In-depth reviews guided by a Pediatrician

Angelcare AC420 Review

Limited range, poor sound quality and lack of two-way communication are hard to overlook
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Price:   $60 List
Pros:  Easier to use, sound activation, adjustable mic
Cons:  Inconsistent sound, AAA batteries
Manufacturer:   Angelcare
By Juliet Spurrier, MD & Wendy Schmitz  ⋅  Jun 1, 2017
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64
OVERALL
SCORE

RANKED
#6 of 9
  • Sound Clarity - 30% 6
  • Ease of Use - 25% 7
  • Range - 20% 6
  • Battery life - 15% 6
  • Features - 10% 7

The Skinny

The Angelcare AC420 is a sound monitor with some easier to use features that parents will be looking for like sound activation and an adjustable mic sensitivity. However, this unit has poor sound quality with intermittent sound dropping and poor range connection that had trouble staying connected. While it has a long battery life of 30 hours for the parent unit, the batteries are AAA instead of rechargeable so you'll be buying batteries regularly if you use this product without the plug-in base. It also lacks two-way communication with the baby, something many parents will think is a dealbreaker. Overall, it is disappointing compared to higher scoring options with similar or cheaper prices.


Compare to Similar Products

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This Product
Angelcare AC420
Awards  Editors' Choice Award Best Value Award Best Value Award  
Price $60.00 List$40.00 List
$21.39 at Amazon - 47% off		$50.00 List
$38.65 at Amazon - 23% off		$25.00 List
$18.49 at Amazon - 26% off		$40.00 List
$150.00 at Amazon
Overall Score Sort Icon
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Star Rating
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Pros Easier to use, sound activation, adjustable micExcellent sound clarity, lots of features, long battery life, priceGood sound clarity, easy to use, budget-friendlyEasy to use, nice range, inexpensiveEasier to use, lower price
Cons Inconsistent sound, AAA batteriesHarder to use, shorter rangeLimited features, average rangeLimited features, short battery lifeFewer features, below average sound
Bottom Line Limited range, poor sound quality and lack of two-way communication are hard to overlookInexpensive, great sounding monitor with loads of features good for most familiesA great price for those who favor ease of use and price over excess featuresSuper budget-friendly choice that gets the job done without any fussUnimpressive bare bones option with poor performance compared to similarly priced competition
Rating Categories Angelcare AC420 Vtech DM221 Philips Avent DECT... Vtech DM111 Motorola MBP160
Sound Clarity (30%)
10
0
6
10
0
10
10
0
8
10
0
7
10
0
7
Ease Of Use (25%)
10
0
7
10
0
6
10
0
10
10
0
9
10
0
10
Range (20%)
10
0
6
10
0
6
10
0
6
10
0
7
10
0
4
Battery Life (15%)
10
0
6
10
0
10
10
0
4
10
0
3
10
0
4
Features (10%)
10
0
7
10
0
9
10
0
4
10
0
3
10
0
4
Specs Angelcare AC420 Vtech DM221 Philips Avent DECT... Vtech DM111 Motorola MBP160
Indoor Range Test (walls & feet) 7 Walls 98 Feet 5 Walls 90 Feet 5 Walls 90 Feet 7 Walls 98 Feet 4 Walls 65 Feet
Open Field Range Test 900 Feet 1325 Feet 1320 Feet 1350 Feet 1325 Feet
Manufacturer's Claimed Range (*buyer beware!) 820 Feet 1000 Feet 984 Feet Not Listed 990 Feet
Communication Technology 2.4 GHZ, Transmission 927 MHz DECT 6.0 Digital Technology DECT Technology DECT 6.0 Digital Technology DECT Technology
Sound Activation Yes Yes Yes No Yes
Adjustable Mic Sensitivity Yes Yes No No No
Sound Filtering Test Results Excellent Excellent Poor Very Poor Excellent
Talk-to-Baby No Yes No No No
Max Sound 99.9 db 103.4 db 101 db 103.6 db 86.8 db
Temperature Yes No No No No
Parent Unit Battery Life 30 Hrs 46 Hrs 19 Hrs 13 Hrs 20 Hrs
Nursery Unit Battery Backup Yes No No No No
EMF @ 6 Feet Nursery Unit 0.77 V/m 3.11 V/m 0.95 V/m 2.63 V/m 2.41 V/m
Night Light Yes Yes Yes No No
Lullaby Music No No No No No
Out Of Range Alert Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Vibrate Alert No Yes No No No
Warranty 1 Year 1 Year 2 Years 1 Year 1 Year

Our Analysis and Test Results

Angelcare began in 1997 and has been creating unique products for parents designed for peace of mind for parents and their newborns. Angelcare strives to create innovative designs to help keep babies safe. The company has earned various awards for user experience and overall quality with their movement monitors and they continue toward their goal of reducing the stress of infant care with a constant connection to baby.


Performance Comparison


The graph shown here shows the difference in the scores for all monitors we tested.


The next sections provide additional information on how the AC420 performed during our testing. The individual metric results were used to calculate the overall scores with weighting toward sound clarity and ease of use.

The AC420 struggled to find consistent sound with regular intermittent breaks in sound from baby's room.
The AC420 struggled to find consistent sound with regular intermittent breaks in sound from baby's room.

Sound Clarity


The AC420 earned a 6 of 10 for sound clarity. Six is the second lowest score in the group with the high being 10 earned by the Vtech DM221 and the both of which won awards.

With a maximum volume of 99.9 decibels, the sound from the parent unit is bright and distorted in a way that hurts the ears somewhat. This Angelcare had a similar problem to the Angelcare AC403 and AC401 with problems transmitting sound continuously. Clarity of the sound at lower volumes is okay but given the inconsistency of the sound going in and out for several seconds and often out more than in we felt that overall the sound quality is poor.

The AC420 has a simplified user interface with few buttons that make nighttime sleep deprived use easier than some of the competition.
The AC420 has a simplified user interface with few buttons that make nighttime sleep deprived use easier than some of the competition.

Ease of Use


The AC420 earned a 7 of 10 for ease of use. This Angelcare earned a higher ease of use score than its brother even though it has a myriad of features that could make it difficult to use. Setting up the unit takes less than a minute and really only requires plugging in and turning on.

This monitor is simple to use with the volume control and channel selection on the front of the unit. The display is easy to Simple to use. The parent unit has volume control and channel selection buttons on the face of the unit. The display is easy to see and includes battery and sound level, temperature and channel. This unit doesn't require the involved menu process found on the other ANgelcare model we tested.

The range for the AC420 is somewhat disappointing as it had difficulty keeping a connection consistently even at a close range to the baby unit.
The range for the AC420 is somewhat disappointing as it had difficulty keeping a connection consistently even at a close range to the baby unit.

Range


The AC420 earned a 6 of 10 for range connection tying with the Vtech DM221. The manufacturer claims a line of sight range of 820 ft and our outdoor line of sight tests found it worked intermittently up to 900 ft. At 650ft, the sound started to get somewhat staticky and started to beep that it was out of range. We were able to walk to 900 ft before losing the signal completely.

For indoor range, Angelcare claims a range of 262-328 ft. Our tests were significantly less with the unit working only up to 98ft through 7 walls. This distance and number of walls can vary base don home construction and interfering appliances, but we tested in an average house and wonder what test methods were used by Angelcare for such a large discrepancy between distance claimed and those experienced by our testers.

The AC420 accepts AAA batteries which need to be replaced regularly and aren't as easy as rechargeable options. However the battery life is long with an average of 30 hours lifespan.
The AC420 accepts AAA batteries which need to be replaced regularly and aren't as easy as rechargeable options. However, the battery life is long with an average of 30 hours lifespan.

Battery Life


The AC420 earned a 6 of 10 for battery life with an average lifespan of 30 hours. Thirty hours is plenty of time for a long day of monitoring during napping hours and a full night's sleep. This level of battery life is probably sufficient for any parent and is far greater than the battery life of the sound monitors of yore. However, despite the long battery life, the parent unit only takes AAA batteries as opposed to rechargeable batteries and this hurt its overall score because you'll need to buy new batteries or purchase rechargeable AAAs for an added expense.

The AC420 has enough features to keep most parents happy with sound activation and mic sensitivity but it is missing the two-way talk to baby feature many parents consider a must-have.
The AC420 has enough features to keep most parents happy with sound activation and mic sensitivity, but it is missing the two-way talk to baby feature many parents consider a must-have.

Features


The AC420 earned a 7 of 10 for features. The AC420 has sound activation and adjustable mic sensitivity. We consider these to be some of the most important features for any sound monitor because it helps ensure a quiet monitor when the baby is sleeping so parents aren't being kept awake by a loud white noise monitor. The AC420 also has a temperature sensor that is somewhat accurate with a 63, 63, and 66 readings in a 66-degree room.

What the monitor doesn't have is the two-way communication talk to baby feature that lots of parents think is mandatory. While being able to potentially soothe baby from another room can seem useful and some parents use it frequently, not all parents use it as often as they think and some not at all.

The Angelcare AC420 comes with a belt clip that makes monitoring baby while on-the-go easier.
The Angelcare AC420 comes with a belt clip that makes monitoring baby while on-the-go easier.

This Angelcare also has the following features:
  • Nightlight
  • Child unit battery backup
  • Low battery indicator
  • Out of range alert
  • Mute
  • Sleep mode
  • Belt clip
  • Sound level indicator

EMF


This Angelcare has an EMF reading of 0.77 V/m at 6 ft from the unit, which is the lowest reading in the group and is pretty impressive. To decrease exposure further, we suggest moving the baby unit as far from the crib as possible.


— Juliet Spurrier, MD & Wendy Schmitz