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How these picks were made: by comparing published specifications and clearly-credited public reporting. We do not run a laboratory, we have not measured these products, and we do not claim to have slept with them. Here is exactly how we choose.
Short version: the Hatch Restore 3 is the one to buy if you want the whole bedtime and morning routine in one object. The HoMedics SoundSpa Sunrise does the same two jobs for a fraction of the price with a shorter, dimmer sunrise. The Sound Oasis S-680-02 is the pick only if you have tinnitus, where its banded therapy tones earn the premium.
The trap: the clock face is a light source
The reason people abandon combined units is not the sound and not the alarm. It is that a glowing display sits at eye level all night. Published nighttime light guidance points toward as close to darkness as you can practically manage, and a bright blue seven-segment display works directly against that.
So the first question for any machine in this category is: how dim does the display go, and can you turn it off entirely between checks? All three picks here dim. Plenty of cheaper units do not, and you find out on night one.
What separates a good alarm from a bad one
- A separate wake sound. If the alarm is just the sleep sound turned up, it will not wake you - you have spent eight hours learning to ignore it. The HoMedics carries four dedicated wake sounds for exactly this reason.
- A ramp, not a jolt. A sound that rises over a minute or two beats a buzzer. The Sound Oasis uses a chime rather than a buzzer; the Hatch and the HoMedics both ramp light before they ramp sound.
- Battery backup. An alarm clock that loses a power cut is not an alarm clock. The Sound Oasis takes four AA cells as a backstop.
- It still works without the app. A connected clock you cannot set from the device is a bad clock.
Do you want light in the mix?
Two of these three add a sunrise ramp, and that changes the category. If waking is the harder half of your problem, you are really shopping for a sunrise alarm clock that happens to make noise rather than a sound machine that happens to have a clock - here is how the light side works, and the heavy-sleeper page covers what to do when light alone is not enough.
If falling asleep is the harder half, weight the sound instead. A machine with four looping sounds will start to grate by month three; the main roundup is where to look if the alarm is really a nice-to-have.
The obvious objection
Your phone does both of these already. The counterargument is not that the phone is worse at either job - it is that keeping the phone in the room is the thing you were trying to stop. The full version of that argument is here, and the snooze habit has its own page.
Machines that do both jobs properly
Tap any row to jump to the full write-up. The photographs are licensed stock images chosen to illustrate the category - they are not photographs of these specific products, and each one’s alt text describes what is actually shown.
| # | Product | Best for | The spec that decides it | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Hatch Restore 3The most complete bedside device of the group - sunrise, wind-down, sound library and alarms in one - and the only one with a subscription attached. | One device for the whole bedtime routine | Roughly 30-minute sunrise, deep orange through to bright white | |
| 2 |  Sound Oasis Tinnitus Sound Therapy System S-680-02The only machine here designed around tinnitus rather than adapted to it - the sound set includes banded therapy tones at named frequency ranges instead of one generic hiss. | Tinnitus specifically, rather than room noise | 24 sounds including banded tinnitus tones (0.9-3.2 kHz, 1-10 kHz, 2-8 kHz, 2.5-5 kHz) | |
| 3 |  HoMedics SoundSpa SunriseThe budget crossover: four sleep sounds, four separate wake sounds, a sunrise ramp and a Bluetooth speaker in a single unit. | A sound machine and a sunrise alarm in one cheap box | 4 sleep sounds + 4 wake sounds + sunrise ramp + Bluetooth (model SS-WL100) |
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Three price points for the same idea. All three let you dim the display, which is the feature that decides whether you keep the device.
Our top pick · One device for the whole bedtime routine
1. Hatch Restore 3
The most complete bedside device of the group - sunrise, wind-down, sound library and alarms in one - and the only one with a subscription attached.
- Sunrise:
- Gradual ramp beginning around 30 minutes before the alarm
- Color path:
- Deep orange warming to bright white
- Sound:
- Built-in sound library plus alarm tones
- App:
- Required for setup; premium library is subscription-gated
What it gets right
- Sunrise, wind-down and sound machine in a single footprint
- The app makes complex schedules genuinely easy to set
- The display dims properly, unlike most clock radios
Where it falls short
- The best sound content sits behind a subscription
- App dependency: no phone, no changes
- Most expensive way to buy a sunrise
Skip it if: You resent subscriptions. The Philips does the light half with no account at all.
Pick 2 · Tinnitus specifically, rather than room noise
2. Sound Oasis Tinnitus Sound Therapy System S-680-02
The only machine here designed around tinnitus rather than adapted to it - the sound set includes banded therapy tones at named frequency ranges instead of one generic hiss.
- Sounds:
- 24 built in, including doctor-developed tinnitus tones
- Clock:
- Backlit dimmable display, chime alarm rather than a buzzer
- Timer:
- 30, 60 or 90 minute auto shut-off
- Power:
- AC adapter included; runs on 4 AA batteries as backup
- Size:
- 4.88 x 3.5 x 5.7 in
What it gets right
- Therapy tones are banded to named frequency ranges, so you can pick one near your own tinnitus pitch
- Battery backup keeps the sound going through a power cut, which matters when silence is the trigger
- A chime alarm instead of a buzzer, so the wake-up is not its own jolt
Where it falls short
- Much the most expensive machine we cover
- Dated interface next to a modern app-driven machine
- Frequently out of stock at the manufacturer
Skip it if: Your problem is a noisy street rather than a ringing ear. A plain broadband machine costs a third as much and masks traffic better.
Pick 3 · A sound machine and a sunrise alarm in one cheap box
3. HoMedics SoundSpa Sunrise
The budget crossover: four sleep sounds, four separate wake sounds, a sunrise ramp and a Bluetooth speaker in a single unit.
- Sounds:
- 4 for sleep, plus 4 separate wake-up sounds
- Light:
- Sunrise simulation, plus a 7-color night light
- Bluetooth:
- Yes - streams from a phone
- Timer:
- 30, 60 or 90 minute auto shut-off
- Power:
- 120V adapter included
What it gets right
- Does two jobs for the price of a cheap version of either
- Separate wake sounds, so the alarm is not just the sleep sound turned up
- Bluetooth makes it the only speaker the nightstand needs
Where it falls short
- Only four sleep sounds, and they loop
- The sunrise is dimmer and shorter than a dedicated wake-up light
- No app, and no scheduling beyond the alarm
Skip it if: The sunrise is the main event for you. A dedicated wake-up light puts far more light in the room.
Questions people actually ask
What is the best sound machine with an alarm clock?
The Hatch Restore 3 if you want one device running the whole bedtime and morning routine. The HoMedics SoundSpa Sunrise does the same two jobs for a fraction of the price, with a shorter and dimmer sunrise. The Sound Oasis S-680-02 only makes sense if you have tinnitus, where its banded therapy tones justify the price.
Should the alarm sound be different from the sleep sound?
Yes. If the alarm is your sleep sound turned up, you have spent all night training yourself to ignore it. Look for a machine with dedicated wake sounds, or one that wakes you with light before it wakes you with noise.
Do sound machine alarm clocks have battery backup?
Some do. The Sound Oasis S-680-02 takes four AA cells as a backstop, which means a power cut does not silently cancel your alarm. The Hatch Restore 3 and the HoMedics SoundSpa Sunrise are mains devices.
Is the clock display too bright to sleep next to?
On cheap units, often yes - and that is the single most common reason people return them. All three picks here dim the display. Check this before you buy anything in this category, because a glowing face at eye level works directly against a dark bedroom.
Why not just use my phone for both?
You can, and for pure function the phone is fine. The reason to buy a device is that it lets the phone leave the bedroom, which is usually the actual goal. If the phone stays on the nightstand either way, save your money.
Sources
- HoMedics - SoundSpa Sunrise sound machine, model SS-WL100 (manufacturer specifications).
- Sound Oasis - Tinnitus Sound Therapy System S-680-02 (manufacturer specifications).
- Brown TM et al. Recommendations for daytime, evening and nighttime indoor light exposure to best support physiology, sleep and wakefulness in healthy adults. PLOS Biology, 2022.
- Sleep Foundation - Best Sunrise Alarm Clocks.
Back to the best white noise machines.
Read next
- Best sunrise alarm clocksIf waking is the harder half of the problem.Read it
- Sound machine vs a white noise appThe case for getting the phone out of the room.Read it
- How to stop hitting snoozeThe habit no alarm fixes on its own.Read it
- Best sound machines with a night lightThe other thing people want on one nightstand.Read it