12 out of 12 people found this review helpful.
Best clock radio I've had
Date of Review: Jan 26, 2008
The Bottom Line: It's less than $14, good sound, easy to use, easy to read. I'm sure you won't be disappointed.
I started with an Emerson brand clock radio ($19.00) and had it about a year. It wasn't a bad model. It had large green letters, dual alarms but the AM radio stations were always filled with static. The volume also wasn't working well and would either be really super loud or very low. And finally, after it missed a few alarms and finding myself rushing to get to work on time, I decided to get a new clock radio.
Our local Walgreen's seems to have the best selection and price on these things. I tried one that looked like a small white Bose shelf radio but the alarm shut off was in the back of the unit and you couldn't read the red numbers in the day. Back to Walgreen's for another try.
Now for the good news. I thought, it's a clock radio, big deal. But this one
deserves some recognition.
The digits are a little bigger than an inch tall but very easy to read whether in the day or night. There's a switch to make the numbers dim or bright. We keep ours on a dim setting because we're sensitive to the light at night when we sleep. However, in the day and a very bright room, the time is still very easy to see.
The time and alarm are very easy to set. Hold the time button down along with the forward or reverse button to set the time. Same for the alarm except use the alarm button.
It has a NAP feature that sets the alarm for 10 minutes up to 2 hours. It doesn't change your regular alarm time either.
Of course, there's a SNOOZE button also when you need another 9 minutes of rest.
There are indicators on the front display that tell you if you have the alarm on, and if it's music or buzzer.
There are a few things that I really like on this unit. One is a separate ON/OFF button to turn off the alarm or radio. Other units use the same button to also set the alarm. Not only does it create extra wear on the switch but sometimes you think you're setting the alarm and all you did was put it in the OFF mode. The second reason is this unit has the clearest AM radio station of any unit I've had. There are no external wires or antenna but the reception is very very good. We wake up to a news channel and no longer have to put up with static or multiple stations. The volume and brightness controls are on one side of the unit and radio controls on the other side of the unit. This is a good thing because you don't want to accidentally change these when you're waking up searching for the snooze or off buttons. And finally the size of the unit is great. It's about 4x6x2, large enough so each button has it's own space but small enough to place anywhere or even take with you on a trip.
There's a 9-volt battery back up in case of a power outage.
I've had this unit for about a month now and am very pleased with it. I hope it lasts a long time but even if it doesn't, it's worth checking it out a second time.
