There is much to love about the Philips Avent Dect SCD30/86, and it became a tester favorite in short order. This fun and easy-to-use sound monitor has loads of features and better than average range, with some of the best test results for range at over 170 ft and through 7 walls. We love the sound activation and the sound clarity on this unit. It is quiet when it should be and provides clear crying and other important sounds when they arise. It has all kinds of fun and useful features like projection, a nightlight, lullabies, temperature sensors, and more. If you want it, this bad boy probably has it. This monitor offers a somewhat unique feature with a battery back in the baby unit. However, the battery is not rechargeable, but given that you should only be using it when the power goes out, it shouldn't require frequent changes. This is also an expensive monitor, more so than even a lot of the video competition, which could be a dealbreaker, depending on your budget. If you can afford this monitor and want an excellent sound option with loads of features, we can't think of a better option and would definitely recommend this one to friends.
REASONS TO BUY
Great range
Lots of features
Longer battery life
Battery backup on the baby unit
REASONS TO AVOID
Expensive
Battery backup on the baby unit is not rechargeable
Great range, lots of features, longer battery life, battery backup on the baby unit
Excellent sound clarity, lots of features, long battery life, price
Multiple functions, app-enabled, better range, easy to use for the tech-savvy
Easy to use, nice range, inexpensive
Cons
Expensive, battery backup on the baby unit is not rechargeable
Harder to use, shorter range
Shorter battery life, not the best sound quality, few features for sound
Limited features, short battery life
Bottom Line
Impressive monitor with loads of features for fun and a better range
An inexpensive, yet great sounding, monitor with loads of features that is an excellent choice for most families
An app-enabled, multi-purpose monitor that is easy to use, but it has a shorter battery life and sub-par sound
An affordable monitor set that gets the job done without any fuss
Rating Categories
Phillips Avent Dect...
VTech DM221
Hatch Rest+
VTech DM111
Sound Clarity(30%)
8.0
10.0
6.0
7.0
Ease of Use(25%)
8.0
6.0
9.0
9.0
Range(20%)
9.0
6.0
9.0
7.0
Battery life(15%)
9.0
10.0
3.0
3.0
Features(10%)
10.0
9.0
6.0
3.0
Specs
Phillips Avent Dect...
VTech DM221
Hatch Rest+
VTech DM111
Indoor Range Test (walls & feet)
7 walls
170+ Feet
5 Walls
90 Feet
8 Walls
169 Feet (WiFi)
7 Walls
98 Feet
Open Field Range Test
2000+ Feet
1325 Feet
155 Feet (WiFi)
1350 Feet
Manufacturer's Claimed Range (*buyer beware!)
1082 Feet
1000 Feet
NA
Not Listed
Communication Technology
DECT 6.0 Digital Technology
DECT 6.0 Digital Technology
WiFi
DECT 6.0 Digital Technology
Sound Activation
Yes
Yes
No
No
Adjustable Mic Sensitivity
Yes
Yes
No
No
Sound Filtering Test Results
Excellent
Excellent
Very Good
Very Poor
Talk-to-Baby
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
Max Sound
88.6 db
103.4 db
96.3 db
103.6 db
Temperature
Yes
No
No
No
Battery Life
40 hrs
46 hrs
13 hrs
13 hrs
Nursery Unit Battery Backup
Yes
No
Yes
No
EMF @ 6 Feet Nursery Unit
0.95 V/m
3.11 V/m
0.43 V/m
2.63 V/m
Night Light
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
Lullaby Music
Yes
No
Yes
No
Out Of Range Alert
N/A
Yes
No
Yes
Vibrate Alert
Yes
Yes
No
No
Warranty
2 Year
1 Year
1 Year
1 Year
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Our Analysis and Test Results
Philips is a Netherlands company that focuses on health technology. Started by
a father and son team, they were late joined by the remaining son and became the leading producer of lightbulbs. Incandescent lamps and small electrical appliances were the first Philips products in 1891. Since then, they've branched out to other electronics.
Performance Comparison
Unlike much of the sound competition, the Dect SCD730/86 sound clarity and features are good with useful sound activation and mic sensitivity adjustment.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
Sound Clarity
The one thing a sound monitor should do well is relay quality sound. The Philips offers better sound than most of the sound monitors we've tested, and it is definitely good enough to give you the information you need. There is no distortion, and while it doesn't have full tonal range, it doesn't need it to do the job.
This unit has clear, true-to-life sound and features for a quiet monitor, like mic sensitivity and sound actuation. In our tests, the features designed to keep the monitor quiet while the baby sleeps worked well. We didn't experience static or chronic white noise using this monitor.
Despite a general lack of buttons on the parent unit, the Dect SCD730/86 remains easy to use, with most of the commonly used features having buttons on the front.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
Ease of Use
Most of the time, a lot of features translate to a harder-to-use monitor with menus and sub menus and only a single button. But the Philips manages to pull together a unit with lots of features and a manageable amount of buttons and still scores fairly high for ease of use.
The parent and baby unit come paired, and all you need to do is plug them in and turn them on. You can add batteries to the baby unit for backup, but it isn't necessary. The user interface is intuitive, with buttons clearly marked, and the most common features have a button on the front of the unit, so there is less reason to menu dive.
The Dect SCD730/86 offers an impressive range that rivals most of the sound competition.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
Range
This monitor has one of the longest indoor ranges in the group. With a range of 7+ walls and 170 ft, it is likely useful in most standard-size homes. If this unit doesn't work in your home, you'll likely need a WiFi monitor.
The manufacturer indoor claimed range is 164 ft, which is refreshingly very similar to our own findings. We had similar findings in our outdoor open field test, where our results were better than the manufacturer, which rarely happens.
The manufacturer claims 1082 ft, and our results were closer to 2000 ft, and we ran out of space with the connection still going strong.
The baby unit on the Philips has AA battery backup for power failures. This is not intended as an all-night solution.
The parent unit on the SCD730/86 includes a rechargeable battery, making it simple and convenient to stay charged.
Battery Life
The Philips has a longer battery life than most, with the added perk of battery backup in the baby unit (nice but not common).
The manufacturer has an 18-hour run time claim before recharging is needed. In our tests, this monitor lasted about 40 hours before it died.
The Philips has a charging station instead of a plug; this style of recharging can be easier to operate on a daily basis.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
It comes with a recharging station that holds the unit and is easy to operate, no plug-in necessary.
This Philips Avent contains features useful for parents and babies, like sound activation and night light.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
Features
It is hard to find a metric where the Philips didn't impress, and features is no different. With more features than a standard sound monitor, there is something here for everyone.
While the ceiling projection on the Philips isn't spectacular, we suspect babes will still find it interesting or soothing.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
This monitor includes the following features:
Sound activation
Adjustable mic sensitivity
Two-way talk to baby
Ceiling projection
Remote or local night light activation
Remote Lullaby activation
Temperature sensor
Vibrate alert
Battery backup in the baby unit
Low battery indicator
EMF
Many parents have concerns about exposing their growing child to EMF. While the jury might still be out on how harmful chronic EMF might be, we think it is best to err on the side of caution whenever possible. Choosing a product with lower EMF readings and keeping the monitor turned off when no tin user are some useful things you can do to limit exposure. Placing the monitor as far from where your baby sleeps where it can still be useful is also a good practice. In our tests, this monitor had an average of 0.95 v/M at a 6 ft distance from the baby unit.
Should You Buy the SCD30/86?
Yes. If your budget allows and you want a cool, feature-filled sound monitor, then this is a great choice. While it might be on the expensive side, we think you get what you pay for with this model and that there is something here for parents and babies. With functional sound activation and fun projections and sounds, we think most families will be happy with this monitor no matter what the monitoring goals are.
What Other Sound Monitor Should You Consider?
If your budget doesn't align with the higher price of this unit or you don't think you'll use all the features, then either VTech option (Vtech DM111 or the Vtech DM221) is a great potential choice. Both work well, have some level of sound filtering, and have a low price most families can afford.
BabyGearLab was founded by a Pediatrician Mom with a mission to provide a reliable, independent, source of information to new parents. Our experts have tested thousands of baby and kids products to share key performance, health, and safety findings. We spend tens of thousands of dollars crash testing car seats to inform our ratings. And, we combine our review work with gobs of expert parenting advice. To assure complete independence, we buy all the products we test ourselves. No sponsored content. No ads. Just real, honest, side-by-side testing by people who care.
