We have already discussed the best white noise machine available in the UK, but what about the best sound therapy machine? First we need to clarify the difference between a white noise machine and a sound therapy machine. A white noise machine specialises in a select range of sounds and frequencies, specifically white, pink and brown noise. They can also include sounds replicating traditional fans as they produce a white noise and oscillating noise many find helpful. A sound therapy machine on the other hand usually doesn’t specialise in a specific range of sound and instead opts for broad spectrum often focusing around nature sounds. These may include sounds like ocean, meadow, fireplace and rainfall but can also include lesser known sounds such as heartbeat, train ride, crowds talking and meditation sounds. It’s worth noting, sometimes they can be called sleep therapy machines.

Now you know what a sound therapy machine is, I can explain what makes a great one!

1) Non-looping recordings and sounds – You can’t simply record a nature sound and set it on an infinite loop. Why? Well, although you won’t notice it initially, you will eventually clock on to where the loop starts and ends, or you may hear a particular noise and then realise it occurs every 60 seconds. Imagine a bird call in a meadow, at first it would sound absolutely fine but after you hear the same call several times it will become incredibly distracting. It’s not something you want to focus on when you are trying to clear your mind and get some rest. Without giving away the secret sauce, our range of sleep therapy machines have microprocessors that process a number of tracks that dynamically generate a sound. When these tracks are combined, it creates a unique, non-looping, dynamically generated sound profile that we call a soundstory. It’s clever stuff which has taken years of incremental development to get right. High quality sound therapy machines will also have non-looping white, pink, brown noise and fan sound profiles also.

2) Adjustable sound profiles – Our range of sound machines have a feature called Richness, which is sometimes called the Selection button on the device. This is a rather unique, yet important feature which allows the user to customise their sound profile just how they like it. Before you think this sounds too complicated, it isn’t. You simply press the Richness or Selection button and a light will appear to let you know what Richness setting you are on. The higher the Richness setting, the more sounds are added to the sound profile. All of these settings can be found in the manual of the device, but for reference click here.

Here’s an of an example of Richness on an Ocean sound profile:

  1. Richness 1 (no lights) – Waves and lapping water. The waves sounds more distant and consistent.
  2. Richness 2 (right light) – Waves, lapping water and gurgling water. The waves sound move in and out and occasionally splash on a rock close by.
  3. Richness 3 (left light) – As above but also with gulls, seals and buoy bells. These sounds blend in perfectly and are not so frequent to be distracting.
  4. Richness 4 (both lights) – As above but with foghorns. Sometimes you won’t hear it for minutes, but a nice bass of a distant foghorn makes you feel like you’re there.

As you can see you can really choose the right sound for you. Other sound therapy machines don’t give you this flexibility. What if you don’t like gulls on the ocean setting? With other machines it’s tough luck!

3) Adaptive sound technology – This patented technology is designed to block out external noises, whether noisy neighbours, traffic or barking dogs. There’s no point in having the perfect sound profile, for external noise to ruin it, especially if you’re using the machine to get to sleep. Adaptive sound technology automatically uses a microphone to find the baseline volume level in the room. If it senses a disturbance it will increase the volume of the machine relative to the disturbance it senses. It will then lower the volume back to the baseline volume level once the disturbance has gone. For example, if there is a busy street outside your home and cars start beeping their horns because of a traffic jam, the sound machine will increase its volume to mask the beeping traffic. Once the traffic has cleared, the machine will go back to it’s normal volume. This clever technology is very useful when using the machine for sleep or even meditation.

5) Reputation – A good reputation is what builds a good company, and to get a good reputation you have to manufacture great products and look after your customers. Even if you found a device that was non-looping, and had a half decent sound profiles, what do you do if it breaks down in 13 months? There are a huge amount of cheap imports, who have no reputation and don’t care for one. They change their product name each year to wipe away poor reviews and to start a fresh. They sell cheap units to the masses who don’t realise the false economy of cheap products. Sound of Sleep UK sell products that are rated at the top of review websites, YouTube videos, health magazines and most importantly by our many customers. We’re so confident in our white noise machines that we offer a 30 day, no quibble returns policy. If you don’t like it, just send it back and we’ll send you a full refund. We do this because we feel customers should have a chance to fully try a product, which is especially difficult in this online world. Our products are that good we get very few returns, but we will happily assist you if you do wish to send it back. A lot of low end imports state they have a warranty, but results are extremely mixed depending on from what seller or marketplace you bought the item. For all our products we provide a full 2 year warranty! If your power cable is damaged 23 months later, we will send you one out free of charge. We care about our customers and provide support and assistance for all our products. If you lose your power cable on holiday in 25 months, don’t worry, we not only hold spare parts but have them at very reasonable prices (£5 including shipping for a new power cable). Our products have a fantastic reputation and we do all we can to look after it and our customers.

But which is the best machine?

Our flagship product, and the best sound therapy machine is the Sound+Sleep SE which you can find here.