Philips Avent DECT SCD501/10 Review

Pros: Good sound clarity, easy to use, budget-friendly
Cons: Limited features, average range
Manufacturer: Philips
The Skinny
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Philips Avent DECT SCD501/10 | |||||
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Awards | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | |
Price | $50.00 List $49.99 at Amazon | $40.00 List $39.95 at Amazon | $120.00 List $85.99 at Amazon - 28% off | $30.00 List $16.00 each at Amazon - 47% off | $50.00 List |
Overall Score ![]() |
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Star Rating | |||||
Pros | Good sound clarity, easy to use, budget-friendly | Excellent sound clarity, lots of features, long battery life, price | Great sound clarity, nice range, long battery life | Easy to use, nice range, inexpensive | Lower price, nice range |
Cons | Limited features, average range | Harder to use, shorter range | Harder to use, fewer features | Limited features, short battery life | Distorted sound, short battery life |
Bottom Line | If you are looking for ease of use and a nice price instead of features, then this is a good choice | Awesome sound with lots of features that is a winning choice for almost any family | Longer range and good sound quality make this monitor a good choice | Priced nicely for the tightest budgets and gets the job done without added features | Disappointing sound and shorter battery life can't compete with less expensive monitors |
Rating Categories | Philips Avent DECT... | Vtech DM221 | Philips Avent DECT... | Vtech DM111 | Baby Wave Deluxe |
Sound Clarity (30%) | |||||
Ease Of Use (25%) | |||||
Range (20%) | |||||
Battery Life (15%) | |||||
Features (10%) | |||||
Specs | Philips Avent DECT... | Vtech DM221 | Philips Avent DECT... | Vtech DM111 | Baby Wave Deluxe |
Indoor Range Test (walls & feet) | 5 Walls 90 Feet |
5 Walls 90 Feet |
6 Walls 95 Feet |
7 Walls 98 Feet |
8 Walls 100 Feet |
Open Field Range Test | 1320 Feet | 1325 Feet | 1350 Feet | 1350 Feet | 1350 Feet |
Manufacturer's Claimed Range (*buyer beware!) | 984 Feet | 1000 Feet | 1083 Feet | Not Listed | 650 Feet |
Communication Technology | DECT Technology | DECT 6.0 Digital Technology | DECT technology | DECT 6.0 Digital Technology | Not Listed |
Sound Activation | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No |
Adjustable Mic Sensitivity | No | Yes | Yes | No | No |
Sound Filtering Test Results | Poor | Excellent | Excellent | Very Poor | Very Poor |
Talk-to-Baby | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
Max Sound | 101 db | 103.4 db | 102 db | 103.6 db | 103.6 db |
Temperature | No | No | Yes | No | Yes |
Parent Unit Battery Life | 19 Hrs | 46 Hrs | 31 Hrs | 13 Hrs | 9 Hrs |
Nursery Unit Battery Backup | No | No | Yes | No | No |
EMF @ 6 Feet Nursery Unit | 0.95 V/m | 3.11 V/m | 0.72 V/m | 2.63 V/m | 2.36 V/m |
Night Light | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
Lullaby Music | No | No | Yes | No | No |
Out Of Range Alert | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Vibrate Alert | No | Yes | Yes | No | No |
Warranty | 2 Years | 1 Year | 2 Years | 1 Year | 1 Year |
Our Analysis and Test Results
Philips, a Netherlands company, is primarily a health technology company striving to improve health and healthy living. Their first product in 1891 was incandescent lamps and small electrical products. When Gerald's brother Anton joined his brother and father, they quickly became the leading producer of light bulbs. Over time they diversified into other electronics including lamps, tvs, radios, shavers, and x-rays.
Performance Comparison
Sound Clarity
The DECT SCD501/10 offers better sound than most of the competition.
The parent unit for this monitor has a maximum volume of 101 decibels. At this volume, the sound is crisp, clear and bright. At 85 db, the sound is clear with no distortion and easy to hear. If your only concern is hearing baby, then the sound is impressive and hits the mark. However, the sound filtering option isn't the best and we were able to hear the fan in the baby's room through the parent monitor when the fan was on the highest setting.
Ease of Use
The DECT SCD501/10 is one of the easiest options to use in the group.
Easy to use often goes hand in hand with few features, something true of this product. With only a power button and volume adjustments, there is almost no way to make a mistake or press the wrong options in the middle of the night. Setup is also easy with a less than one minute process that includes unboxing, plugging in, and turning it on.
Range
The DECT SCD501/10 offers range compared to the competition in this category.
The manufacturer range claim is 984 ft and our tests revealed a distance of 1320 ft. The last 100 ft had a fairly choppy connection and would lose signal with any kind of interference or if the units weren't facing each other. This is a line of sight measurement outside without walls. Indoors the manufacturer claims 164 ft but our tests showed only 90 ft through 5 walls. The connection started getting staticky at 75 ft and was completely unreliable after the 6th wall. It was still trying at 8 walls and 110 ft, but it wasn't a connection you can rely on for monitoring. These results will vary by home depending on construction and competing appliances.
This isn't the best range for a larger home or a home with a floor between rooms or more walls than 5. However, the best monitors worked at about 100+ ft and 8-9 walls. This is a crucial metric for many parents because if the range isn't enough the monitor won't work.
Battery Life
The DECT SCD501/10 has below-average battery life compared to the other options we tested.
This monitor has 1.5V R6 AA alkaline non-rechargeable or 1.2V R6 AA rechargeable batteries with a claimed run time of up to 24 hours depending on use. Our tests showed a run time of closer to 19 hours. This is a reasonable amount of time and more than enough for a full night's sleep or napping monitoring during the day.
Features
The DECT SCD501/10 offers few features and fluff without sacrificing what you really need for a sound monitor to work.
The DECT SCD501/10 has one of our favorite features of sound activation. We like this feature because it keeps the parent unit silent when the baby is silent which can help parents get a better night's sleep. Unfortunately, it is missing what many parents consider to be a necessity, the two-way communication feature so you can soothe baby from another room. However, we aren't convinced this feature is a necessity and think many parents never use it or use it rarely after the novelty wears off. Some new parents would rather head to the baby's room than mess with chatting bay up from another space.
Other functions of the DECT SCD501/10 include:
- Nightlight
- Low battery indicator
- Out of range alarm
- Mute
- Sleep mode
- Sound level indicator
EMF
This Philips average EMF reading at 6 ft away from the unit is 0.95 V/m. This is one of the lowest averages in the group.
While this is a lower EMF reading, you can further decrease baby's exposure by placing the baby unit farther from your baby. This high-quality option will still be able to pick up all baby sounds even if you place it across the room on an opposite wall.
— Juliet Spurrier, MD & Wendy Schmitz