Solid, feature rich, alarm clock.

I had a 18-year old dual alarm that finally bit the dust and I needed to replace it a.s.a.p. I had work the next day! I knew I needed a dual alarm and had a Sony Dream Machine in mind, but then I found this one with the MP3 connection. In the end, that won me over. I ran to the local CC and picked it up.

The alarm comes set up right out of the box. Just plug it in and the date and time are correct...Bonus! The clock has a very small footprint, which is great for a night table. It's also sleek and modern looking. The clock has a good-sized display, but the contrast between the LCD and the back light could be better. There's a dimmer button that doubles as your snooze when the alarm is on...so it's easily accessible. Dimming it only lessens the amount of contrast though. The LCD is black and the back light is orange. I'd prefer a blue back light, but what can you do? One issue with the display is that, if viewed from a lower position...say laying down in bed...the contrast is lost. It's odd. If you look at it dead-on, the contrast is highest. Since the unit is angled back, folks with poor eyesight will have to sit up or raise their heads to get the best view of the display. If you see one on display at the store, duck slightly below eye-level with the display and you'll see what I mean. The best viewing angle is straight on and about 45-degrees up, after that, you have the same issue as when viewing from slightly below.

Setting up the alarm, while it's not exactly intuitive, is very simple if you follow the manual. I'd describe it as more like setting a wristwatch alarm, than a typical alarm clock. You have a power button and a mode button. You have to toggle through the modes to get to what you want. So, it's a little different than a typical alarm clock. With the manual, it's a simple 5-step process that took about 3 minutes. I really like the 7-5-2 feature of the alarm. This feature allows you to set your alarm for the week, the work week, or the weekend. Just set it once and leave it be. With my old alarm, I had to make sure it was on each night before I turned in. This one is like "set it and forget it."

The dual alarm is not what I expected. Sometimes I like to set a "backup" alarm, and while you can do so with this unit, the back up has to be either the nature sounds or the buzzer. Odd. Why can't the second alarm include the radio, too? Very strange. There is really only one nature sound of the 5 that I would ever use. I never use a buzzer. The clock has a battery backup, so if you suddenly lose power, you won't have an excuse to be late to work. It uses 2-AAA batteries, which are included.

The radio allows you to set 12 FM presets and 6 AM presets. It has a 2-ft long wire FM antenna, and FM reception is virtually non-existent without this being unwound and positioned. This may be a deal-killer for folks in an area of bad FM-reception who like to awaken to their favorite FM station. I live just North of NYC and have an overabundance of stations and still had to unwind and position the antenna to get reception of all but the most powerful local stations. However, AM reception is flawless. Lucky for me, I wake up to 1050 ESPN, so the FM reception isn't much a bother for me, but it will be for others. Also, it has a digital dial, so you can't "finesse" the reception of a station, like you can with analog dials. It's either there, or it ain't...that's one thing I've never liked about digital tuners.

The MP3 capability is misleading. Some might think that you can set the alarm to awaken you to an MP3 track of choice. This is NOT a feature. You can, however, plug in your MP3 player and listen to it through the speaker. A patch cable is included with the unit. For me, that's a good enough option for the rare occasion I'm doing something in the bedroom that I'd want to listen to music while doing. Take that as you will.