I really like this petite-sized alarm radio clock. The radio quality is excellent providing good sound and reception quality. The LED light can be dimmed to almost non-visible so it doesn't interrupt your sleep. The radio alarm has humane feature so it will gradually increase your radio station volume at the time you set. It's very lightweight and takes little footprint on your nightstand. And it looks very sleek and modern. Of course if you prefer old-fashioned style then go with the wood material. Sangean is basically the Apple brand in the radio industry. So if you want quality and excellent user experience, then go with this brand. Lastly, I had some questions about their products, so I called their office in California. But the technician Jimmy was very rude and seemed to be irritated. Since I didn't get the help I needed, I called their headquarter office instead in Taiwan, and the staff there were very polite and patient. They helped to answer all of my questions and gave me insightful tips. So thanks to those staff in the Taiwan office. Read more
I am of a seemingly rare breed that is only interested in an "FM Alarm Clock Radio" for one thing - that it will wake me up to my favorite radio channel without static. I don't care about different buzzers, that it projects or not, that it can recharge my iWhatevers... I don't care about the sound quality of said radio, how stylish it looks, if it can set its own time, if it has "Humane Wake," etc. I just need it to keep time and wake me up to my station without static. And my 28 year-old analog radio I probably bought at Drug Fair (antecedent to Rite Aid) stopped doing that. I am happy to say, this clock does what I need... with an annoying quirk that isn't a deal breaker for me, but could be for you. For the people that complain about it being too complicated or too difficult to program.... you either didn't read the directions or you are an idiot. I found it perfectly user friendly so long as I read the directions. A machine doesn't have to be "intuitive" if it comes with accurate directions. It comes with adequate directions. Read them. The FM clarity was perfect - but I did have to fully deploy the little white antenna cord (I was hoping this was amazing enough that I could keep the cord discreetly coiled up next to the machine. I don't care though... clarity was my goal here. No static. I'm not going to write about all the other bells and whistles because I don't care about them and will likely never use them. I will say it IS cool that I can set two different alarms, because it just so happens that I wake up at two different times during the week, depending on the day... that is nice. Here's the thing that might drive you crazy and be a deal breaker for you (it's not for me) - if you are nearsighted, and don't wear contacts or glasses while sleeping (who wears glasses while sleeping), you will not be able to see the time in the middle of the night unless you have the screen dimmer cranked up to flashlight-level bright and then it's about 50/50 you will see it. The good people at Sangean were smoking crack when they designed the opticals of this clock radio. Viewing the digital readout is a function of how much contrast there is between the numbers and the background - not brightness of the entire viewing area. You can adjust brightness but not contrast. If you amp up the brightness to improve the contrast, it's too bright. If you dim it, you lose contrast. So in order to see the time at night if you are nearsighted, the clock must be no more than 2-3 feet from your face on the pillow no matter how bright you have it. Period. You will not see the time with it any further away, so don't even think about it. If you think you will read the time from across the room, forget about it. Now, with it that close to your face, unless you like sleeping like you're under interrogation in a Viet-Kong prison camp, you're gonna want to turn the brightness down to its lowest... then you can barely see the screen BUT ALSO THE TIME ALONG WITH IT. You are forced to choose between the lesser of two evils. This ultimately works out for me, because my clock sits about 2 feet from my face and as long as I squint at it in just the right way, I can still make out the time on it's lowest dim with my nearsightedness (I am -5.25 in both eyes). So it works for me... I'll update if something goes wrong. If you have perfect eyesight, you have no reason not to buy this clock, so just buy it. Read more
I've owned this clock for almost twelve years now and I hope I'm not jinxing myself for giving a good review this many years later, because it's a model that is no longer made. It has great sound, tuning, and reception, and it's sturdy and solid. I think the only thing I would change about it is the background color of the lightup display; I've gotten used to the orange, but it will never be my first choice. Like all clock radios, a power outage requires resetting everything, and that requires cycling through year, month, day, hours, minutes - all from the factory settings of the year 2013. But it's a small inconvenience, and I've never had a radio clock last such a long time. If it ever does give up the ghost, Sangean will be the first place I look for a replacement. Read more
