I bought one of these 12 years ago, and another 4 years ago. The first one has produced a clean white noise that's helped me sleep every night for 12 years. Only recently I noticed a slight off and on humming sound that tells me the motor is wearing down. I went to grab the one we bought for my son's room (purchased 4 years ago) and realized this newer one sounded far worse! The fan makes an obnoxious rattling sound when it runs. The casing also just feels cheaper. It makes me sad when a company compromises the quality of a good product in the name of cutting costs. I am replacing our Marpac with a LectroFan digital non-looping sound machine now, because at least I don't have to worry about the motor wearing out on a digital machine.

These machines make the best white noise and are great for sleeping children (I have four of them). However... they don't seem to last very long. I've purchased 7-8 of them in the past 7 years and currently have 5 of them. All of them have some kind of issue. One of them won't work on the low setting, one of them has completely seized up and doesn't work at all, and the other three of them have developed a rattle. I keep spending the $50 because the sound is so good when they work correctly (I've purchased them here and at Bed, Bath and Beyond).

Update: I read a review that mentioned putting some WD-40 on the fan shaft to get rid of the rattle. I understand that opening them voids the warranty (but mine are all older than one year anyway). So, I just spent an hour opening them all up. The amount of dust inside one from 2012 was so gross. Anyway, I cleaned the dust out of them and put WD-40 on them and they are all sounding like new again. Even the one that was completely frozen up is spinning and sounding great. So, I'm currently happy because I don't have to spend more money on yet another sound machine. I'm not sure if this will permanently fix them or just buy me a few more weeks or months. We seriously can't go a night without the machines because we are so used to the white noise. Excellent sound but they seem to accumulate dust inside and develop a rattle over time.

I have four of these. I love them. I give them as gifts to every friend who has a new baby. My first was for an open office to help drown out private conversations from a nearby kitchen that I really didn't want to hear. My second was for my first baby. We got a third when my second was born and finally I got my own so I could sleep through my husband's snoring.

They're great. Until they rattle. There's nothing more annoying than an inconsistent rattle. Determined not to spend another $50, I unscrewed the bottom of the worst offender. It was filled with dust. I cleaned it with compressed air and put the smallest drop of silicone lubricant, that specifically does not attract dust, onto the base of the shaft that the fan sits on top of. I let it penetrate for a minute, turned it on and the rattle was gone. $50 saved and I'm in love again.

I bought this product with the intention to drown out noise from my upstairs neighbors (footsteps, chatter, baby crying, etc) while I was trying to sleep. I didn't think it would alleviate the problem entirely based on what noise actually is, and reviews, but I gave it a shot.

It's pretty easy to use. Has a slow, mild setting and a faster, louder setting, both of which can be adjusted by turning the device for more/less air flow. It has a nice, calming whooshing sound, which I like. Now if I try to sleep in a silent room, it feels too quiet, so I've definitely gotten used to it.

A device that does what it does to me seems like it would be cheaper. With that, and the fact that when I placed it on my nightstand, the slight vibrating it has kind of made a rubbing sound on there. Easy remedy is to just place a cloth under it, or a small piece of fabric. I cut up one of those drawer liners to absorb any slight vibration/movement. It was barely noticeable before I did that, but I am just a bit picky.

For drowning out sound made by others, especially in other rooms or neighbors, probably not your best bet. But for somebody who likes some white noise and the ability to adjust to something that is calming, I'd say shop around for a bit cheaper, but if you don't like the other reviews/products, this will certainly get the job done!

According to a representative of Marpac, "Unfortunately, you have purchased and received a counterfeit unit from China. This product is in no way related to Marpac." According to my receipt, the unit was sold by "Sold by: Amazon.com LLC". The unit was not working properly when first received and stopped working completely in six months.

Marpac said there should be a formal label on the bottom of the unit.