Customer Reviews

Oregon Scientific WS903 Aroma Diffuser and Sound Therapy Clock

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

UPDATE: 1/04/2011

I've had the clock now for 5 months and decided to do an update. I still enjoy it even after the novelty of it has worn off and everything works for me fine. No issues, no breakage of any kind, haven't lost the remote and the aromatherapy still works. Cons for me are still the same as I mentioned below. One additional thing I do not like that some other individuals have mentioned is a beep. An annoyingly 1 second cold monotone beep. What was Oregon Scientific thinking when they decidied to kill this lovely clock by inserting that beep? I mean, seriously?

Okay, so mine isn't an issue so much as listening to the sounds before I go to sleep as I really don't care for sound at bedtime. However, I can see how the other reviewers could be perturbed at being awakened at the end of their relaxing 15 minutes with that beep. I'd be super annoyed as well, what would be the point of even listening to it? Mine is the fact that the damn beep goes off five minutes before my alarm comes on. Wait, what? Yes. Five minutes before I get to hear the lovely sound of birds chirping or water cascading I get awoken by a "Beeeeeeeeeeeep". I, at this point, am already awake by the time my soft alarm goes off. What's the point? I don't get it. It's obvious to me that Oregon Scientific just has a sick sense of humor and they win this round.

Even though I hate them and wish they'd burn at this point, I still like the clock and would still potentially purchase it again. However, not above 60-70 bucks.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This might be a bit of a longer review, so bear with me. I figured with as much deliberation as I put into purchasing this item, maybe it might help someone else out.

This item came up on Amazon's deal of the day on August 10, 2010. A lot of moolah for a glorified alarm clock, right?

As I was contemplating purchasing this device, I started to read some of the comments left on the deal of the day comment board. The majority, if not all, were negative in regards to this device. I started to get swayed by reading these and had basically talked myself out of purchasing it; after all, what idiot would spend $70 on an alarm clock on sale?

Obviously this one.

What made me purchase it? After doing every bit of research I could do on this product for information (let me tell you, there isn't enough out there) a few things made me think, maybe it isn't that bad. First, I watched the video done by Oregon Scientific located on the Amazon page itself. A little cheesy, but hey, the chick's accent is pretty soothing, I think they did that on purpose though. Secondly, I went to Walmart and checked out their alarm clocks/diffusers/multiple function devices (yep, in the same day just to verify prices), and they ranged anywhere from $10 for a cheap little digital one, up to $30-$60+ for ones with a little bit more technology (IE: AM/FM radio, cd player, iPod adapter, etc.). Still, none seemed as cool as this one did. I then researched online and saw people were paying $125+, depending on manufacturer, for sunrise clocks. Suddenly, I didn't feel so wasteful anymore (I was going to say, feel like an idiot anymore, but I didn't want to offend any sunrise clock purchasers; after all, you should get what you want). Of course, I hate light in the morning, so one of those just wouldn't do it for me.

Lastly, I found this review on youtube:

Review | Oregon Scientific - Ultrasonic Aroma Diffuser (you'll need to put this in the search area as Amazon doesn't like links)

At this point, I was hooked. I couldn't stop myself from clicking the purchase button, even if I wanted to. I wanted this little contraption and nothing but a sellout would prevent me from getting it (albeit a $99.99 price tag). I received it within two days of ordering it and like a little kid receiving a new package, was ever elated in opening it. Pulling it out, I thought, "Hey, this is pretty dang neat." No, I'm not really that dull, but this is after all an Amazon review, have to keep it clean, dontcha know. However, nor am I going to admit that I was jumping through my house holding an alarm clock while simultaneously swaying my arms back and forth in the air due to unbridled joy. Anyway, setting up was easy, I already had oil purchased previously that I could use, and voila... done. My new alarm with aroma therapy and light was ready to be used!

I cannot say that as of yet, that I regret this purchase in the least. To be honest, I really only got this alarm clock for its nature sound capabilities, which I read that Oregon Scientific has some of the best. I have chronic dry eye due to PRK surgery and often when ripping my eyes open in the morning in response to the out-of-nowhere loud buzzing alarm of my previous clock, I would tear my epithelium off and need to go to the doctors for a 3-day contact bandage. Fun fun. All the other extras, is just that, extras, but still perks in their own way. It is extremely soothing to listen to this before I go to sleep; it does help with that `wind down' phase. Also, I find that so far (granted it's only been 3 days) I do pleasantly lift my eyes open to the sound of music and birds chirping as opposed to the aforementioned ripping.

Minor drawbacks for me:
- I am definitely a snooze hitter, not anymore though as this doesn't give you the option. I do find myself resetting it on the weekends though to get those 10-20-30-40-50 extra minutes that I truly want.
- There are no buttons on this clock. Yes it looks clean, but as the youtube video shows, if you lose the remote, you are SOL (maybe OS will offer a replacement part for those of us that find ourselves losing... did I say losing?... I meant misplacing, things often). Because of this, I leave the remote out during the night when I'm sleeping next to the clock and promptly put it away when I wake up in the morning.
- There are only 5 sounds. This isn't so much a drawback for me as I just really use it as an alarm, so 5 sounds versus only one annoying repetitive beep, is a step up for me. However, for those that want to listen to this on a constant basis, may become bored with it.
- Don't use too much oil and then feel the need to smell the cool little waft of (what appears to be) smoke that comes from the top. I felt like I singed my nose hairs and my nostrils were on fire. They say use 1 - 2 drops. Yes, that is actually enough, no matter how much you feel it isn't, it is. Trust me.
- Because I am so used to a buzz alarm, this one almost lures me back to sleep after it wakes me up. It's actually quite nice, minus the whole sleeping in part. My advice? Attempt to get up the first time. For the first two weeks, I am using a small backup alarm as a just in case, just until I get used to this one.

Other than that, it's new and fun. The light colors are pretty, the dim feature is decent (even though it's still too bright for me, refer previously to me hating light), I like the sounds and be honest; how many people can say that their alarm clock smells good? Plus, because of the lid, I don't tend to smell it while it just sits there and not in use. I'll be back in 3 weeks, then 3 months and lastly, for the 1 year updates. Just to let you know if it's still as good as I originally thought, if something broke, or if I go monster on it for whatever unforeseen circumstances. Hope this has helped!

P.S. I gave it a 4 rating because it is just an alarm clock, which in my opinion is still a high level review. I save the 5's for some kicka$$ items only.

I think the product itself is very nice for someone like me who enjoys the sensory experience of nature sounds and aromatherapy. The unit looks nice and the remote control is easy to work. I really enjoy the aromatherapy in particular. Based on the product alone I would have given it a higher review.

There are two things that really bug me.

First, as another reviewer mentioned there is a mechanical beep that sounds at the end of a session when you set it to sleep mode. This is so jarring and seems totally at odds with the purpose of the machine.

Second, I had trouble getting the alarm function to work - I see that it can be an alarm, but I couldn't figure out how to work it - the manual was no help. I called customer service and they were stumped. Said they would call me back and did not. Received an email in response to my inquiry that said that the product was to go to sleep to, not to be an alarm. Huh? It says it has an alarm function on its own website!

My mechanically-inclined spouse figured out the alarm and I'll be happy to provide instructions in case anyone struggles like I did.

I liked some things about it, but not enough to keep it. I bought this on a lightning deal for $60. It's definitely not worth more than that. Here is my take on this item:

Pros:
1. The diffuser worked really well as far as diffusing the essential oil scents. (However, it kept automatically shutting off. More on this in Cons.)
2. I liked the "idea" of the lights, sounds, and diffuser.
3. The unit was well-constructed. I was happy with the appearance of it.

Cons:
1. The instructions in the "manual" were hard to follow and gave limited information. Once I figured everything out, I was fine. But it took some time to figure out how to operate it. There should have been more information given especially on the diffuser. Big thumbs down for the manual.
2. The sounds were okay, but became annoying. They were very short sound clips that just repeated over and over. There could be a definite improvement with the sounds.
3. I hated that you could only control all functions with the remote.
4. There is no snooze option with the alarm. I need a snooze.
5. The beep was really annoying as others have stated in their reviews.
6. The lights didn't do anything for me. Yeah, it looked cool, but I didn't plan on sitting there staring at the unit to see lights change color. I expected more.
7. The diffuser kept automatically shutting off. I didn't have it on the timer and couldn't find anything in the "manual" to explain why this kept happening. I tried to call the company and was on hold for 30 minutes. It was around Christmas when I tried to call, but it was still frustrating. I hung up before anyone even answered due to the long hold time.

Overall, there are just too many functions wrapped up into one with this unit and none of them were perfected. I am going to look for two different units; a quality diffuser that is only a diffuser and then a quality alarm clock with nature sounds. I can do without the lights.

This is definitely the best aroma diffuser plus clock you can get. I used it when I have friends over for creation of a little "mood in the air" it releases a little "fog" out of the diffuser which brings great aroma to the whole room fast.

I've had the WS903 aroma diffuser from Oregon Scientific for about a month. I've been impressed with the look and feel of the product. My wife was worried that the aroma oil would smell too strong, but we've found it to be subtle and relaxing. All of the different sounds are much more pleasant to wake up to compared to a standard alarm clock. My favorite wake up sound is the birds chirping. Oregon Scientific put some thought into the details of the unit with the slot for the remote control. I hate searching for remote controls and would easily lose this small remote if not for the slot in the side. I would recommend the WS903 to anyone looking for a step up from the beep beep of a regular old alarm clock.

I really like this unit! It is the only diffuser I found that doesn't look like some ugly industrial thing. It has different color lights, a variety of soothing sounds, a clock, and a timer so you can wake up to something besides a death buzzer or commercials. The only drawback so far is that the light is too bright and the sounds are too loud (even on the lowest setting) for late night apartment use when falling asleep. It's just right for during the day, or for rooms other than the bedroom, but I'm in a quiet apartment so I don't use the audio after 10 or 11pm.

In order to set the time, the only way to do it is to press "reset", which (naturally) will erase all other settings... 1 minute fast? 1 minute slow? DST? -> press the bloody "reset" button!

I suppose this was done in order to "save" one more key on the remote (cannot believe that they simply forgot about setting the time)... unacceptable IMO.

The machine is cool in concepts but technically it is not well made. I have the machine for ab out 1 1/2 months, then the remote failed to operate. Everytime when I want to use the remote I have to bang it onto the table a few times and sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. Also the LED light is not bright enough even at its maximum output.There is no control on the machine except the reset button. Can you imagine what happens if your remote is not working ?

I really did not like this product. First, there were no instructions included except for a little info sheet about the aroma well. I was able to figure out the remote with a few attempts though. Second,I did not like the sounds. They were very short loops of the same sound, so they got tedious very fast. I liked the snooze feature where you could set the sound to play from 15-120 mins, BUT there was a really loud beep after the timer went off...so just as I was drifting off I was startled awake again by the loud beep. REALLY?! Third, the aroma feature worked well, although the smell didn't travel very far. And finally, the light was too bright. You could dim it, but it was still so bright that I had to turn it against the wall so it would not keep me awake.
Needless to say, I am returning this tomorrow.

I purchased it on Amazons lightning deal for $69. GREAT price for this
Not sure I'd pay the 100 dollar plus price tag that this usually carries, but it's a great product. The remote slot broke after just one use (the remote spring loads into the side of the unit) so now I have to either leave enough of the remote out so I can grab it or jolt the entire thing so it slides out. Bit annoying but not enough to make me want to go through the entire return process.

Pros:
-Nice soothing sounds if using it for sleep aid along with some aromatherapy oils like lavender etc
-Like mentioned above. Great for setting the mood if using the correct oils.
-Sleep feature that will shut the diffuser and sounds off automatically

Cons:
-My remote control feature breaking (see above). Not sure this is a regular problem or not
-The alarm! Yes it's great waking up to one of the soothing sounds included instead of a ringtone or siren bells but there's no snooze feature. Being a big fan of the snooze button I choose to either not use this function or use my -phone as a secondary / backup alarm.
-Not enough sounds. I believe there is only 5 to chose from