ultimately is not a good thing. The LCD numbers are nice and clear, but the backlight is extremely bright. There is a switch on the back for low and high light, but low is still very bright. The first few nights I woke up and needed to put the clock face down because it lit the room up. It is sometimes difficult to see the numbers well because the backlight and the display numbers back ground buzzing is distracting The concept is sound and some of the noises are quite pleasant but I have not found it helpful for my sleep. I had hoped to use it to drown out my husbands snoring but all I can hear is the buzzing. If I were not so busy I would probably return it. Newer isnt better I was pretty disappointed with my new Sound Soother. I have an OLD one that Ive probably had for close to 30 years and Ive loved it from the first day, but it started getting very static-y in recent years. The old one had AM/FM radio and an alarm that ramps up. This is a very important feature for me because I HATE being jolted out of sleep. The radio alarm would come on gradually and nudge me awake. This new Sound Soother doesnt even have a radio and the alarm is annoying. Also, there is too much of a leap in volume between settings. One setting might not be loud enough, but the next