I purchased this sound machine a couple of years ago to help drown out city street noise. Initially, I was very happy with this product. The product seems well made, is attractive, and has a great rubber-like texture. As several mentioned, the light is VERY bright so I also turned the machine toward the wall, which worked fine. I chose the sound I wanted and had it on every night for months. Everything was great until it began malfunctioning. One night while I was sleeping there was a loud pop sound, which woke me up with a start, and the machine shut off. I turned it back on without a problem and went back to sleep. Over the next few months the machine popped (and woke me up) and turned itself off with increasing frequency. Finally I had to stop using it as it was disrupting my sleep two or more nights a week. This product is expensive for a sound machine and should have lasted much longer. Although I was very happy with it when it worked properly I can't see buying another one and risking that it too will be defective.