My trusty old Sony alarm clock's radio selectivity was getting on my nerves, and the cheap General Electric model I chose to replace it did not measure up. Fortunately, this new Sony easily surpasses both its older brand-mate as well as the ergonomically-botched offering from GE. Advantages include precise, dial-adjustable display brightness, better radio reception and selectivity, and simple controls for sleepyheads to understand and operate. Audio is clear but undistinguished--about what one would expect from a clock radio. Nevertheless, for such a low price that is forgiveable. Sony ICF-C492 Large Display AM/FM Clock Radio
Since most of the other reviewers have been gushing over this alarm clock, I thought I'd post with a few annoyances:
- This thing has two alarms, but you can't have both of them set to buzzer. One has to be set to radio and the other to buzzer. This is aggrevating.
- Like almost every other alarm clock in existence, the button to turn off the alarm is hard to find, while the snooze button is the size of Jupiter. If you enlarge the image of the clock on this site, you'll see three buttons on the lower right below the display. The one in the MIDDLE is the one that turns off the alarm. Yeah, good luck finding that button in the dark at 6:30am. I guess the engineers who build these things don't actually USE alarm clocks, or else they wouldn't do STUPID things like this.
- Having the dimmer as a dial rather than a switch means you have much more control over brightness. However, the little indicator that lights up when you set the alarm is brigther than the time display itself. So while you may be able to get the display just right, the alarm indicator will be just a tad brighter than you want it. It's not a huge problem, but just another minor gripe.
- The snooze on mine goes off every 7 minutes when pressed. (Why 7? I have no idea.) I have lost the manual and can't verify this (somebody please correct me if I'm wrong), but I haven't found any way to reprogram this. On my older alarm clock (which, unfortunately, had no dimmer switch), I could set it to 5 minutes, or whatever I wanted.
Sad to say, but I think this is the best alarm clock I've seen so far. My search for a good alarm clock doesn't suck will go on ...
The first one we ordered gained between 30 to 45 minutes a day--we returned it and have a replacement that runs about 20 minutes ahead each day--we're about to give up and send that one back, too....It's a great looking clock for our needs--large numbers, small enough not to clog the bedside table....but it simply can't keep accurate time.
This is the fourth alarm clock I have tried in the last year, and this one is a keeper! I wanted a dual alarm that I could set very quiet since I am a light sleeper. I was shocked that two brand new alarm clocks I bought simply did not work right. I would set the alarm and it would not go off. This one works every time.
The dimmer on the display is great. I had one alarm clock that I had to drape with a cloth because it was so bright. That pretty much defeats the purpose. There's no need for a drop cloth with this clock.
The one little complaint that I have is that the dual alarm has one alarm on music and one alarm on buzzer. You can not have two different alarm settings that both play music.
This isn't as bad as I thought, though, because the alarm time is very easy to chage, yet you can't accidentally change it by bumping into it.
The radio reception is even good.
I brought this clock considering the lengendary sony trademark. But it turned out to be a complete disappointment. Its gaining hours and I am about to return in today. Well,the display is not so bright. If you are looking for a good bedside alarm clock with radio, please don't go for this one.
I'm extremely near-sighted, so I needed a clock with an extra-large display. After searching through dozens of listings, I finally settled on this one. Overall, I'm very happy with it.
First, the good:
- The adjustable dimmer dial is very nice to have, since most digital clocks have only a toggle for "Dim" and "Bright" (and "Dim" usually is still far too bright). With the dial on this clock, you can go from full brightness to near-invisibility.
- The controls to set the time are excellent; you can adjust the time fast-forward, slow-forward, and fast-reverse. So changing your alarm time from, say, 8:00AM to 7:45AM is very easy.
- The radio reception is fine for me, and the sound quality quite good for a clock-radio. The volume, of course, can be soft for a gentle wakeup, or ear-piercingly loud.
- The clock can display seconds (press and hold the SNOOZE button) if you need it.
- The green glow of the numbers seems much less harsh at night than a typical red LED.
- The numbers are fairly large.
- The clock is sturdy, with a wide base (to prevent being knocked over when you thrash at it to turn off the alarm) and good, solid-feeling controls. It feels well-built.
- The dual-alarm system works well for me - gentle radio to start with, harsh buzzer later if I still refuse to get up.
A few things I don't like so much:
- I wish the numeric display was larger - even at 1.6 inches, it's still a little too small for the very nearsighted to see without squinting. 2-inch-high numbers would have been better.
- The brightness of the individual numbers (and LED components) may vary as the numbers change. This is a bit odd, but really pretty minor.
- The controls take a bit of getting used to. And as mentioned, the "Alarm Off" button is in the middle of a panel of 3 buttons which is difficult to find by feeling, especially in the groggy morning hours. (The SNOOZE on top of the radio is very easy to hit, of course)
All in all, though, a very nice clock. - Sony Large Alarm Clocks - Alarm Clock - Sony Alarm Clock Radio - Clock Radio'
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