Groov-e Serenity sound machine review: white noise wherever you go

Groov-e Serenity Sound Machine: two-minute review

The Groov-e Serenity is a small and unobtrusive white noise machine designed to provide a soothing soundtrack for falling asleep. I tested the Groov-e Serenity for two weeks to see whether it could mask outside noise and aid sleep, and found the simple design surprisingly effective at relaxation.

First things first; the Groov-e Serenity is incredibly easy to use, even for someone who has no experience with white noise machines (i.e. me). There are six sounds to choose from, a timer setting, volume controls, and an on/off button. It takes just seconds to get the Serenity set up to your liking and, if that’s not working for you, another few seconds to adjust to something better.

The Serenity keeps things simple. The six sound settings offer some decent variety, but compared to the vast white noise libraries out there, the Serenity is limited. There’s also a basic timer with three settings, and an LED light you can either have on, pulsing, or off. Overall, you only have a few options to play with.

However, this simplicity is also the Serenity’s greatest asset. Lightweight and with a small footprint, it’s easily portable. I found space for it on my overcrowded bedside table, on my overcrowded desk, and I can slip it in my overcrowded bag for trips. If I forgot to set my sound before snuggling up in bed, it was no major disruption to start it up – in fact, one night I set the sound and timer without taking my eye mask off.

The Groov-e Serenity hits the brief as a portable white noise machine. While I didn’t find it particularly useful at soothing me to sleep, that’s a personal thing – the sounds were undoubtedly calming, and in terms of noise masking, the Serenity performed well. And thanks to the portability, even though I might not drift off to the Serenity, it still had its uses: it’s great background noise when working, doing yoga, or winding down in the evening.

Groove-e Serenity Sound Machine review: price

• Budget-friendly white noise machine
• RRP is £22.99, but sometimes discounted
• Only available from Amazon

The Groov-e Serenity is available from third-party retailer Amazon with an RRP of £22.99. This pricing is on par with similar portable white noise machines. It is occasionally discounted, although these savings are typically small.

Groove-e Serenity Sound Machine review: design

• Small, lightweight circular build
• LED light runs around the outside of the face
• Rechargeable battery with USB-C charging cable included

The Groov-e Serenity has a simple and unobtrusive design. White and circular, it measures 8.5cm in diameter and is 3.5cm tall. Plastic feet on the base help keep it in place on your bedside table, while the 10 buttons on top are flush to the face. There are no other colour options, but the neutral design should suit most decor schemes.

The speaker is at the front of the Serenity, with the charging port at the back. It charges using a USB-C connector, which is included with your purchase. The 400mAh battery has up to eight hours' playtime at full charge. It can also be used when plugged in, to take you through the entire night.

An LED light runs around the outside edge of the Groov-e Serenity. The light is white and you have the option of turning it on, off, or on a pulsing ‘breathing’ setting. 

Groove-e Serenity Sound Machine review: features

• Six different soothing white noise sounds
• Integrated LED night light with breathe mode
• 15, 30, and 60 minute timer settings

The Groov-e Serenity uses white noise to help you sleep, with six soothing sound settings. These white noise settings are: rain, forest, ocean, relax, calm, and white noise. Each sound is simple and repetitive. I’ll explore the sound settings in more detail below, in the performance section.

On the default setting, the Groov-e Serenity will play until you turn it off, or the battery runs out (at full charge, battery life is roughly eight hours). But if you don’t want it playing non-stop, all night, there are three timer settings: 15 minutes, 30 minutes, and 60 minutes. 

Image 1 of 2

Select your setting by pressing the timer button: one press for 15 minutes, two for 30 minutes, and three for 60 minutes. When the timer is on, a light indicates which setting you’ve chosen. Frustratingly, this light doesn’t fade until the sound has gone off.

In addition to the soothing sounds, the Serenity also comes with a built-in LED light. You can turn this on and off, or select ‘breathe’ mode, which brightens and dims in a rhythmic pattern. If you use the LED light, it will turn on and off with the sound – there’s no option to have just the light.

Groove-e Serenity Sound Machine review: performance

• Quick set up and easy to use
• Soothing background sounds offer good noise masking
• Highly portable, good for travelling and use around the house

Due to a mix of a busy schedule and some poor planning, I didn’t set up the Groov-e Serenity noise machine for the first time until I was already curled up on my best mattress and halfway to sleep. Luckily, it’s incredibly easy to use. Within a couple of minutes I had my sound picked, my timer started, and my head was back on the pillow.

Let’s talk about those sounds. There are six of them, with some surprising variety. ‘Rain’, ‘ocean’, and ‘forest’ are all nature sounds, while ‘calm’ and ‘relax’ are melodic, and ‘white noise’ is pretty much exactly what you’d expect. 

Compared to the variety of white noise available (did you know listening to bacon frying might help you sleep?) this isn’t the largest selection. However, the type of sounds present an unexpectedly large array. I found ‘ocean’, ‘rain’, and ‘white noise’ relaxing during the night, ‘calm’ and ‘relax’ too distracting for sleep but gently calming, and ‘forest’ good for concentration but too reminiscent of the daytime to help me sleep.

Once you’ve selected your sound, you can either let it play or set a timer. I was grateful for the timer, as I’m rarely woken by noise, so keeping the machine on after I’d drifted off would just be a waste of battery. The timer setting was simple – press the button once, twice, or three times – but it did come with a downside. To show the timer is on, the Serenity lights up. In a dark room, this could be pretty bright.

At the end of the timer period, the noise stops abruptly. In my experience, this wasn’t disruptive. However, if you were on the cusp of sleep when the sound cut out, the silence might be startling. I’d have appreciated a gentle fade.

While for the most part the machine was easy to use, I did have some issues with the volume control. To turn the volume up or down, you need to press and hold the button. Simple enough, but with no visual indication the volume had changed, there was some guesswork involved. And the Serenity is powerful for something so small – one time I thought I’d turned the ‘forest’ sound down, only to be startled by sudden loud birdsong.

The Groov-e Serenity fits in the palm of my hand, and I have pretty small hands. It’s easy to slip into a backpack or handbag; you could even put it in a large pocket. And because it charges via a USB-C cable, it can be powered on the go.

This portability gives the Serenity some versatility, especially for someone like me. I rarely have issues sleeping in noisy environments, so a white noise machine doesn’t particularly help me drift off. However, I can struggle to concentrate when there’s a lot of outside noise. With the Serenity sat on my desk sounding like a whooshing wave, I could block out a busy household and actually get some work done. Similarly, playing ‘calm’ while engaging in some wind-down meditation meant I was less likely to be distracted by whatever else was going on (and I didn’t have to reach for my blue light-emitting phone to find the perfect relaxation Spotify playlist).

In terms of noise blocking, the Groov-e Serenity did successfully cover up a lot of sound. My environment is quiet overnight, but I did notice it helped hide the sound of the occasional passing car. However, its most impressive sound masking performance came when I tested it at my desk and forgot to mute my music. With ‘forest’ playing next to me, I completely forgot that ‘Daily Mix 1’ was chugging along in the background – very surprising when the timer ran out on the Serenity.

Should you buy the Groov-e Serenity Sound Machine?

Buy it if...

✅ You want a white noise machine you can travel with: The Groov-e Serenity is incredibly compact. It can slip into a suitcase, backpack, or even a handbag. And as it charges with a USB-C charging cable, you should have plenty of options for powering up when on the go – and if you can’t charge, use the timer and the eight hour battery life should get you through a few nights at least.

✅ You prioritise ease of use: With just 10 buttons, the Groov-e Serenity has a simple user interface that takes just seconds to learn. It was so easy, I set it up for the first time when I was already tucked up and ready for bed, and I've been able to change the settings in the middle of the night without opening my eyes.

✅ You’ve never used a white noise machine before: The Serenity hits that sweet spot between being easy to use but not so simple it has limited functionality. Six sound options give white noise newbies a chance to learn what works for them, while the portability ensures you can use the machine in a variety of circumstances.

Don't buy it if...

❌ You want a wide choice of sounds to choose from: Offering a variety of nature sounds, melodic sounds, and the traditional white noise, the Groov-e Serenity has a decent range of options. But considering how much white noise is available online, this is only a small selection. 

❌ You like to sleep in total darkness: While there’s a definite logic to the LED light turning on when you set a timer (it indicates that the timer is on, for a start), it’s bright for such a little light. At least, it feels very bright when the rest of the room is dark. Light plays a huge role in how well we sleep, and while the sounds might get you snoozing, the brightness could keep you up.

❌ Sudden silence wakes you up: When the Groov-e Serenity reaches the end of its timer period, the sound simply cuts off. The abrupt silence can be disrupting, and if you were only just drifting off to sleep, you might find yourself suddenly awake. A slow fade would be less of a surprise. 

How I tested the Groov-e Serenity Sound Machine

I tested the Groov-e Serenity sleep aid machine for two weeks. I used the white noise settings on a timer at my usual bed time, before going to sleep on a relatively quiet street in Cardiff, Wales. I also tested it in some other settings, including at my desk and other areas in my home.