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| Marpac 580A Sound Screen & SleepMate Sound Conditioner | 
 enlarge | Brand: Marpac
Discount Category: Health And Beauty
Selling Price: $46.95
Buy New: $40.95
Potential Savings: $6.00 (13%)
New (14) from $40.95
Customer Ratings:  53 comments
Color: Fog white
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Shipping Weight (pounds): 2.4
Dimensions (inch): 5.8 x 5.8 x 3.8
MPN: SM580
Model: 580
UPC: 653119880829
EAN: 0036005009816
Release Date: January 15, 2007
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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| Customer Comments:
 Works as Advertised November 2, 2008
4 out of 4 found this comment useful.
Unfortunately, my lovely bride, Mrs. Gorilla, is at times prone to snoring, gurgling, and other odd sounds in the night whilst in slumber. In years past, this would generally occur while she was laying on her back, and a gentle prod to her thigh would be enough to get her to roll to her side and quiet the veritable symphony of sounds. Lately, the noise has been occurring regardless of her position in bed, leaving me with two options - to lay awake until the racket subsides or move to another location. Neither seemed desirable.
At this point, I began to research the situation and came across this gizmo: the Marpac 580 Sound Screen and SleepMate Sound Conditioner. Try saying THAT three times fast. It's just a fancy name for a small fan inside a plastic housing. The reviews seemed mostly positive and the price seemed right, so I was convinced to order one with all due speed.
I am happy to report that it has solved all issues and restored marital bliss. It has a "low" and a "high" setting on the switch - but these seem rather pointless. The real options for increasing or decreasing the noise it makes come from rotating the disk on top of the device as well as rotating the exterior plastic housing that constitutes the "sides" of the thing - basically - the larger the holes on the side and the more holes you "open" on top the louder it gets. I have mine set at full throttle, and to my ear it is QUITE loud, more than enough to mask any sounds coming from Mrs. Gorilla on the other side of the bed. It does not completely drown out all noise, but as I explain below, it masks it in a way that, at least for me, solves the problem.
I have it sitting atop the high dresser located about six feet or so from my side of the bed, versus on the night stand right beside me, and even from that distance it really is enough to mask any noise I might otherwise hear. I struggle to choose the right verb here: it "masks" or "blends" the noises I may or may not hear - it does not always "obliterate" them. Thus, I have woken up a couple of times while Mrs. Gorilla was snoring, realized I could still hear her, but found that I could focus on the steady whooshing sound of the device rather than her intermittent sawing of wood, and fall back to sleep. Apparently, for me anyway, such noises only become distressing when contrasted with absolute silence. When blended with a background white noise like this device makes, the sound of snoring is not a problem in the least. And for most of the other nighttime noises that might occur - those ARE genuinely covered up. This includes any odd noises the dog might make in the night, the sound of my teenage son galumphing up the stairs at midnight when I'm already in bed, and so on - and I definitely have been sleeping more soundly and comfortably.
I'll leave it to a psychologist or an MD to explain why I no longer find the snoring noise so distressing when blended with a white noise generator - and thus conclude with a hearty recommendation: five stars, and four enthusiastic thumbs up (counting the two on my feet...)
 works well October 30, 2008
I bought this as a sound screen for a professional office. It works quite well at creating white noise so that speaking is masked. It has two settings. It would be nice to have a variable control as opposed to only two choices; however, it is priced well for what I got. I would buy it again.
Works as advertised to help sleep September 6, 2008
Yes, this little machine has definitely improved my sleep almost from day one. I read another review that stated that you can hear a motor hum in addition to the "white noise" sound - it is true. So, I use the machine on full sound loudness, which drowns out the motor hum. Someone who wants a quieter white noise might have to put up with the motor hum, but some might not find that sound objectionable ... All in all, I am pleased with the product.
 Not quite "white" noise July 28, 2008
3 out of 4 found this comment useful.
My wife wanted a white noise generator to drown out the early-rising birds outside our bedroom window. So I bought a SleepMate 580A about a month ago. It does cover-up the bird sounds. But as other reviewers have noted, it's quite loud - if I don't use earplugs, I wake in the morning with ringing in my ears. But my real dissatisfaction is that within the nice whooshing white noise, you can distinctly hear the hum of the fan motor (60-cycle hum). Maybe my unit is defective, or maybe I'm more sensitive to motor hum than most people. I'm going to try the Marsona 1288A.
Worth every penny July 23, 2008
2 out of 2 found this comment useful.
I absolutely love this item. I bought my first one 10 years ago, and spilled soda on it (sadly) and didn't waste a second replacing it.
Yes, a fan or a humidifier helps too, but really, I like that this can be used in all kinds of weather- and it travels so well!
The biggest thing I can say about it is that I love that it has a real motor- it's not a "loop" of prerecorded sounds. I can ALWAYS hear that little glitch when the loop starts over again- so annoying. The marpac product is so terrific- the real motor helps make natural white noise, and being able to turn it helps customize the sound.
You will NOT be disappointed.
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