Sanity Saver - So Good I Bought Two
I love the white noise it brings to a room, day or night.  To be fair, I DO also sleep with earplugs most of the time (I am a nut about sound) but even without plugs, my husband has still come and gone long after I am asleep, the dog barked or scratched in the night, and I never stirred.  First time I tried to fall asleep with Marpac and without earplugs I thought "Too loud, I'll never fall...." Zzzzz...  Street and people noise outside are drowned out.<br /><br />It seems like it works in layers creating its own wall of white noise - if Marpac is the closest sound to me, it works best to disguise noise outside of that closest layer.  I put Marpac between me and the source of the noise (side of the window or wall where bulk of noise comes from) for best results.  I am sure you would still hear someone snorting right up next to you however.  Someone described it as the constant rush of air sound you would hear in an airplane, and I'd agree.  Some reviews say it's too loud - well, depends on your sensitivity and what you need!  I want it to totally mask outdoor noise (I am in a single family home, residential area, so people noise around the yards, typical residential street noise, early birds, etc.) and I do not find it too loud at all.  Can easily hold a normal conversation in a room with the machine on.  I bought the 580 as the top twists and adjusts to allow more or less sound. The lowest sound (the smallest holes opened to allow sound) is not too much for me but I can see how some people would think its loudish.  I move it around the room to suit and I can adjust to make louder, which is why I got the 580 vs. the other model.<br /><br />An example of use not just for sleeping: I can hear the kids next door, one property over, playing (read: screaming and banging things really hard on the ground) to varying degrees in my own home and I was at my witts end, and I even have extra wall insulation for sound.  Can NOT tolerate noise.  Priced out sound proof windows.  $$$$!!!  Bought another Marpac to keep downstairs. Listening to the tv over the Marpac is not an issue and I don't have to have it blaring to hear over Marpac.  The air-sound just fades in to the background.<br /><br />Note - it will definitely help drown out and mask the higher pitched noises.  I tried to listen for the screaming darlings next door playing basketball over Marpac and couldn't hear them.  It can not however stop things like heavy drum beats, loud stereo thumping...sound with vibrations you can feel through your body.  You need to physically stop the sound waves from traveling in those cases.
Rating: 5 stars