When my first baby was born in March 2007, one of the necessities for us was a baby monitor. I compared a few of the monitors and this one looked like it would work well. Just a note about this review - I have not used any other monitors (except for a video monitor), and for my second baby I plan on using a video monitor.
I purchased this monitor at Babies R Us for I believe about $90, although I timed it so I was able to use coupons on my larger purchases (so keep an eye out for 15-20% off coupons).
Setup
Setup is a breeze with this monitor. You plug in the main part/base and turn it on. Then plug in the monitors, turn on, and you should be set to go. You can adjust volume as well as channel, but I have never had to change the channel. I don't think we have any other babies in our neighborhood so interference from other monitors have not been a problem, nor have other appliances or interferences.
My ThoughtsI think this monitor set is attractive, and the design is pretty good. The receivers come out of their bases easily, and have clips and handles on them. Granted, the clips aren't that great (thick plastic clips on the back that aren't that very long), but it is a clip nonetheless.
The light on the front is good when, for instance, you have the television on and maybe there is some rustling in the baby's room that I might not hear over the TV or the lullaby music in the baby's room. On the flip side, I have the monitor on my nightstand, and it can be bright at night (since it's probably 2 feet from my head). I often turn it to face the wall or put something in front of it.
I have noticed that after two years, the receivers do not stay charged long after you remove them from the base. What I have ended up doing is taking the base with the receivers and plugging them in. For instance, if I am working in the garage or basement, I take everything with me. For things like yard work, I plug into an outdoor outlet or I have to alternate between receivers. I would say after 2+ years, the receivers work for maybe 15-20 minutes. The receiver will beep and go red as the battery goes. * One huge complaint is that there have been a few times that the light just goes red instead of beeping, but I think it only happens when the receiver is out of the base (in other words, it wouldn't happen while I am sleeping, since the receiver would be in the base).
The range on these seems pretty good, as my baby can be on the 2nd floor and I can take the receiver into the basement or garage, or even outside (but not too far out into the yard). The receivers will beep if you go out of range, and the light will turn red when a signal is lost.
There have been a few occasions when the reciever beeps seemingly out of nowhere. For instance, in the middle of the night it just starts beeping for a minute, then it stops, beeps again for a minute, and keeps going on and stopping. Sometimes just turning it off and back on works, but it is really annoying when it happens. Fortunately, I can say this is more or less a rarity.
As for clarity, there is somewhat of a background hiss to the monitor, but in general I can hear pretty well. It can be a little difficult to pick up on smaller noises (like rustling), but I can't say I have missed any "emergencies".
One of the things that I don't like is that if the power goes out, the base does not turn back on. Instead, the receivers beep and you have to go turn on the base.
Additionally, this is probably a safety feature, but the cord pulls out of the back of the base really easily. So if I am adjusting the base, the cord will sometimes fall out and I don't even notice until I hear the receivers beeping that they have lost the signal.
OverallThis has been a pretty good monitor for the almost 2.5 years that we have had it. I have been able to rely on it and not worry about intereference/privacy. However, it does have it's ups and downs and it seems to be wearing out (especially losing battery life) at this point.
Graco: http://www.gracobaby.com/
My review of the
Defender Phoenix1 Video Monitor
