The Best White Noise Machines:10 Reviewed And Compared

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

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.

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

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

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..

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