Customer Reviews

Acoustic Research Clock Radio with Dock for iPod

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

USE:

Every aspect of the design of this device was extremely well thought out. Every task is exactly as easy or difficult as it should be. The buttons to change the time are less convenient so that the time cannot be reset accidently. Setting individual alarms and changing them quickly (and with the rooms lights off) is absolutely easy when awake but more difficult when groggy.

The clock face is very easy to read but not bright enough to be disturbing. The time numbers are large enough to be read from across the room, though in a room with a lot of daytime glare, this may be more difficult to do. Again, I think the legibility is exactly what it should be for an item placed next to the bed.

The options for the two alarms are wonderful and include a volume (independent of the playing volume as well as of the other alarm) as well as choice of sound source. Changing a time setting takes only a few seconds. Alarm times (if alarms are active for the day) are displayed on the face of the clock, so there is no fumbling to find out if the alarm is set or for what time.

The snooze alarm is unique. It appears to be vibration oriented and the clock is snoozed by slapping, bumping or smacking the clock anywhere on the clock body. It works wonderfully as a snooze and is the same method used to mute the device when used to play music or sounds. (During setup, I kept muting the sound accidently before I understood what was happening.) A simple tap unmutes the device again. Pretty nice feature.

SETUP:

I thought the controls for the clock looked a bit daunting at first, so I originally just plugged it in to make sure it work. Just fiddling with it with no reference to the instructions, I set every option on it within 15 minutes, I kid you not. For almost any feature, once you begin to set things, the clock displays a menu of what to do next and how to change options. Most options are set by slightly rotating the large metal dial surrounding the clock face.

The backup batteries (in case of power out) do require a small screwdriver to access, but again, I feel this is an advantage as this protects the batteries from being accidently dislodged.

SOUND & APPEARANCE:

The look of this clock is FANTASTIC. It is a real wood veneer, is very heavy and has a general feel of quality. The look is somewhat retro, however it clearly has every modern convenience. With the hardiness of it's construction, I have even used this as a "portable" player during a commercial exhibition event. The sound was adequately loud and adjustable by small enough degrees to be able to control just the amount of sound.

For home audio use, the quality is as good as one could ever expect for such a compact device. The clock feet are a soft (but very firmly attached) rubber (likely to assist with the snooze/mute activiation). This helps isolate the radio and prevents it from causing any vibrations of the surface below it.

I've used the dock with both iPod and iPhone and both work splendidly. The docking seat could be more secure, but with the clock in a moderately protected location, I'm unconcerned with this.

The only item about the device that I would like to see different would be an upgrade to the materials used in the small control knobs on top. They are the only items made of plastic on the clock and they do feel more lightweight in comparison to the exceptional sturdy construction of this clock. Time will tell how they hold up.

RECOMMENDATION:

While expensive, the cost is well-justified. I'm thrilled with my purchase and plan on buying one for each place I stay regularly. If an alarm clock is an important item for you, you will not be disappointed with this selection.

I received this item as a gift from my company. I've been looking for a docking station for my iPod. I've tried testing many docking stations, many of which produced a rich vibrant sound. This was my strongest criteria in a docking station. I unpacked this unit with the impression that I would sell it on Ebay, as it was a company gift. WAS I EVER WRONG!

The sound this unit produces is everything I wanted and more. I will admit the unit "looks" like a 1950s throw back, but dont let looks fool you. You will enjoy this unit!

I purchased this product based on reviews, and I was not disappointed. This alarm clock/docking station has amazing sound. You can fall asleep to several different sound sources, including 4 built-in nature sounds, and then wake to your iPod or other source at a different volume. I especially love that you can set the volume of the alarm, so the soft music or nature sounds that you fall asleep to can be at a low volume and then the alarm can be at a higher volume that will reliably wake me up. It does start with a lower volume and then gradually rest at the volume you've set it to for your alarm, which is very nice. It charges your iPod while docked. Some of the bass was a bit forced and overmodulated the speakers, but a quick adjustment took care of that. I only wish it were made in America, but it's difficult to find electronics made in America anymore. I'm totally satisfied with the sound, function, ease of use and options.

I received this as a present from my Sister for Christmas! I wanted a dock of some sort to charge my iPhone and something that looked a little nicer than the $50 Sony alarm clock that I had.

Pros:

-Nature Sounds for background noise

-Nap mode which wakes you up after a specified amount of time

-dual alarm

-aux input

Cons:

-iPhone 3GS - you get an "Accessory Not Compatible" error with it (it charges my iPhone and the music seems to work, you just get an error)

-Sound does not compare to Bose SoundDock

-FM Radio requires an external antenna

While the price is a bit steep, this purcahse was well worth it. We were looking for an alarm clock with dual settings, a natural sounds feature, and a docking station. The sound is fabulous and we absolutely love it. It's easy to set and also looks great.

I received mine last week after ordering through Amazon. It was shipped from J&R Music and was only shipped in a plastic bag rather than a protective external box. There were a few dings on the box but the item seemed intact.

The clock has a very solid feel and a warm full sound. The options for its function are very adequate. The brightness of the image can easily be adjusted. The cool factor is much enhanced by adjustment made by turning the round metal face ring. It has a solid feel and clicks with each fraction of a turn. I quickly set 4 radio stations just to see how it works and discovered with great pleasure that changing stations is instantly accomplished by just turning the ring one click. That may not sound like much but it really is a GREAT feature.

I haven't tried it with my ipod yet but expect it to be just as impressive.

Finally replacing my 20 year old "Dream Machine".

After reading the previous reviews for this clock radio I decided to purchase it from Amazon. After 1 month of ownership I can say this is the Best clock radio ever. The features were very easy to set-up without reading the manual. The display is very crisp,(not blurry in a dark room) Easily read even without my glasses. Being a bit of an audiophile I was most interested in hearing the sound. I was AMAZED at how well it sounded for such a low price. My daughters are jealous at the amount of bass this unit produces compared to their I-Home docking stations. I would HIGHLY recommend this unit.

Having read the reviews here while looking for a clock-radio with iPod dock, I had high expectations, and I was not disappointed. This item was back-ordered for about two months, but it was well worth the wait. I won't reiterate all the positives that the other reviewers have mentioned - but I'll say that I agree with the high ratings, and the comments on how easy it was to set up, how convenient the alarm functions are, and how many great unexpected features it has.

I want to specifically comment on the sound quality - really good and rich sound, sounds good turned up loud and - maybe even more important - still has a full range of sound when turned down to low volume to doze off to (with the easy-to-use customizable sleep timer). As one reviewer said, not quite as good as a Bose sound-dock, but the Bose is more expensive, and I wanted a clock-radio for my bedroom, not just an iPod speaker system.

As to its appearance, I am really pleased. The wood veneer case has a fine furniture-grade satin finish - the picture does not do it justice. The other clock-radio iPod docks I looked at ranged from cheap, tacky-looking plastic to geeky high-tech metal cases - this one looks great on a nice piece of furniture, where the others looked like they would coordinate best with a milk-crate and plank-and-cinderblock decor.

Very happy with this item - I would recommend it for anyone who wants a fine looking and sounding small sound system.

Without any doubt, this AR radio clock is one of my best buy online so far. It is a well-crafted equipment with all the standard functions that you will need in a radio clock. I love the snooze feature which just a light tap on either side of top panel when the alarm buzzed. The big turning knob for tuning and controlling is brilliant. I'm still playing with it and will feedback again... Absolutely no regrets buying it!

I purchases this for my daughter for Christmas. The day she opened it and set it up, it didn't work consistently. When she tried to play music with her iPod touch, it would shut itself off. When she tried to set the time for alarm, it would shut itself off. It would play sometimes, intermittently. After a few weeks, we called AB Tech. and they told us to ship it back for repair. It came back a couple days ago and so far it seems to be working. I asked AB Tech if the company would reimburse the shipping cost - it cost about $20 to ship it. They said no because the warranty states that the customer "prepays" it and they ship it back. The unit was not cheap (about $200) and for that kind of price, I expected the product to actually work at least for a while. This thing didn't work from day one, which makes me think that the product probably was defective to begin with. If they send us a defective product, we (the customer) have to pay to ship it back? This does not make sense.

(Update on the review above)

The Unbeatable Sales where I bought it took the original shipping cost off after I e-mailed them. So that was nice. However, after working a day or two, the alarm clock did that again shutting itself off and flashing or going totally blank. This time AB Tech picked it up. After a while they sent a new one which again worked for a few days and started doing the same thing. I called Unbeatable Sales and asked if I could just return the product because I was getting tired of the process and it didn't look promising. They told me that the window of time for returns is past. So I asked for a number for the manufacturer so I can ask if I could return it to them for some kind of credit, as the product had never worked for us. They gave me a number which turned out to be a wrong place which sent me to another 800 number which then sent me to the original AB Tech number. So we are stuck with the product without any way to make it work or return. I had no other options but to send it back to AB Tech for the third time and asked them to please please test it (setting the alarm to play the iPod for a few days) before sending it back. We have not received anything back from them or heard from them for a couple of weeks. Yes, it sounds good when it works, but this has been the worst experience with anything we have purchased at Amazon or anywhere else, considering all the time I have had to spend trying to call, sending it back, trying out only to see it fail. We wondered if there was anything in our environment that caused the problem, but the tech service was not able to help us. I think they just sent a new unit every time, rather than trying to figure out what the problem really was. So 3 months after the purchase, we are still trying to get this thing work.