Hushwave Review: White Noise Machines Tested for Light Sleepers

Noise is a poor sleep partner. A single door slam or a passing bin lorry at 4 a.m. can shift you from deep sleep to shallow, and you may never remember it happened. A sound machine will not silence your neighbours, but a steady wash of sound can mask abrupt noises, and many light sleepers swear by it.

The catch is that cheap machines can be annoying in their own right. Some repeat a short recording that you start to hear after a week. Others buzz, hiss or turn a soothing "ocean" into a tinny static. We wanted to know whether Hushwave, a store specialising in sound machines, can deliver something better.

What Hushwave sells#

The range is three machines. The Hush 1 is a compact plug-in unit with 10 preset sounds ($34). The Hush 2 is a mid-size unit with a physical volume dial, a sleep timer and 24 sounds ($69). The Hush Go is a rechargeable travel model with a clip and 12 hours of battery life on its stated maximum ($119 with a hard case). The Hush 2 and Go can be paired with an app; the Hush 1 cannot.

Product pages give the peak sound level in decibels, the sample rate of the recordings, the speaker size and whether sounds are loops or generated in real time. That is more information than most brands publish.

How we tested#

I used each machine for two weeks in different settings: a bedroom facing a busy street, a thin-walled flat with a noisy neighbour and a trip that included a hotel. I recorded:

• Loop audibility, by listening for repeats over two hours of one sound.

• Frequency balance, comparing the fan and rain sounds with a reference recording.

• Peak volume at 1 metre, using a decibel meter app (a rough guide).

• Battery life on the Hush Go at medium volume.

Sound quality#

The Hush 2 is the best of the three. Its fan and pink noise sounds are generated in real time rather than looped, so there's no repeat to notice. The rain is convincing and the ocean is a touch synthetic but pleasant. The dial gives fine volume control from 30 to 68 dB at 1 metre, which is more range than most people need.

The Hush 1 does well with its fan and white noise settings, but its rain and forest sounds loop every 90 seconds or so. Once I heard the repeat I could not un-hear it. If you plan to use a recorded nature sound, this is not the model for you.

The Hush Go sounds nearly as good as the Hush 2, though the small speaker lacks the bass warmth. On a plane and in a hotel, it was excellent. Battery life at medium volume was 21 hours, comfortably above its stated 12 hours at maximum.

The app is unnecessary#

The Hush 2 and Go connect to an app for scheduling and custom mixes. It works, but it insists on an account and email address before you can use it, and it asks for permissions the machine does not need. Everything you might want, including the timer and volume, is available on the device itself. We would ignore the app entirely.

A note on safety#

Sound machines are not risk-free. Very loud continuous noise can be harmful, especially for babies, whose ears are more sensitive. Hushwave's product page includes advice to keep volume below 50 dB and to place a machine at least two metres from a cot. Follow it, and check with a paediatrician if you're unsure.

Shipping, service and returns#

Orders shipped within two business days and arrived in four. The packaging is minimal and recyclable.

Support is the weak spot. A pre-sale question about whether the Hush 2 works with a UK plug drew an answer in 26 hours, and the reply misread my question the first time. The return policy allows 30 days, but the customer pays for return shipping unless the unit is faulty, which reduces the appeal of trying a machine at home.

Price and value#

At $69, the Hush 2 is a good deal, undercutting brand-name competitors by $20 to $30 for similar features. The $34 Hush 1 is fine as a basic fan sound. The $119 Hush Go is worth it only if you travel regularly.

Who should buy, and who should skip#

Buy from Hushwave if you live somewhere noisy, want a simple machine with a physical dial and value clear specifications.

Skip it if you dislike any background sound, need help with a baby's sleep (talk to a paediatrician first) or want free returns. If light rather than sound is your problem, our Silkhaven mask review may help.

The verdict#

Hushwave earns 3.7 out of 5. The Hush 2 delivers natural, loop-free sound with simple controls, and the store is transparent about specifications. Slow support, paid returns and a needless app stop it from doing better.

Disclosure: we bought all three machines ourselves. Some links on this site are affiliate links. See our review policy.