Nick—February 6, 2014
UPDATE 2014-FEB-14 -- After owning the device a couple weeks, I had some realizations about why the Lectrofan is the best product. Other white noise machines often do not allow a very full range of pitch from high to low. The Dohm, for instance, does have a pleasing sound, but it is not capable of changing pitch too much, just muffling it really, changing the tone some too. Changing the pitch is the SMART way to block out particular sounds. If my roomie downstairs is listening to music from his cell phone or a higher pitched video game, turning the lectrofan on higher pitch blocks it out without having to blast the volume. If is he is blasting bass from his stereo, the lower pitches work better. The low rumbling of White Noise 1 (lowest Pitch) may have a pleasing sound (very much like "Brown Noise," a wonderful sound that many of you researching this topic have probably heard), but it will actually fail to mask many sounds that are higher pitch. Do not make the mistake of leaving it on the lowest pitch and just blasting the volume every time you need to block out louder noise. I suppose that white noise 4-6 would be the best general sound-blocking pitches for when you have a variety of noise in the environment. This kind of use is impossible with something like the Dohm, which I used for a long time before this. There are many sounds which the Dohm will never block without trying to use brute force with the volume (and it doesn't get anywhere near as loud as the lectrofan.) And the Lectrofan can be turned so loud that your room can sound like you are living under a waterfall or something-- so it can basically block out almost any environmental sound (though of course the reality will always be that you have to have it louder than the sound you are trying to block, which is the principle of all the sound conditioners. The point is that the sound is constant and you are not distracted by all the changes in noise.) -- I didn't think I would use the fan sounds too much- I just figured I wanted the white noise. The fan sounds are actually pretty nice. They are soothing and with no perceptible loop (lectrofan told me they were actually algorithms making the noise and not any recording of a fan.) The fans do have one issue that some people will enjoy and others will not, and most people may not even notice. They do have a repeating change in bass, which I notice more than others because I am neurotic about sounds. This change in bass will be more apparent if you have headphones on or earplugs in, but you might like it as a nice constancy. I doubled up on the lectrofans so I could get a richer sound in my room (which is very cool for white noise), but unfortunately the wobbly bass sound of the fans becomes even more distracting then. Others may enjoy this. The major downside of the fans is that they do not have the same range in pitch as the white noise, so they can not do the targeted kind of sound-masking I described above. I suspect people who are not very sensitive or neurotic (i.e., anal) about these kinds of issues will really enjoy the fans, though. I guess they are probably more realistic for having this trait. -- The white noise is pleasant. Higher pitches sound unpleasant at first, but give them a chance, maybe lower the volume. They end up sounding like fans, or rain, or a distant waterfall over time. I have the lectrofans in my room on white noise, but it still kind of sounds like the rushing of air or some other sound in nature with a similar pitch; the brain kind of fills in the gaps or hears what it wants from so general a sound. The sounds grow on you. Sometimes I will be sitting here hearing it as a waterfall, other times I will hear the same sound as air from an airconditioner or a huge downpour of rain. It is a really interesting phenomenon. Or maybe I am just crazy. -- The customer service was great. My first purchase would rattle when I turned the volume up to the highest levels. They sent me a replacement with two day shipping promptly with no questions asked. The new device gets VERY loud (way louder than the Marpac Dohm, it's main competitor) without losing quality. -- I owned a Dohm, but do not use it anymore. This device is more efficient, smaller, louder, and produces a better quality of sound and a wider range of sound. My Dohm started rattling after a few months and so I looked for a better product. Thank God this had been released recently. Read more
Gail—October 24, 2025
I have purchased so many of these devices, as I need a steady sound in order to stay asleep. (And hide my husband’s snoring.)I don’t want chimes, raindrops or rushing water or train whistles, I just want a steady whooshing noise. this one works great, it only has white (and other colors) type noise and fan sounds. It has a great volume control so it can be as loud or quiet as you want. If you prefer smooth fan sounds, this machine is just great. Plus the buttons are easy to use and make adjustments. Good price too. Read more
JP—January 13, 2016
If there were a 6-Star rating I'd give it- and I'm going to be very granular in my review as people who need white noise to sleep usually know exactly what they need and are looking for- and what they are not: Some people just need a background/white noise to gently help them fall asleep. Others, like myself, have over-active hearing and minds that take forever to settle down at night - where any sound, big or small, can trigger us out of drifting off. I think I'm on the extreme high-end of this. I've done large box fans (can't take them with you everywhere and you wake up with cotton-mouth and dry eyes), and for the last 2 years I tried different apps on my phone (none were loud enough and all had pattern cycles your brain would pick up on fast enough that don't let your mind shut down. And, I found running an app on my phone all night posed other problems on running down the battery down even when plugged in all night (I did finally find a decent app but the sound coming off a phone it was still not natural enough somehow it was weird). My mother was a flight attendant. Why is that relevant? She flew pregnant with me until she was 7 mos - and so I heard alot of jet engines before I was born. My mom used to brag that she could vacuum under my crib and I wouldn't wake up (which is true), but that she never also understood why the slightest clink of a glass in the kitchen would wake me up in a panic. I've been this way as long as I can remember -- loud, droning sounds and machines with a contant sound or rhythm will put me to sleep in minutes. On a plane I'm out before take-off. But the slightest random sound wakes my brain up, as do irregular patterns of sounds. Anyone like me knows there is nothing more soothing than the sound of a loud dishwasher going in rhythm, or a furnace working away. I also have mild tinnitus - so it's also tricky to found a sound that will cover that up in your head to just the right degree. Anyone with me so far, has probably tried everything and you eventually just make-do with something that half-works, like my phone app did. Along with the LectroFan I also got the Marpac DOHM-DS Sound Machine (wrote a separate review on it- it was far too quiet for me and not the right type of sound, though a pleasant sound). I tried the Marpac first and disappointed by it, didn't have high hopes for the LectroFan. I turned it on, and it was like Christmas for Grown-Ups... 10 different types of fan sounds, and 10 different types of white-noise sounds varying in pitch. Seriously, this was like Christmas for the sleep-deprived who crave a solution for a full night's sleep. I ran through the different sounds back and forth, amazed at how they were all unique but similar variations on both fan types and white noise - 10 of each type! My only initial disappointment, which quickly faded, was that the volume was decent compared most things I've tried--- then I realized the volume was only mid-way.... For a guy who couldn't really find anything that was 'loud enough' to block out the other sounds - I found that on some of the fan/white noise variations I actually had to turn it down from full volume. Anyone who's gone through what I have my whole life trying to get to sleep and even sleep 3-4 hours at a time will understand when I say I almost got a bit emotional at the relief-potential I realized the LectroFan has. Honestly- the hard part will be trying the different fan/white noise sounds to find which I like best (having so choices, along, is mind-boggling). These are not fake, pre-recorded, twangy sounding- these sound like the real things. I am actually excited to go to bed tonight, instead of dreading wondering what sounds will bug me and get my brain going again, or how long it will take to try and sleep, how long I'll be able to stay asleep or how exhausted I may wake up. I'm trying "Duct Fan" tonight and I'll have to put it about 3 steps down from the loudest setting (which, again, is awesome that I found something that can go louder than I even needed). I should add, the low-end of the volume spectrum on this would be fine for babies, even. Size-wise, think about a stack of drink coasters. Not huge, not small - move something to another nightstand and make the room. It's also easily portable for travel. It's not pretty, it's not ugly. I am surprised they haven't gone the extra step of adding a clock/alarm to it, because it would be a great 2-in-1. I'm making a point to write this right after trying it out, because for anyone who's been as miserable as I have for so long, I'm hoping this helps them out, as well. I will most likely add updates after using it through the night a week or two, as well. Good night! Read more
