VTech DM221 Audio Baby Monitor with up to 1,000 ft of Range, Vibrating Sound-Alert, Talk Back Intercom & Night Light Loop, White/Silver

No bells and whistles but its affordable and I can hear clearly through it. Im pleased that I used it for more than two years, stuck it in a closet for five months then pulled it out again and it still works well. I also lost it in a small snow drift (dont ask) and after I paged it and dug it out it was unaffected.

The Vox (mic gain) on the highest setting is very sensitive, so I use the next to highest setting for mic gain. The night light is a nice feature. The sound quality of the monitor unit is good, but not hi fidelity. I dont use vibrating alert and I have not had to use the backup battery, so I cant rate those features. Works very well to monitor a room on the main floor when my room is on the 2nd floor.

I have been using this for over 5 years to monitor my child, who is prone to seizures, but gets an aura or warning before they escalate. It has literally been a life saver. The only issue I have had is with the charging cord. Over time, they are prone to fray near the plugs. Anyone who recalls the old chargeable calculators back in the day might remember this issue. If you move your receiver often, your cord will eventually fray. Its not an if, its a when. In order to hopefully prevent this on my new unit, I purchased a set of Cable Protector Spiral Phone Charge Cable Savers for $5.99 here on Amazon. As you see from the pic, the fit seems nice and it should prevent the cord from bending near the plug. Hopefully these work. Also in the spirit of keeping your unit for multiple kids/grand kids, the batteries are replaceable and are the same as in portable land-line phones, naturally also available on Amazon.

**Update 1/5/2016** Since my below review we have used this many more times and Im happy to report that this is still a very solid performer. The range is great, baby noise comes through clear, and my previous complaint about the talk button being easy to press hasnt been a big deal. Four stars remain well deserved. **Original Review 4/18/2015** We have a nice Angelcare monitor that we use at home but wanted something simple we could take with us when traveling to our parents and friends houses. The VTech fit the bill budget wise and after one 5 day trip we have been really happy. Other reviews have done a great job saying what this unit does well so I wont waste time here reiterating those opinions as I agree with them. Couple of cons that I wanted to mention just to keep in mind before you buy, but note I would still buy this product again knowing this so I do like the product a lot. - Battery life on the wireless unit is not great. You will have to charge during awake time at least once during the day if not more. - No battery on the unit that is in the nursery. Minor concern for me since we are used to power outages which would render this useless. How many times is that going to happen though? Not a huge deal. - Biggest complaint is the talk button on the side of the parent unit is extremely easy to press when grabbing the unit. If you wear this on your belt or pocket then when you grab it you will almost certainly press the talk button which will send whatever noise is going on around you straight to the unit by your sleeping baby. Not ideal. Again, Im rating this as 4 stars so obviously I am happy with the unit. For the price, I think youd be hard pressed to find a better option and considering our needs it is near perfect. It is really compact and fits in a pair of shoes easily for simple packing.

Awesome

We use this for travel! I feel kinda like the parent unit is almost always dead and needs to be plugged in. Maybe that is user error because we don’t use it constantly so the batter dies when it isn’t in use? That is frustrating to be honest since it takes a while to charge up when it’s dead. BUT when I have the foresight to plug it in as soon as we get somewhere a couple hours before we need it… it’s great! A classic.

This monitor is so good because it alerts you in different ways. From sound, to beeps when the volume is off, vibrate and lights. There is no way that you can miss a sound. Range, sensitivity and clarity are great. You can use it as a Walkie talkie.

We originally registered for a video monitor for our nursery and got it, but once the baby came, we realized it was really inconvenient not to have a monitor in our bedroom since he was sleeping in there in his bassinet. We also found ourselves needing a monitor when we went to our families lake house and wanted to sit on the patio after putting him to bed in our bedroom. These monitors are fantastic. The baby monitor has to be plugged in, but the parent monitor does not. It has chargeable batteries. My mom had an older model from vtech and the parent monitor has to be plugged in too. We love that the parent monitor is able to be charged and portable. It creates so much more flexibility. I find myself putting my ear to the monitor to make sure it is still working even though it is linked, but every time Im linked and realize what a great feature it is, they dont make the background noice like a sleep machine loud on the parent monitor, it only reacts when a loud noice happens like the baby moves or cries out which makes trying to hold a conversation so much easier. I would highly recommend these monitors. IT has been key while our 4 month old continues to sleep in our room and any trip they are the first thing we pack into the diaper bag. Hope you enjoy them as much as we have!

Works very well, just as described.

We use this to monitor ailing adult who is housed slight distance away and separated by thick walls. Set up was effortless: the units connected as soon as powered on. Sound quality is very good. Volume and sensitivity is adjustable: I can hear them breathing or set it so louder noise required. While my cell phone will disconnect from the Bluetooth headset at this distance and given the thickness of the walls, these stay connected. This product does everything promised and is perfect for our purposes. If you dont need a visual, its probably perfect for yours as well. Impressed - more so at the very reasonable price.