Sound+Sleep Adaptive Sound Machine

Your neighbor shuts a door. Sound+Sleep turns up the rain. That is the useful bit here: in adaptive mode, this sound machine listens to your surroundings and automatically raises its volume to help mask unwanted noise. For an apartment where the background racket refuses to stay at one level, that makes more sense than setting a sound machine once and hoping for the best.

There are 30 non-looping sounds, including rain, ocean and meadow, so your bedtime soundtrack does not have to be a steady hiss. Precision volume settings let you adjust the sound yourself, too. This is sound masking, not a promise to make a noisy home silent, but the automatic response gives it a clear purpose beyond playing pleasant background audio.

The sleep timer suits anyone who only wants sound while settling in, and the built-in headphone jack allows private listening. A thoughtful gift for the person whose bedroom has an unofficial soundtrack supplied by everyone else.