There have been many upgrades, with the last one coming about a year ago which added the “A” to the model number and a slight change in dimensions and a “whiter” color.  Marpac places either a Sleep Mate label or a Soundscreen label on the unit depending on the resellers order.  These units are also used in doctor’s offices to keep you from hearing what disease the person  who is in with your doctor has as you wait in the waiting room.  For this reason the Soundscreen label was introduced.  After all, who wants a machine in their waiting room that says Sleep Mate?


First Impressions: It looks weird.  It looks like no other sound machine on the market.  The power cord is 8 feet long and the unit is bright white as apposed to the ivory color of the proceeding model.  You can get any color you want, as long as it’s white.  The plastic is thick and the unit has a good weight feel to it.

How it works: The “cap” on top rotates to expose and/or cover small holes to change tone and volume, somewhat.  The “collar” rotates to expose or cover open slots on the side changing the tone and volume, somewhat.  We say ‘somewhat’ because although the volume does change, it is slight.  The 980A has a low and high speed power switch to aid in volume control, but the best way to control the volume on the unit is to place it near or far from you in the room.

There is a single speed model 580A under the same label names.  The top volume on that unit will run at 85% of the top volume on the two speed 980A.  The 980A has a volume of 65 decibels at 18″ above the unit.

The guts: What makes this different than any other sound machine it that there is actually a motor inside of it turning a rotor.  It works like a fan (which many people use for sleeping already) but it won’t collect dust and go out of balance, and it won’t blow air around the room.

Our CRI’s have told us that these machines have lasted over 25 years!  These American Made units are truly durable.  This unit holds the all time record of best initial quality with a defective rate below .01%!  A defective rate among electronics of 2% is the norm. The unit weighs in at 1 lb. 10 oz.  It is 3.5” tall and 5.5” diameter at the base.  Still light enough for travel, but not as light as the Marpac Marsona TSC-330.  Some resellers offer a 220v-240v model for European travel that has a two prong power cord.  This unit can only be used outside the USA, unlike the 330I.

Maximum volume measured at 18″ above unit at full volume is 69 decibels.

Pricing: Retail pricing is $56.95 for the two speed 980A, $46.95 for the single speed 580A and $61.95 for the 220v-240 volt international model.  These units can be found on the web for 49.95,  40.95 and 54.95 respectively, with some resellers offering free shipping.  It will be hard to find them cheaper as Marpac has activated a ‘MAP’ (minimum advertised price) policy, per our CRI’s.

Verdict: If it’s white noise you’re after, then there is no better machine on the market.

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This is an analog sound machine which doesn’t have a loop as do many other digital sound machine on the market today.  The “loop”  which can be described as a repeating “tick” sound every 3-5 seconds, can often keep people awake at night.   The loop free quality of white noise of the Marsona TSC-330 is very impressive.

First Impressions to select the wave sound which makes it loud then soft and so on to simulate waves rushing in and to select the wave sound which makes it loud then soft and so on to simulate waves rushing in and out.

The tone slide controls listed as “rain” – “waterfall”. At the extremes it does sound like rain or a waterfall, but the best way to view this as a tone control. You can dial it in just to your liking.

Travel:
The whole system weighs only 1 lb. 1 oz. and is 7.5” x 4.5” x 2.25” in size. Some resellers offer an international version that comes with a 220v power adapter for US and international use. . If your without power, you’ll need to buy the optional battery pack for about $15.00. It holds 6 AA batteries and runs the unit for up to 40 hours.

Sound Quality:
The TSC-300 is the only electronic white noise/sound machine we have found that does not loop. The quality is very good! We like being able to adjust the tone. We were able to obtain very high volume without any distortion. Maximum volume measured at 18″ above unit at full volume is 66 decibels.

Pricing:
Suggested retail pricing is $79.95 and $89.95 for the international model (TSC-330I). We have found it for cheaper on the web.

Verdict:
We love the 330, and we recommend it home home and travel use.

Marpac Marsona TSC-330 Video:

I have tried other sleep sound devices at various times with limited success, but Sound+Sleep works for me.  The Sound + Sleep  produces a rich room filling sound.  Plus the Adaptive Sound Technology which raises and lowers the volume as the background noise increases – like when the heat turns on and off.  With ten choices of sound profiles you can vary the sound to keep from getting tired of the same sound profile.

The unit has a pleasing modern design with a top mounted speaker which does provide a better room filling sound volume than front mounted speakers.  It’s about 8 inches across and is a larger than most other units and thus takes up more of the limited bedside space.

The controls are large and easy to use.  You can turn on or off the lights on the controls.  However the sound selection control is not lighted.  It can be turned off by the built in timer or be on continuously.  Also you  can adjust the bass or richness of the sound.

I think the unit is very good overall and is lacking only a built in large digital display clock radio.  Today everything needs to do multiple functions.

The only problem I had with the unit is that it sometimes it slides on the night stand as you operate the controls.

We were able to get this unit up and running without having to look at the manual! We did have to look at the manual for the instructions on how to delete the memo though.

Sounds: We found the sounds ranging from good to excellent on this unit. The 19 sounds are:

• Ocean Surf-Just waves, no sea gulls
• North Woods-A variety of different birds
• Thunderstorm-Rain and thunder
• White Noise-Just white noise
• Night Train-Just a train
• Spring Rain-Just rain
• Island Surf-Waves with seagulls…a lot of seagulls!
• Bonfire-The crackling of a fire
• Stream-Just a stream sound
• Hidden Cove-Similar to Ocean Surf, no birds
• Wind-Sporadic gusts of wind, about 150 MPH justs!
• Asian Garden-Sounds like rain with a harp playing
• Song Birds-Yep, birds
• Harbor Swell-Waves with the sound of some wind mixed in
• Bamboo Chimes-We’ve heard this playing at a museum exibit
• Summer Night-Frogs and crickets
• Cooling Fan-Love this one! Sounds like a fan
• Rainforest-A stream with some exotic birds
• Jet Lag-A soothing melody with birds chirping
• Memo-20th sound, but does not repeat

The memo function allows you to make memos totaling 15 seconds. This is nice for those who remember something as they are falling asleep to need to make a memo of it. It also works for your sweetheart to leave you a nice surprise message.

Features: This unit comes with a wall plug or it can run off of 4 AA batteries. The speaker is about 1.25 inches in diameter and does a nice job of delivering sound. The really cool feature we found is a lock switch on the back of the unit. This locks the unit so nothing will change on it and you won’t suddenly find yourself
standing in the hotel lobby with a beeping bag. The unit also comes with a vinyl slip in travel bag.

Verdict: We like this unit. The only issue we found is that the volume does not get as loud as we would like. This can be rectified though by placing it closer to you.

The Sonet QT Voice Privacy System is a high end Sound Masking System designed for the work environment.  If you’re familiar with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) regulations, then you will know that any medical type area, where voices can be overheard, needs to have “reasonable safeguards” in place to reduce the possibility that medical privacy can be compromised.

The Sonet system does just that.  We have heard of its use in pharmacy and waiting room areas.  HIPAA does not say any system has to stop all speech from being overheard, it just says that the facility must takes steps to reduce the possibility.

The speaker wires (actually telephone cords) are about 8 feet long each.  There is an extension kit that can be purchased that has two more speakers and wire to “leapfrog” from the other speakers.  You’ll see the extra connection on the bottom of each speaker.  The instructions say the unit with two speakers will cover about 120 square feet.

Generally coming in at about $190.00 dollars, this is not a cheap unit.  Although it is cheaper than having the Feds walk in to check on your HIPAA compliance.

The Marsona DS-600A has been around a long time.  It is made in the USA by Marpac Co.  Weighing in at about 2 pounds this unit feels well build.  The operation is straight forward.  There are sound selector switches on the front.  There is a one push button to allow this sound machine to turn itself off in 60 minutes.  Don’t push the button and this sound machine will run forever.

This is one of the few high end sound machines’ that allows for battery operation.  It takes 4 AA batteries.  We judged this unit should run on batteries for about two 8 hour nights.  It of course comes with a standard 110 volt wall plug.  It arrived very well packed with a simple straight forward product manual.  This sound machine comes with six sounds.  We found the sound quality on this machine to be above average.  The thunderstorm sound was crisp and clear.  The babbling brook was clear too.  Lakeshore and surf were very nice.  But you have to like crickets for the lakeshore sound.

The most used sound on any sound machine is the “white noise” sound.  On this unit we found it exceptional.  It got very loud too, just how we want it.  There is no tone control.  The volume is controlled by an easy to find slider switch under the front part of the sound machine.

We like a quality sound machine that gives you some choices of different sounds.  There is always that time when you want to kick back and place yourself next to a lakeshore, close you eyes and imagine.

Feel free to leave your own review and rating below.

The 550 is light, very light, and is well suited for travel, but only in the USA, unless you want to chance frying the innards using an adapter for another country.  It can run off of the 4 (not included) AA batteries, or the included wall plug.

Front View

We like the 550 very much.  The sound quality is very good for a unit that is so light.  Volume can get very high, but with any light unit, you chance getting some vibration noises when it’s cranked way up.  We recommend keeping batteries in it because the vibration usually comes from the springs that hold the batteries in.

Sound Buttons

The 550 offers six sounds:
Ocean Surf
Stream
Rain
White Noise
Summer Night
Wind 

Volume and timer knobs

Slot for optional sound card

You can buy optional sound cards for this unit.  They are offered across the web for about 25.00.  They give you more sound options.  Just make sure you order one for the 550 and not the S650.  They both offer sound car options, but the cards are different.

The volume and timer selector knobs feel cheap.  They feel like they are attached by a spring as they ‘float’ around.  We tried to pull them of but could not.  So that’s a good sign.  We like the 30, 60, 90 minute or continuous selections.  Some units usually only offer 60 minutes.   There is also a headphone jack.

Back view

The table stand bracket snaps into the back and has to be removed to put in new batteries.  Not a big deal as it comes off very easy, not like some cell phone battery covers!  There is a hole so you can mount it on a wall.  Kind of weird, but you may want this option if your night stand is already full.

You’ll find this unit priced across the web for about 49.95.  A fair price we think.  Feel free to add your own review below.

The volume is controlled by a slider switch on the front bottom of the unit.  There are only three buttons on the unit.  On/off, sound selector and a 60 minute timer option.

The sounds are:
Womb
Heartbeat
Lullaby
Surf
Rain
Brook

Although there is no “white noise” sound selection white noise is just a type of noise, not a specific sound.  We found that the ‘rain sound’ is a good white noise equivalent.  The unit runs off of an included wall plug or 4 AA batteries.

The sound quality is fair to good.  At high volume we did notice some vibration noise from the rear of the unit.  This was coming from the battery compartment, so we suggest putting batteries in it to keep the battery springs from vibrating.

Leave us your own review below.

The model number (SS-01) is intriguing in that is starts off the same as a Homedics Sound Machine. We have heard rumors that this used to be a Homedics product but the rights were sold to Dex. Homedics then came out with the SS-200 (no longer available) and now hosts a bucket full of sound machines.

Last Impression:
Buy something else – Not much else to say here!!