Ecotones Sound + Sleep Machine, Model ASM1002
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Customer Reviews of Ecotones Sound + Sleep Machine, Model ASM1002
Customer Review: Pretty sound good machine; AWESOME customer service
Summary: 5 Stars
I ordered the Sound Machine hoping it would lull my overactive mind to sleep, and found it to be rather useful. Several of the settings were helpful for me, especially when paired with some of my "guided imaginary" sleep CDs. (it's like having someone guide you in meditation while sleeping in a forest by brook, aahhh,zzzzz). I still think $100 is somewhat steep for this product (sometimes it does go on sale, though), especially since it appears somewhat cheap when you look at it closely; however I absolutely have to give it five stars, because the company immediately and cheerfully sent me a new unit at no charge when mine quit working after just three months. I'm listening to my new one right now. Five out of the ten settings involve water in some way, and I find these to be particularly soporific. You choose the sound station by means of a dial, and other settings with a push button. They all work as indicated, including the "display" button which turns off the LEDs so theat the unit is unlit. I do not use the timer feature, because I think it is more effective for me to just leave it on all night as it helps me get back to sleep if I wake up.
These are the available sounds: WATERFALL, FIREPLACE, OCEAN, MEADOW, TRAIN, CITY, RAINFALL, BROOK, MEDITATION AND WHITE NOISE. I prefer mainly the water ones, including "meadow", which has a gentle brook sound in the background, plus plenty of crickets sounds. (In fact, I'd love to hear more "outdoor venues", including the sounds of gentle wind in the trees, spring peepers and/or other frogs, and cicadas. But that's just me.) I also like "rainfall", but I wish it had some good thunder along with it. "Ocean" with its crashing waves is good, as is "Brook" and "Waterfall". I don't care for "fireplace" that much--sounds too synthetic, for one thing; and I'm not big on white noise in general, either. "Train" and "City" are fine, also. You can hear the train clacking lightly as it goes along the tracks, and a bell softly clanging, too. No train whistles, though I would not object to that. "City" is just like cars and things, but bland--no sirens or horns (thankfully). "Meditation" has an eastern Indian sort of flavor, with a drone note and other notes, but no melody. This one didn't help my sleep, but you may want to meditate to it, or try it for concentration. That about covers the settings; something for about everyone, I think.
The black, teardrop shaped unit is OK looking on a nightstand, but the thin cord is rather short. I think my unit stopped working after it fell unto the carpet, less than three feet, so handle with care, and it should last. If not, just contact the manufacturer; they are very pleasant and helpful.
Customer Review: Awesome on the first night!
Summary: 5 Stars
After my sound machine (different brand) of 15 years finally quit working, I chose this one because of the great reviews. I've only had it one night so far, but I think it's safe to say that I already love it. I fell asleep listening to the ocean, which sounds very realistic. (I wouldn't use the ocean setting on my old sound machine.) I'm looking forward to trying all the sounds, except maybe the meadow. I don't find listening to crickets soothing. I guess that's why there are so many options! I will update this review at a later date, if needed.
Update: It's been a couple months,and I still really like this sound machine. I'll run through the sound options, because I would have found it helpful when going through reviews, but keep in mind that I use this machine only for sleeping without using the Adaptive feature (increases sound over loud noises, which seems dangerous to me if there was some sort of emergency overnight). I also don't add layers of richness (another option that I don't find useful for sleeping, but would be great for using during the day at the office or something). In fact, I believe the instruction booklet doesn't recommend adding richness for sleeping either.
Waterfall: a favorite; sounds like a distant waterfall.
Fireplace: can't use because I keep waking up thinking the house is on fire.
Ocean: sounds pretty realistic but still not quite consistent enough for me to sleep soundly through the night(ok for a nap though).
Meadow: Crickets, need I say more? (Although, I bought my Grampie a sound machine a few years ago and he loves listening to the crickets.)
Train: surprisingly, quite soothing.
City: not for me, but it does sound like muffled city noises (like through a window, down below, or in the distance).
Rainfall: use a lot, sounds very real, like a steady rain.
Brook: sounds great but, unfortunately, this one has some sort of blurb in it where the sound gets really loud for a few seconds, and then goes back to the normal volume it's set on, (only the Adaptive button isn't even on). This seems to happen every 20 minutes, so it wakes me up if I'm already sleeping or dozing off.
Meditation: Not soothing for sleep. It is a grinding whining sound from some sort of Oriental instrument.
White Noise: Sounds pretty similar to the Waterfall setting.
Customer Review: Excellent machine and even better customer service!
Summary: 5 Stars
I purchased this in September because of a downstairs apartment neighbor who was listening to the radio all night long with surround sound shaking my floor. It works great for drowning out noises that keep you awake at night and I have trouble trying to sleep without it now even when traveling. I have it under the slats and mattress on my platform bed frame thus blocking out the sounds from below. The adaptive mode is very cool how it picks up noises and covers them up. The volume gets incredibly loud and I am usually nowhere even near halfway up so i'm not sure on the reviews about low volume output? My personal favorite is the meadow sound since it has enough in it to block out just about anything. The timer is great to have it shut off after an hour or two automatically. The only thing I have found annoying so far is on the meadow track with the richness turned up there is the sound of either a pigeon or mourning dove randomly cooing that had me shoot out of bed when I heard it the first time because I thought one was somehow in my room! So now I use the richness on 0.
I had my sleep machine stop working this Tuesday and got angry because I was expecting a hard return policy..WRONG! I called up Adaptive Sound on Tuesday and talked to Ira. I explained that the machine was not turning on and he asked only one question-my shipping address. He asked nothing else-not when it was purchased, from where, if I filled out the warranty card, etc. He then explained he was sending a new unit out UPS 2 day mail and all I had to do when I received the new one was put the old one in the box the new one came in and send it back. He then emailed me a prepaid return shipping label and instructions stating what he had said on the phone. My new unit got here today on Thursday and now all I have to do is drop the old one off at the UPS store in the morning to send it back at no cost to me. That is excellent customer service and tells me this company truly supports their products which is something you don't find much anymore. Thanks again for the excellent customer service!
Customer Review: Excellent product to help sleep
Summary: 5 Stars
After using this sound machine for 6 weeks I have to say that I am delighted with it. A number of years ago both my wife and I had the cheap units with a short cyclical pattern that drove us nuts in a short time. We both threw them away. If you have had a similar experience, rest assured these sound recordings are nothing like that.
So what do I like?
First the selection of sound recordings should have something for everyone. There is a wide range of sounds--anywhere from nature to city life. I usually use the ocean or meadow sound pattern. The meadow is interesting in that it has several components including a stream and wildlife sounds.
All the profiles actually have quite a variation of sound. It's not just the same thing continually. For example The rainfall has sections of heavy rainfall and then it tapers off to less. You can hear all manner of things going it. Quite restful. Press the richness button and you also get thunder as I recall.
I find the timer to be helpful for taking a nap. I just set it for 30 minutes. When the volume gradually dissipates, I tend to wake up. For the night I prefer to leave it on all night.
The richness feature is a nice touch and does work well to add a variety of sounds to the basic profile. The manual says not to use it for sleep as the added random sounds could easily wake you up. I agree. But they are nice when resting and not trying to sleep.
The adaptive feature does not work so well in my opinion. But hey, that's asking a lot for it to actually mask out loud noises. However, it does help and I'm not willing to ding a star just for this.
Lastly, the design is pleasant. Hey, it could have been just a square box!. The controls are well laid out and easy to find in the dark by touch. The leds are amber. I would have preferred blue. Ah, well, it's just a matter of taste. By pushing the Display button they turn off in 15 seconds. This works great.
Bottom line: I'm very satisfied with my purchase. I highly recommend this sound machine.
Customer Review: Must-have for insomniacs (and their significant others)
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought this sound machine for my girlfriend who suffers from insomnia and has been living in a moderately noisy apartment. Getting a good night's sleep was a rare occurrence for both her and myself (when I stayed there) due to random banging noises upstairs and parties outside.
Enter the Ecotones Duet. I bought this machine based on other reviews left here and thought ANYTHING was worth a shot. While pricey, I decided on the Duet due to the multiple options and different "sound scenes" it has to offer thinking that something would work for her. Another added bonus is the adaptive volume option whereby the machine gets a little bit louder to drown out passing-by sirens and the like.
Now, it's certainly not a miracle cure and she still takes a prescription sleep aid but the dosage has been lowered and she and I both are able to sleep soundly through the night! It took a few nights to get used to but now we both find the sounds are soothing and help clear our minds in preparation for a good night's sleep. Occasionally we can still hear the neighbors above or an ambulance passing by but in general I'd say the Duet has truly been a dream come true.
Finally, the Duet also gets high marks for great customer service. As others have experienced, our Duet stopped functioning after about 4 months for an unknown reason. However, I sent a quick email to customer support and within a few hours, Ira responded and informed us that a replacement machine would be sent out UPS 2nd Day Air. He also provided return shipping labels for the defective unit. He even followed up with a phone call, which completely took me by surprise. Whatever slightly negative feelings I had about the machine failing were quickly alleviated by this truly remarkable service and the new machine is up and running like a champ. Hopefully this new unit will last a bit longer than the first.
All in all, I'd highly recommend the Ecotones Duet for someone who needs a little extra help relaxing their minds for sleep and drowning out other random sounds.