Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I suspect that there are many people like me who are blessed to lay one's head next to a companion each night. I also suspect that sometimes that companion makes noises at night. I have struggled for years to find ways to not be woken with compromises between sound machines and white noise makers. I tried, with a mixture of success and failure, to use various headphones to close my eyes and to keep them closed. Thus, when I saw the Bose Wireless Sleepbuds - I thought this is something that might actually be a long term solution. Please note - I have used them for only three nights upon the writing of this review, and thus may come back at a latter time to revive it. But here are my initial thoughts and feelings. PROS - 1. The headphones are truly small and soft and fit well in the ear. There are three sizes of rubber shells to choose from, and the downloadable app does a great job to find the proper fit. Point is - they fit, the stay in, you can sleep on your side with the pillow pushing the earbud into your ear - and thus they do what all other ear buds fail to do. 2. Great App to run the head phones. I was please with the downloadable app used to select the tones as well as set alarms for the headphones. It was clear, easy to use, great instruction, simple. Way to go on app design. 3. Spectrum of tones - there are 10 various tones (sounds) of such things as a stream, waterfall, airplane, leaves rustling in the wind - ect. It seems to be that the various sounds have been selected as a way to be as 'natural' sounding / comforting as possible, as well as registering different tonal pitches. For example, the running stream and the camp fire sounds feel a little high pitched for my sleeping comfort, but the waterfall and 'fan' have a lower pitch. The spectrum is good. And, with the exception of one provided sound - my mind did not find the loop in the recorded sound. Point is tones are of high quality and cover a spectrum of pitches that will work for most people- 4. The case - the charging case for the pods is well designed for charging and for using in the darkness of a room. CONS - 1. Price - What, $250 for headphones that do not play music?!?! Outside of this review, I have not told people I have purchased these because I am embarrassed by how much I paid for them. 2. Volume control - The only way to control the volume of the earbuds is via the app. This means, in the dead and dark of night, I have to reach over, turn my phone on, get scolded by my wife, unlock it, and adjust the volume via the app. The phone's external volume control does not change the volume for the ear buds, nor is there any type of volume control on the changing case. Point is - I do not want to turn my phone on at night time - yuk. 3. The "Wind in the Leaves" sound was of low quality. Meaning, My mind was able to lock onto the playback loop and thus the sound became like the a dripping water facet. Gratefully, only one of the sounds was of such quality - but for $250 - I expect all the sounds to be top notch. Also, I would have liked some sounds at a lower pitch. 4. Lack of independent usability. In order to use these sleep buds - the user MUST have a phone app for them (iPhone or android). WHY? All the sounds are pre-downloaded into the ear buds. Why can there not be a selection button and volume control on the charging case? 5. No automatic shut off. The headphones do not turn off when placed back in their charging cradle. If I do not turn off the sound from the app itself, they will keep playing all day long. I discovered this on the second night. They failed to charge completely in the case because they never stopped playing the sound. Come on, auto shut off when placed in the charging dock should be a given. Overall experience: In the past three nights, I have had a better sleep experience. I have slept longer and more soundly. Those times that I have woken up, the sounds helped me go back to sleep quickly. So yes, the Bose Wireless Noise-Masking Sleepbuds do work as advertised. I plan to continue using them. Yet, I am still not sure if it was worth it or not in terms of the price. If I could craft / custimize and add my own sounds - than yes for sure. I am also very annoyed by the inability to control the volume except through the app. Thus, my pause on recommendations to buy or not. If you can afford it and do need a sleeping aid, than yes, purchase it. If the price point stretches you or you really do not need any noise masking device, than I think you should not buy it.