How quiet is a toy really? Sound, material, and thin walls
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by Verpakkingdeals.nl
5 min reading time
Sound is the most important purchasing criterion for many people when buying an 18+ product, yet it is rarely stated on the packaging. Here's where the sound comes from and what to look for.
In an apartment with thin walls or a house with housemates, sound is often the first thing people look for and the last thing mentioned on the packaging. Decibel values are missing for almost every 18+ item, and "whisper quiet" on a box means nothing: there's no standard that defines that word.
You can, however, rely on the construction method. The shape, material, and drive system can give a good indication of how much noise a device will make. Below are the four factors that make the difference, and what you can do yourself if it sounds louder than expected.
Where the sound comes from
Almost every vibrating item works with a small electric motor with an eccentric weight on the axle. This weight is deliberately unbalanced: that imbalance is the vibration. However, a part of that vibration doesn't go into the product, but into the casing. That's where it becomes audible.
Three things amplify this:
Hollow space. A casing with air around it acts as a soundbox, just like with a guitar. Solid models sound duller than hollow ones.
A battery compartment. Loose batteries are never completely secure. They tap along with the vibration. This is the main source of noise in cheap stick models.
Hard plastic — ABS — transmits vibrations directly and sounds higher and sharper. A silicone casing around the same motor dampens some of the high frequencies; what remains is a lower, duller hum that travels less far through a wall.
A second advantage of silicone: it's dense and non-porous, making it easier to clean. That saves trouble later with toy cleaner.
Batteries or rechargeable
In a battery-powered model, the drive system sits loosely in a compartment with a cap. In a rechargeable model, the battery is fixed in the casing and there is usually no lid that can vibrate along. This is one of the clearest differences between a Pocket Rocket with 4 attachments (€ 4.50) and a USB-rechargeable mini wand massager in silicone (€ 54.95).
If you do use batteries, it helps to use fresh cells of the same brand and type. A half-empty battery next to a full one causes an irregular, audibly restless operation. A pack of AAA batteries, 16 pieces (€ 5.95) or Panasonic AAA, 4 pieces (€ 9.95) in the drawer avoids improvising with whatever was left in the remote control.
Settings are not a volume knob
More settings do not equate to more control over the sound. A model with 20 settings (€ 24.95) typically has a handful of continuous speeds and then pulsating and wavy patterns. These patterns are precisely more noticeable: a steady hum disappears into background noise, a rhythm does not. For those concerned about sound, a few usable fixed speeds are more beneficial than twenty programs.
Also, pay attention to resonance. At one particular speed, the vibration frequency can sometimes coincide with that of the surface – a slatted bed base, a wooden bedside table, a hollow floor. Then the furniture becomes the speaker. A setting higher or lower is often enough to resolve this. A wireless set of vibrating eggs (€ 39.95) has less of this effect, simply because the mass is smaller.
What you can do in a small house
In a home, sound primarily travels through hard, continuous structures: floors, walls, pipes. The air is less of a problem than the contact.
Place something soft under the device if you put it down. A towel or a duvet does more than you expect.
Do not place it on or against a cabinet, radiator, or slatted bed base. These transmit vibrations to the structure.
A closed door offers limited help against low tones; a running fan, washing machine, or music masks them better.
Store it with the batteries removed. This not only prevents it from accidentally turning on in a drawer, but also prevents leaking cells.
What to look for on the product page
Since decibel values are missing, use these five clues:
Material. Does it say silicone, or only ABS?
Drive. USB-rechargeable or separate batteries?
Size and weight. Larger and heavier almost always means a bigger motor.
Number of settings. Are there fixed speeds, or only patterns?
Shape. Solid and compact sounds duller than large and hollow.
And keep expectations realistic: completely silent doesn't exist. A motor that creates vibration creates sound. The difference is between "audible in the same room" and "audible in the next room," and that difference can indeed be controlled using the points above.
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