enough, it has improved my sleep and cut down on my time to fall asleep; it significantly muffles outside sound, even if it can't completely cover it. I'm still happy I got it, because it has helped. I also find it useful for reading, because it helps me concentrate. I cannot adequately emphasize how soothing and peaceful it is. My only other quibble with it is that it's INSANELY UGLY. I mean, who the hell designed it? It's a hideous light beige-grey colour, like so many older computers, and the logo on top is incredibly tacky looking. The shape isn't even pleasing, either. I wish I could put something over it, but that would block some of the volume. I have it hidden behind my curtain, which only slightly decreases the volume, but I wish I could have it out fully without dying from the visual assault.
Customer Review: It's a noise generator, not magic
Summary: 4 Stars
So, I read many of the reviews for this product (both good & bad), and based upon them, I made my purchase - even though I think it's a bit pricey for what it is.
And what is it -- a white noise generator. Actually, it's a fan inside of an off-white hard plastic casing. There are holes in the top that can be adjusted to allow for more or less air through. The same can be said for the sides, intersecting slots that can be adjusted.
These two adjustments allow you you set volume & tone. But let's not get carried away here. Both of these adjustments are subtle -- especially the tone.
In some reviews I heard people wax on about how suddenly their inner-urban apartments were turned into serene sanctuaries tucked away in forests primeval. I exaggerate, of course, but I just get a kick out of these people!
I live in an apartment (like many people), and the connecting bedroom walls are ... well, not as sound proof as I'd like them to be. My neighbors are a new couple, and ... well ... let's just say, she's a giggler. Their not doing anything wrong or loud -- it's that the walls are too thin!
On with the product -- Marpac 980 does a very good job at blocking a great deal of noise. It doesn't block out everything. For example: my neighbors voice -- his voice, that is. He just happens to have one of those voices that will penetrate concrete. Not because it is loud, because it isn't, it has just of a certain tenor that can really travel.
Marpac says place the machine so that is can radiate noise through-out the room. Which is a good idea. I found that if you do as they say, but also locate it near the source of the noise, you'll get an even better result.
Overall, I'm glad that I bought it. It does block out much of the offending noise, and I do sleep better. However, if you want to save yourself some money, and are not as concerned about (minor) tonal changes you can get with this machine, and are not bothered about air movement -- get yourself a little desk fan.
Customer Review: A pricey product, but there's no competition
Summary: 4 Stars
I discovered the benefits of white noise quite by accident in the heat of an Auckland summer when I couldn't sleep even without the ubiquitous sheet as my only bed cover, so in desperation I trained a 14" pedestal fan on the bed, at full blast. The people next door had just acquired a German Shepherd and it had driven me nuts all day with its barking. I hadn't been able to concentrate on my work. That night it disturbed my husband so badly he stormed out of the house and up the drive to hammer on the neighbour's door. But I didn't hear a thing. However, using the fan during the winter was a bit of a nuisance, especially when we moved to an area of frequent frosts. Even turning the blast up to the ceiling wasn't satisfactory. I don't mind a cold room but I definitely dislike a freezing one! I did find a clock/radio that had some gimmicky "white noise" sounds but even the best one had an annoying beat that stopped the thing doing its job. Anyway, the clock itself eventually stopped working. Then we heard of this little gadget and sent away to the States for one. I was disappointed that the fast speed soon developed a ticking sound (as though the fan might be touching something) but since the low speed worked fine and it would cost too much to send back for repair I just carried on using it on low speed. I've had it about three years now. I take it with me when I visit my sister in Auckland. It's so much better than earplugs at masking those awful traffic noises! I've downloaded sample noises from the electronic white noise generators manufactured by the same people but none of them has the smoothness of the sounds this little gadget produces and all are horrendously expensive.
I've given the product only four stars (and would have given it four and a half if it had been possible) because of the problem I had, and the fact that somebody else here reported a problem with the low speed setting, but I would definitely recommend it above any of the ones that use electronically produced white noise.
Customer Review: This does what it is supposed to...
Summary: 4 Stars
I read a lot of the reviews before I bought this because, yeah, it is a pretty good chunk of money. I couldn't help but notice a lot of the negative reviews were mainly complaints about it not drowning out noises within the room (snoring), or not drowning out loud city sounds right outside a window on the street, or not being loud enough for very large rooms. Give me a break...NO white noise machine will mask ALL noise. I grew accustomed to sleeping with a fan on in college just to avoid hearing people walking around. I was looking for a good, portable replacement with a more steady sound (fans always seem to become unbalanced).
I did order this just in time for Christmas, the noisiest time of year with everyone (and everyone's dogs) staying in one thin-walled house. This was much cheaper than staying in a hotel for the week. When I turned it on it struck me as very loud...kind of harsh sounding. After about 10 minutes, however, I realized I didn't notice it anymore. Ten more minutes...asleep...despite everyone else in the house still walking around, talking, watching TV...
This does do a pretty good job of blocking out those types of noises. It will not save you from snoring within the room, dogs barking directly outside your door/window (does work if they're farther away), sirens going by your window, loud claps of thunder... Quite honestly though, I prefer to hear enough of those types of noises to know whether someone might be kicking down my front door or whether the smoke alarm is going off.
My only complaint is that if you are sensitive to sound like I am, you actually can pick out the noise of the motor under the white noise of the moving air. If I turn it to its loudest setting, however, it seems to be able to muffle that out enough so I don't fixate on it.
Overall, well, well worth the money.