I paid for a new one but received one refurbished. Despite that, I used it anyway because I was a first-time mom desperate for my baby to get good sleep. After awhile, I noticed that the switch would spark anytime turned it on or off. Anyway, it died after a year. Ordering something else.does help sleep, will buy another for spare roomWe’ve used the speaker style sound machines for 3 years and finally got tired of changing batteries or replacing because they speaker broke. My 3 yr old sleeps better with the fan of the marpac design and he used to say he didn’t like the noise of the speaker ones, he has not once said the sound is “scary” with the fan. No problems since they’re refurbished, I was hesitant but glad I ended up buying. No scratches or dings in the plastic and we’ve had for about a month and nothing crazy with function. They work perfect!Why is something so simple so damn expensive?It does work like new after constant use though, sturdy little bastard.i have been using these at night for about 15 years, and all of my adult children now have them in their homes. this is a nice sleek looking machine, and works great.I can finally sleep. We live on a busy road with large trucks and their Jake breaks. This machine is helping me sleep. I’m so happy I bought this.Great sound. Helps to sleep, for sure. Just don’t expect it cover up a lot of sounds. Can still hear loud bird chirps, for example. But this does help.