I have had 4 sound machines over the course of about 15 years. I can not sleep - at all - without that sound.
The Sharper Image one - the most expensive one (somewhere around $100) - lasted the shortest amount of time. I think I got maybe 2 years from it - using it nightly, all night - before it burned out. That being said, it was a nice one. It was small, and packed well for WDW. It was a convenient little round shape too. Nice clear white noise sound. You could not tell when it began repeating.
The HomeMedics one - with no clock. This one lasted the absolute longest. I think I got a good 8 or so years out of it - all night, every night. I would even pack it, and bring it to WDW. It was bigger, but had a night light option on it. You could tell when it repeated, but nothing that bad. It finally just burnt out. But I had paid maybe $15 for it - and got at least 8 years out of it. Worth every single penny.
A cheap cube one, I got from eBay. I actually bought it specifically for WDW trips. It was a cube, maybe 5 inches, bu 5 inches. It had an optional fun rainbow alternating soft light. It also could just be 'tapped' on the top, for a soft light - which was perfect for a middle of the night bathroom break. The light lasted like 90 seconds - just perfect. That one got stolen when I shipped my box back from WDW. I couldn't tell you if it would have lasted long. I only had it 3 years, and used it twice a year, at Disney. But it did the job. I still miss it, and haven't been able to find another one.
Another Homedics one - but with clock (and radio - which I don't use), and the ceiling clock thingamajigger. It's good. I'm hoping it lasts as long as that initial one. The white noise (which is actually waterfall - but is sounds just like white noise) actually gets super loud, if I wanted. Like obnoxious loud. Everyone in my house hates it - I love it. I can drown out any sounds. That being said - you can tell when it repeats, and the clock is bright. Really bright. I've gotten used to it, but this actually might be good for a babies room, so if you needed to come in, in the middle of the night - you'll be able to see the whole room. I don't stub my toe anymore when I wake up to go pee - that's a plus.
This one stinks to pack, though. It's clock radio-ish size. But, I have packed it - and it works well for what I wanted it for (White Noise)
All of the above had other sound options, but I didn't ever want to spend an arm and a leg on a White Noise machine - and the straight up W.N. ones always were pricier.
In your quest for finding one - let me know if you see that little cube one. I loved that lil' guy. I only paid like $5 for it too.
Man.
OH - and last but not least, make sure you get one that plugs in. The battery ones suck batteries in a couple days.
I hope this helps.
It's made the bedroom much more comfortable.
