Sound Oasis S-5000 Deluxe Sleep Sound Therapy System, Black

Received this as a Christmas present from my wife. We had purchased a Sharper image sound soother clock radio years ago after we got married and it was worn out. At first the controls were a bit non-intuitive to figure out, but after just a few nights of using it I am very comfortable with the controls. I like the look of the unit, the large clock display and the speaker has good sound reproduction. We sleep with the sound soother on all night, mostly we prefer the ocean waves sound. The sound soother sounds are very good, I know that they are on a loop, but it is not obvious that they repeat. Overall, I like this unit very much. I have two minor complaints. First: With the sound soother on all night, it simply just stops abruptly when it is time for the morning alarm to go off. We have the alarm set to be the radio and it ramps up to volume. The problem is that the abrupt stop of the sound soother usually wakes me up before the radio starts to play. Our old unit would continue to play the sound soother separate from the alarm. Secondly is the price. This item is very pricey for what it is, I would even say over priced. I would probably not have bought this myself, but it was a gift.

I purchased this sleep sound system, as it was advertised as the best one on the market. After having tried many other brands; I would have to admit that this one surpasses them all. It provides an incredible amount of basic sounds, and when combined with the auxiliary sounds, is capable of 145 total sound combinations. You would never want to use some of the combinations, but the fact that it's possible is a plus. You also have the ability to adjust the volume separately on the auxiliary sounds.The device comes with 2 speakers plus a sub-woofer. The combination provides unequaled sound in a sleep sound therapy system. There is plenty of volume, so you'll never have an issue with the sounds being too low. It comes with a sleep timer, an AM/FM radio, a headphone jack, and the ability to plug in an Mp3 player, phone or CD player. It also has the ability to store all of your settings, however you must install 4 AA batteries in order for this to work. The device will not run on batteries; they are simply used to back-up your settings.The 24 main sounds are digitally recorded in their natural setting, thus they sound extremely life like. The mixed sounds are equally impressive, and contain seagulls, song birds, thunderstorm, fog horn, and loons. As mentioned; the volume on these sounds can be adjusted separately from the main sounds, making for an exceptional listening experience. The sound soother also incorporates adjustments for bass and treble.The clock is very easy to read, and has 3 adjustments for brightness level. Even at the highest level; the brightness does not disturb me when sleeping. There are dual alarm clocks that can be set for buzzer, sound therapy, or radio.While this product is fantastic; I believe that the next version could be even better. Here are my suggestions. First, although having nothing to do with the product; I would change the packaging that it comes in. The styrofoam padding is not environmentally friendly. I would improve the quality of the radio reception. In my area, which is fairly close to a major city; the AM reception was extremely poor, while the FM was just adequate. On the alarm; I would include the option to set it for weekdays only, etc., which is found on much less expensive sound soothers. I would include a setting for daylight savings time, which is also included on much less expensive devices. Finally; I would like to see a setting, whereby you could listen to a sound all night, but than be awakened by a different sound. As it stands; if you listen to a sound all night; your only option is to wake up to the buzzer or radio. It would be nice to have a feature where the nightlong sound would shut off shortly before the alarm was scheduled to go off. Than; the ability to wake up to an entirely different sound would be a nice addition to this high-end product. I do like the fact that the volume gradually rises on the alarm, so as not to give you a heart attack upon waking up.As far as the company goes; they deserve 5+ stars for customer support. They will go out of their way to help you with any questions that you may have. It's unusual for a company to provide the level of service that Sound Oasis does. They are first rate, period.In summary; this is by far the best product of its kind on the market. While I'd like to see the improvements mentioned above; none are significant enough to sway you against purchasing this product. The sleep sound therapy system is made to extremely high standards, and will undoubtedly last a very long time.

I don't have trouble falling asleep, but wake up in the middle of the night and my mind gets going. I absolutely love this machine and most of the sounds are very realistic (not surprising since they are actually high quality recordings) - you can even hear the soft creaking of boat lines in the "harbor swell" which is great. All the water related sounds are very good, but for me, any with bird calls are a bit distracting at night, but relaxing for nap or meditation. I like that you can mix in other sounds, but only use the thunder option because again, the birds are too distracting. I love the "summer nights" sound and even put it on when I'm awake because it just sounds nice. Also love that you can adjust the backlighting on the clock because I am sensitive to light at night and the pale yellow readout is just right.Only complaint is the alarm - a pain to set and the touch difference between snooze and off is too subtle for a sleepy mind when you wake up, so I leave the room thinking its off and the snooze wakes up my husband. A toggle setting for alarm on and snooze would be better.Highly recommend this system!!!