The report card
- Sound quality & choice30% of score9.0
A real fan in a tuned housing makes continuous sound with no loops, with ten speeds and an adjustable shell to tune the tone.
- Safe volume & placement20% of score7.2
Ten speeds make it easy to find a quieter setting, and there's an optional 45 minute, 90 minute or 8 hour timer; it plugs in, so position it away from the cot.
- Ease of use at 3am20% of score7.4
Simple buttons and a dimmable amber light, but no app or remote.
- Portability & power10% of score3.5
A plug-in machine that lives in one room.
- Value & running costs20% of score6.6
Around £80 with nothing extra to pay for, though the Dohm Classic does the core job for less.
The full review
Yogasleep, made by US firm Marpac, has been building fan-based sound machines since 1962, and the Dohm's appeal is simple: there's a real fan spinning inside, so the sound is generated live rather than played from a recording, and it never loops. You tune it by twisting the outer shell.
The Nova is the nursery-friendly version. Where the Dohm Classic has two speeds, the Nova has ten, which makes it easier to find a quiet setting, and it adds a dimmable amber night light, an optional sleep timer (45 minutes, 90 minutes or 8 hours) and a washable fabric cover. It's sold on Amazon UK by Marpac UK.
There's no app, no subscription and nothing to charge. The trade-offs are that you get one kind of sound, it has to be plugged in, and at around £80 it costs more than the Dohm Classic (around £60), which uses the same kind of fan but has only two speeds and no light or timer. UK owner reviews are still thin, at 4.2 out of 5 from 23 on Amazon UK, though it scores 4.7 from 68 on Yogasleep's US site.
Pros and cons
What I like
- Real fan sound that never loops
- Ten speeds for fine control
- Dimmable amber night light and optional sleep timer
- No app or subscription
What I don't
- Only one type of sound
- Needs a socket
- Around £80, with few UK owner reviews so far
Key specs
- Sound
- Real fan, 10 speeds, adjustable tone
- Light
- Dimmable amber night light
- Timer
- Optional: 45 minutes, 90 minutes or 8 hours
- Power
- Plug-in
- Size
- 14.2 x 14.2 x 9.4cm, 567g
- Warranty
- 1 year
Head-to-heads
What I read
This is a research-led review. These are the main sources behind the scores, alongside patterns in verified owner reviews. How I review.