Sharper Image Sound Soother White Noise Machine

I was dealing with bad insomnia for the past few months, and my efforts to wake earlier (so I'd be tired enough to sleep earlier) were not helped by me constantly sleeping through my alarm. I was looking for a clock with a few specific functions: 1. It had to have a gradual wake feature, as the shock from normal alarm clocks always left me groggy in the morning, 2. It had to be able to use some kind of nature sound as the alarm, simply because it's more pleasant to wake up to those than it is to a beep, and 3. It had to be lit with cool blue LED lights, because this is less jarring to look at at night, and the blue is more soothing to look at than the normal red LEDs, which just look ugly to me. It was really impressed with how many sounds there were on the clock (20), I didn't expect it to have that many. I've never heard the earlier model so I can't comment if the clarity was better with those, but the sounds are fine to use as an alarm. They are definitely not clear enough to use as a sound machine or sound soother; there is a lot of noise, like the sounds were recorded through a cheap microphone, or possibly the speakers are cheap. But since I did not buy the alarm clock to listen to, and just use it as an alarm, it personally did not matter to me. Some of the sounds are also pretty clear. I like to use the wind chimes sound as my alarm, since it's a gentle way to wake up, and the sound clarity is better than some of the other sounds like the ocean or the brook. It's very easy and straightforward to navigate the clock menus and set up the alarm. You can also program 2 alarms, which is a nice bonus! And you can set each alarm to go off everyday, every weekday, or every weekend day. I was impressed with how many features the clock was programmed with. My insomnia is also a lot better now, and this clock looks great on my blue desk! It had an unobtrusive yet slick and modern design, and the numbers have 3 levels of brightness that are all aesthetically pleasing. There is also a daylight savings time button on the back of the clock, so you can adjust that with the flick of a finger instead of programming it through the clock buttons manually. I am happy with my purchase and glad I bought it despite the negative reviews. :) There really wasn't any other alarm clock on Amazon that fit my criteria, and if they did they cost over $100 and there was no way I was paying that much for an alarm clock, so I'm relieved that the one clock that is reasonably priced turned out to be better than what I had been expecting.

I am really enjoying this purchase. It is easy to program with clear instructions. The speakers are good quality so the radio and nature sounds sound good. There are 20 nature sounds - most of which I like, but I guess that means there is something for everyone! I like being able to fall asleep and wake up to them. So much better than a traditional buzz from the alarm clock. I have not heard the traditional buzz on this clock sounds like, however - just using the nature sounds. You can dim the display, but I find the dimmest setting a little too bright, but I just face the clock away from me. No problem. Like others have commented, when setting the alarm, the nature sounds you choose is really loud, but is only loud when setting the alarm. The sound starts off nice and quiet for the actual alarm. Nice design too. This was a great buy. I'm happy to have my smart phone out of the bedroom.

I bought this to replace a much older version of the basically the same thing which had finally given out after many, many years. This version works just fine, but the only three things I like about this newer version more is that (1) the base is wider so it doesn't tip over, (2) the variable brightness options for the display, and (3) you can program two alarms with weekday/weekend/everyday options instead of just one. The older version was just built better. More solid, metal, compact construction. Next to it, this new version is all lightweight plastic and feels cheap. But buttons are louder when pressed, but maybe they'll break in and soften up after I use it for a while. Setting the alarm isn't hard, but when it comes to selecting the sound it gives you a sample that is WAY too loud that you can't control, so you have to skip over it quickly or do it when you won't disturb others. Don't get me wrong...you can control the sound of the alarm and sounds every other place, which is obviously the most important thing. But it's weird that I can set one of the soothing sounds to go off at the lowest volume in the morning, but when actually programming the alarm it's super loud. You'll see comments that the sound from the speakers isn't great. Well, it's not great but also not terrible. However, I'm not expecting Dolby Surround sound out of my alarm clock. :-) But I picked this machine over countless other types of clocks and 'sound soothers' because (a) I really liked the previous Sharper Image version and (b) I couldn't find anything else that had the combination of radio, soothing sounds, dual alarm, adjustable display, and waking with sounds that start low and slowly get louder. Plus the price is reasonable to get all of that. So while I'm disappointed that Sharper Image didn't continue to use the quality materials to make a 'solid' feeling unit, I'm basically happy with this version. I did try a few other kinds and did NOT have good experiences with them at all. I think it's just a matter of letting the old one go and getting used to this one more than anything else.

Have had this unit for a number of years now. My audiologist directed me to get a digital sound machine (random) over an analog (recurring loop with resulting rhythm) to mask tinnitus at night. She was right - I fall asleep every night to a thunderstorm. Very high quality, durable machine.