Looking for something to stop your coworkers from hearing your conversations while you’re on the phone?
Sometimes I feel extremely uncomfortable talking on the phone because I’m always wondering if they can hear my personal conversations.
This is why I recommend using a white noise machine. These machines produce different types of relaxing sounds including the ocean, rain, thunder and summer nights. In addition to masking your conversations, these sounds also help you to keep your focus, lower stress and most of all block out unwanted office noise.
Even though these white noise machines are designed for office privacy, you can also use them at home to help improve your sleep (they work wonders for putting babies to sleep too!). They can also be installed in public areas.
If you have a noisy office space and care about your privacy you’ll find that investing in a high-quality white noise machine is worthwhile. Below I’ve listed some of the best sound machines on the market based on features, quality and price.
Best White Noise Machine for Office
1. Dohm Classic White Noise Sound Machine by Marpac
When it comes to choosing the perfect sound machine for your needs, I recommend going with the Dohm Classic. It’s considered to be one of the best white noise machines available on the market. It’s one of the best sellers on Amazon and there are great user reviews on it on a lot of different websites.
Marpac is one of the original makers of this technology and instead of a speaker, the device uses a fan to create the hum. I strongly believe this amazing sound machine is the right choice for office noise because it produces a very rich, full white noise sound that blocks out a lot more background noise than other machines on the market.
The Marpac Dohm features a dual speed motor with two speeds. Users also have the option to adjust the volume between the two-speed settings as well as the tone of the noise.
For best results you can place it outside the office if you don’t want others to hear your private conversation while you’re on the phone or simply place it inside your space if you need to mask background noise.
It’s a superb little unit that I absolutely enjoy owning and testing. There are three color options to choose from based on your preference. I prefer the white Marpac for office and the black for use at home. You get a 1-year limited warranty and the company is also open to answer any questions or problems you might have.
Pros
- Best selling product
- Amazing sound quality
- Perfect for office use
- Helps improve work productivity
- Low electrical usage
Cons
- Limited sound adjustment
- May not be appealing for most users
- A little too bulky for traveling around
- No refund offered
2. LectroFan High-Fidelity White Noise Machine by Adaptive Sound Technologies
LectroFan High-Fidelity is a high-quality white noise machine that’s great for any situation, which is why I highly recommend it for office use. This device is only 2.5 inches tall with a 4-inch heptagonal base, it’s small enough to fit in a discreet place in your office to drown out a lot of annoying noise coming from your disturbing co-workers.
This amazing device offers 10 fan sounds and 10 ambient noises including white, brown and pink noise. It also has a wide range of features thanks to its smart design and superb technologies. This device is powered by AC or USB cable, which means you can easily plug it into your computer or laptop while you’re working.
Just like other sound machines, LectroFan also has volume and timer settings. However, you can only set the timer for 60 minutes, which isn’t a long period of time, compared to other machines. However, since you’re planning on using it in your office, I don’t think you’ll have use the timer setting.
This is a very easy noise machine to carry around with you. It’s lightweight and compact, which means you can easily bring it back and forth from your home to your office each day without facing any problem. And last but not least, this device uses minimal electricity, so if you’re trying to conserve energy and save on your power bill this is the right choice for you.
Pros
- High-fidelity speaker design
- 10 simulated fan sounds
- 10 ambient sounds
- Effective for office
- Low power consumption
- Compact and lightweight
- AC or USB power
Cons
- The timer is only 60 minutes
- A bit difficult to use
3. Avantek White Noise Basic
If you’re searching for an affordable sound machine that still has great value, Avantek White Noise Basic is a smart choice for your money. It offers both relaxing and natural sounds that will block out noise. It also creates a great ambience. This smart device will help in removing all distraction so you can focus on your task.
It features 30 volume states, 6 versions of white noise, 6 fan variations and 8 miscellaneous ambient sounds. This machine has one of the best volume controls ever, providing 30 increments to perfectly set the level exactly as needed. You can easily move the volume up and down as well as change the current sound type by using the top-mounted buttons.
I really like the auto-timer settings which gives you the ability to turn it on and go about your business. After the selected time it will turn itself off automatically. It even has a great built-in memory that allows you to restore the previous settings you used — awesome!.
The machine does not use a lot of power and uses a standby power of around 0.5W. With this, you get a USB cable with a power adapter and the device comes with 30-day return policy and 18-month warranty.
Pros
- 30 volume settings
- Lightweight, compact and portable
- Energy efficient
- Auto-off timer: 1-7 hours
Cons
- No smartphone control
- Can’t adjust sound tones
- Not the best sound clarity
4. Adaptive Sound Technologies Sound + Sleep
You can’t go wrong with using one of these advanced sound machines. It has a pretty unique look, while still looking professional. It offers 30 different sound environments and none of them are burdened by an annoying loop.
Aside from that the sounds can be set to various richness settings to add or remove extra details from the base sounds. Not many sound machines give you the opportunity to control the tone of your machine like the Adaptive Sound Technologies does.
If you look closely you’ll notice that all of the controls are centered in one area on the side. These controls include a big track dial, timer, power and volume buttons. Also, there’s a display button that dims the light indicator.
With this, you can use the 3.5mm audio jack for either speakers or headphones. This is great if you want to use speakers at home to help you sleep better at night. You can also use a headphone while in the office so you can avoid disturbing your co-workers.
This white noise generator can be set to play continuously until it’s manually turned off or a timer can be set to turn the device off after 30, 60, 90 or 120 minutes. The timer on this machine offers a lot more options than any other timer.
It’s a great value for the money and it’s for anyone who needs a white noise machine at work and would appreciate the extra options. The only downside with this is the size — I think it’s a bit too bulky for some bags.
Pros
- Adaptive and richness features
- Good variety of sounds
- Automatically dimming display
- 30 to 120-minute volume reduction timer
- 1-year warranty
Cons
- A bit bulky
- Doesn’t have the best quality speaker
5. Sound Oasis S-550-05 Sound Therapy System
If you’re looking for a device that will simply blend into your office space, the Sound Oasis Sound Therapy System will do the trick for you. It offers 6 different nature sounds to choose from with professional quality. You can choose between hearing the ocean, streams, white noise, rain, summer night and wind sounds.
If this selection doesn’t go well with you or your coworkers, you can replace the sound card to get a new set of white noise sounds. This gives you more options if you want to effectively mask out the sound of phone conversations and office noise.
There’s also an auto shut off timer setting, which has 4 positions, including continuous play and gradual fade after 30, 60, or 90 minutes. This is great if you’re listening to white noise to fall asleep at night. The device is packed with a lot of cool features such as sound card tech, gradual off volume reduction and a 360-degree reflective speaker.
When it comes to sound quality it’s not the best and it may even be the lowest on this list, but it’s still worth the buy if you want to mask unwanted office noise. It’s also powered by 4 AA batteries, which can be recharged when the battery is finished.
Even though with this machine you won’t get the rich sounds that some of the other sound machines give you, it’s still a decent machine for the office because of its attractive look and broad functionality.
Pros
- This device is easy to use and adjust
- Looks great for an office setting
- Good customer service
Cons
- Not the best sound quality
- Short battery life
Benefits of Using a White Noise Machine for the Office
When it comes to masking loud background noise, the white noise machine is the right device for this purpose. If you’re playing white noise, you’ll be able to ignore all phone conversations, disturbing noise and background distractions very easily.
This is why I highly recommend investing in one of these smart machines. However, when choosing the perfect white noise machine for your office you may not know where to start. But don’t worry, here are a few things you must consider before buying:
Machine Appearance
This may not be important to some people but based on my own opinion, I think the appearance of the machine is important. You don’t want to have a white noise machine at your workplace that doesn’t look appealing, especially if you’re in an enclosed office space. It’s always best to look professional and most of the professional-looking devices tend to have higher quality.
Sound Quality
This is a very important factor to consider when searching for the right sound machine. You should definitely avoid investing in a white noise machine that will produce disturbing sound. There are probably a lot of coworkers who are also annoyed as you are with the level of noise and its best not to add to that.
So if you want to have a machine with the best sound quality, you should probably look into an acoustic sound machine or sound conditioner instead of getting an electric model. Also, you might want to get a machine that has non-looping claims. You should also consider a machine that offers multiple sounds, aside from only white noise.
Portability
If your main goal is to use the same sound machine at work and at home, you might want to consider getting one that’s lightweight and small that will be easy to fit in your bag or luggage. However, if you’re the owner of a business and you want to mask unwanted noise, then it would be best if you buy one that’s bulkier and of higher quality.
Price
The price range of the product will forever be important when shopping. You wouldn’t want to invest all your hard-earned cash into a gadget for your work and have it cost almost all of your paycheck.
The best thing about a noise canceling machine is that they are quite affordable, so you won’t have to worry about breaking the bank. Even if you’re on a tight budget, with a couple days of saving you should be able to afford one.
Conclusion
I really hope this article is everything you need to know when it comes to choosing the perfect white noise machine that can help you stay focused while at work. If you’re tired of keeping up with disturbing noise and struggling to stay focused, you should try out one of the devices I’ve covered in the review above.
If I were to pick the best machine based on my own experience and testing, I would go with the LectroFan High-Fidelity White Noise Machine by Adaptive Sound Technologies.
I’m a huge fan of this smart device, it’s also packed with a lot of amazing features. It has 20 different sound options to choose from and because of its small size, it’s a very easy noise machine to carry around with you. The LectroFan High-Fidelity has everything you really need for your office.
Here’s another related article you might like, White noise machine for dogs.