Full of features but HOW DO YOU USE THIS THING?!?!
Written: Mar 31 '06 (Updated Jun 13 '06)
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Pros: 4 radio bands, OK sound, and decent CD player
Cons: Too difficult to figure out in setting alarm and time. No battery backup.
The Bottom Line: I would recommend this with a qualification. If you don't mind having to resort to the manual on occasion to figure out settings, buy it.
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| krus54's Full Review: Sony ICF-CD863V Clock Radio |
Before starting this I went to see if there were any other reviews (to see if I needed to have this added to the Epinions database). Yes! Several reviews all rating this very highly. Well, why not? The clock radio contraption is more than a just a standard clock radio with AM/FM.
The radio is a multi band radio with 2 FM bands, an AM band, and TV audio band. In addition it's got a CD player. One of the features I looked for in a clock radio was the ability to preset stations. There are 5 buttons. So this gives you 10 presets for FM (since there's two FM bands).
Alarm Features
You can set the alarm so you can be woken up by the CD or the radio. You can also set the alarm to wake you up to a different station than what you might be listening to at night.
If you forget to put a CD in the player and set the CD to wake you up, the buzzer alarm will awaken you, gentle at first. Then it will actually get louder until it actually turns your mattress over to get you out of bed. Well, not really, but it does use the Gentle Wake function to progressively get the buzzer louder.
If headphones are plugged in, the buzzer will go off regardless if the CD or radio is programmed to wake you.
Sound
I think the sound is pretty good for a clock radio, but not fantastic. It's better than my last Sony Dream Machine. But then that was about 20 years old so I would expect that the upper end clock radios have been made to sound better these days.
CD Player
Not much to say about this. It works pretty well and has all the standard functions such as locating the beginning the current track, locating the next track, backing up or forwarding at high speed, etc. Oh yeah. It has play and stop as well. :-) You can also set the player to play the CD in a shuffle or you can repeat certain tracks or all tracks.
Other Functions
1) You can set the brightness of the back light. One reviewer complained of it being too bright. I like to be able to see the display and it doesn't bother me at night. The instructions say the Auto brightness level is set so the radio detects the ambient light and automatically adjusts the brightness to one of three levels.
2) NAP timer - Take a nap and use this button to have the radio wake you with a buzzer after a preset time duration.
3) Sleep Timer - so you can fall asleep to a CD or the radio, also in a preset number of minutes.
4) D.S.T./Summer T. - A little button you can use to change the time when Daylight Savings Time arrives (or when fall begins). No more remembering: Fall Back, Spring Ahead!
Anything NOT to like?? YUP!!!!
Here's where the rating on this unit suffers!!!!
This thing has so many buttons and buttons that have multiple functions that unless you are constantly setting time, alarms, etc., it's difficult to remember. When the power goes off and I have to reset the time, I have to start looking around for the clock button and how to set it.
OMG, setting the alarm is a pain in the neck. I went out of town on a business trip and my wife asked me to set the alarm before I left so she wouldn't oversleep. She called me later and said, "HOW in the world do you use and set that damn clock radio??? I couldn't figure out how to turn off the alarm, and then I couldn't figure out to set it to get me up tomorrow!"
I can't begin to tell you the frustrations in learning how to use this thing!
Next BIG problem: There is NO battery backup for power failure. This clock radio is attached to a power strip by my bed. A pair of headphones fell on the power strip during the night and turned off the strip until I noticed it a short time later. Well, a lot of clock radios have a little 9V battery or some AA's to keep the time current. Not this baby! A definite disadvantage.
I have to rate this 3 stars! Personally, I wouldn't buy this again. A clock radio should be intuitive enough to use and set without having to resort to a manual!
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 80
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Epinions.com ID:
krus54
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Member: Dave Schwartz
Location: Henrico, VA
Reviews written: 134
Trusted by: 97 members
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