Maybe it’s the snoring of the person next to you. Or the street noises out your window. Or your loud-ass neighbors. For me, it’s tinnitus.

Whatever the reason, falling asleep to unwanted background noise can be difficult-to-downright-impossible. Sound machines, or white noise machines, aren’t just for babies anymore—they’re a must-have for urban life, drowning out anything from rooftop raves to clown car noises, mysterious screaming, and whatever else happens on the other side of those thin, ancient walls.

Once I’m asleep, I’m a heavy sleeper. But it wasn’t until a friend recommended the LectroFan Classic four years ago that I was able to block out the ringing and fall asleep as easily as I do now.

The Lectrofan Classic has ten fan sounds and ten white, pink, and brown noise sounds so you can dial in the perfect tone to compliment whatever specific tinnitus demon is tormenting you on any given night. While they’re digital synthesized sounds (not true analog fan noise like you get with the Yogasleep Dohm), they’re not loops, and they sound naturalistic enough that you forget they’re there—kind of the whole point. Plus, it’s easy to use in the dark, relatively affordable, and looks decent enough on a nightstand.

Lectrofan Classic: Overview

Specs:

• Power Source: AC Power Adapter
• Connector Type: USB
• Number of Sounds: 20
• Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Dimensions: 4.13 x 4.13 x 2 inches

Pros:

• Nice range of sounds
• Easy to use, even in the dark
• Reasonably priced

Cons:

• Build quality, especially the cord, feels a bit cheap
• Digital sounds might not be for everyone

Using the LEctrofan CLassic

Using the Lectrofan classic is straightforward as can be. It plugs into the wall with a standard AC adapter and USB cable (included, which is a plus!). The cord is a little cheapy-feeling, but I’m glad it’s included so they get a pass. Plus, you can plug it in for power anywhere you have a USB out, including your computer, iPhone brick, or power bank.

There are toggle buttons for Power, 60 minutes, volume up/down, and select white noise or fan sounds. These all work exactly how you’d think. The 60 minute setting is a nice feature, in instances you might want the sound to shut off after you’re asleep. (If you take longer than an hour to fall asleep, consider the LectroFan Evo, which allows you to set the sleep timer for up to eight hours.)

It’s kind of annoying to toggle one by one through all the sounds, and the lack of any kind of display makes it hard to remember which ones you like—but typically, once you find it, you’ll want to stay on that setting. Lectrofan remembers the last setting you left it on, which is awesome.

The volume goes up pretty dang loud, and I can’t really picture anyone needing to use it on its highest setting. But then again, I don’t live near Amazon reviewer Maria, whose review, titled “SHES A LOUD GIRL,” says “I live on street where there is drag racing and motorcycle mufflers, loud circus horns on cars, it’s incessant and makes you want to hurt yourself.” Don’t do it, Maria!

But I will say, I have used it to cover up the sounds of an outdoor rave on my building’s roof to fall asleep—multiple times.

Sound quality

What’s cool about Lectrofan’s sounds is that they are digitally synthesized, not pre-recorded, per se. So they never loop. So claim the brand’s materials, and in my experience, this is true. I have never heard the sounds loop, which puts this machine automatically above cheaper digital machines that do loop. Because once you notice it, you basically have no choice but to hurl the thing at the wall as hard as you can.

The two buttons on the face of the LectroFan Classic give you the choice between ten fan sounds and ten white/pink/brown noises. That’s what you get. Twenty of them, and no fancy soundtracks of ocean swells breaking or birds in dappled forests singing. But as far as white noise goes, the Classic has the rest beat.

Each track sounds so natural that I’d almost forget it was just a digital recording. It does this one thing (or two, if fan noises count separately), and does it very well.

white noise machine? Or sound machine?

You might call them white noise machines, but sound machines go so far beyond just white noise. The best let you tailor how loud you want it, what pitch you want it, and what tone you want it to have. Ramp up the treble? Sure. Put on some ocean sounds? Go for it.

According to Sound of Sleep, the difference between white noise and other kinds of ambient noise (like brown and pink noise) boils down to the frequency range. White noise is comprised of an even distribution of frequencies from across the audible spectrum, making for that classic static-y waterfall sound we all know.

But pink noise emphasizes the lower registers a bit more than white noise, and brown noise is even lower. Lectrofan covers all three, plus fan noises that I imagine land at various points on this spectrum, but are a bit more detailed-sounding than the white/brown noise sounds.

Is the Lectrofan classic worth it?

At around $55, the Lectrofan Classic is not the cheapest sound machine out there. (If you’re looking for cheap and portable, my colleague recommends the Yogasleep Rohm.) But it’s reliable, versatile, and easy to use. Mine’s been going strong for around 4 years now and I haven’t had to replace it yet. Plus, it gets the job done every time. And I think you’ll agree: a good night’s sleep is f*cking priceless.

also consider

The Lectrofan Evo has all this and more, with a streamlined design plus ocean sounds.

The Yogasleep Dohm is an all-analog sound machine with real fan sounds. No buttons, no loops, no more sleepless nights.