I have now used the Sound+Sleep SE for a couple of months and want to share my review.
Most nature sound machines work like a simple MP3 player on repeat.
You choose a sound like “ocean surf,” the machine plays a recorded sound, and having reached the end, it starts over and repeats the recording.
If good care has been taken so that you don’t hear a break when it restarts, this can work quite well.
Unfortunately, in most current machines the recordings are rather short, so our brain learns quickly that after a certain wave crashes into the shore, the sound is going to restart.
ASTI advertises the Sound+Sleep SE as a sound machine with naturally recorded sounds that constantly evolve and never loop.
You might have heard that “doesn’t loop claim” from many manufacturers, only to find that you were able to detect loops and patterns in the sounds.
So does the Sound+Sleep perform as advertised?
I have now listened to the SE for many hours and as far as I can hear, the manufacturer’s description of this sound machine is accurate.
I wasn’t able to detect loops and the sounds really are evolving. These are very well designed sound stories.
Throughout this review, I have woven in samples of my favorite sounds, so you can decide whether you share my taste.
Contents
Summary
For nature sounds, the Sound+Sleep SE is the best standalone sound machine I have so far had the pleasure to listen to.
Pros:
For practical purposes the machine really is non-looping.
Very large selection of rich nature sounds, in particular sounds related to water.
Well thought-out and easy operation (even in the dark), considering that the machine has 64 different sounds.
All lights can be turned off.
Appears to be a multi-track sound machine (rather than a one-track sound player on repeat) that dynamically mixes different recorded sounds.
White noises and fan sounds are dynamically created (using a synthesizer).
Cons:
Not ideal for travel: the machine is quite large and only supports AC power (but voltages from 100 to 240 V).
I would like a few more serene sounds, like a meadow with only wind (without any crickets and water), or only birds (without any water).
Pink and white noise selections should sound more accurate when played through the speaker: they have a boosted bass, but the mid-frequencies are attenuated, giving me the feeling that something is missing. Via the headphone jack, the white noises sound fine (and so is the frequency spectrum), so I think it is the speaker’s tuning or the equalization. The white noise generator itself is good.
A machine of this caliber should have a user-accessible equalizer.
Operation
The Sleep+Sound SE has a total of 64 sounds, also called sound stories:
Rotate the dial to select between one of 16 sound categories.
Then use the selection button to choose one of 4 sounds within a given category and adjust the volume to your liking. (The machine memorizes your favorite in each category.)
Often the sounds in a given category (in particular the water sounds) are similar and mainly differ in their “richness.”
For example, within the category rainfall, you can choose between the following:
rain,
rain with wind and light thunder,
rain with heavy wind and thunder,
and rain with heavy wind and heavy thunder.
Here is a sample of the rain with heavy wind and thunder (first the recorded speaker output, then directly via the headphone jack).
I’ll weave in more sound samples throughout this review, so you get an idea whether this is something for you.
