Customer Reviews

Emerson Radio Jumbo Triple Display Dual Alarm AM/FM Clock Radio with SmartSet Technology

5 star:		(92)
4 star:		(36)
3 star:		(20)
2 star:		(23)
1 star:		(38)

 

 

My husband and I went through 4 other alarm clocks before we settled on this one. This alarm clock provided everything that was missing in each of our previous alarm clocks. It has a large easy to read from across the room display (but can be dimmed or shut off and then on again w/a wave of the hand), has two separate alarm settings which you can set for weekdays only, weekends only, and weekdays and weekends also w/buzzer,or radio which each of the two alarms can be set to individual preference. Both alarms are displayed constantly underneith the time (which is suprisingly reasuring feature to have) and my husband likes that the alarm shut off button (radio on/off) is a big round button off to the very left side of the alarm which allows him to turn the alarm off every morning without first putting his glasses on and then hunting for the off button. I love it that once you tap the off button, it turns the alarm off for the day and then automatically resets itself to wake me up again the next day. I also have the option to not shut the alarm off and listen to the radio for an hour as I get ready for work, after which time it will shut itself off until the next day again. All in all a very good buy and well worth the money!!

I'm a bit neurotic about these things, and spent a LONG TIME researching clock radios online before settling on this one. It has ALMOST everything I could want.

The best feature is that the times for the two alarms are prominently displayed on the screen, all the time. No more compulsive checking before bed to make sure that the alarm is set for the right time. I also like that you can pre-set each alarm to ring on just weekdays, just weekends, or every day; if you keep to a regular schedule, you really don't need to change anything from day to day.

Regarding the snooze feature: I was a bit worried that the "wave sensor" would be too sensitive, and that I would end up snoozing when I didn't mean to, but so far this really hasn't been a problem. You need to wave your hand pretty deliberately for it to snooze. Also, while you're snoozing, there's a blinking light to remind you that the alarm is not turned off, which is very helpful.

Regarding the tuner: I was surprised to see that this radio has an old analog dial-style radio tuner, rather than a digital tuner. It makes it a bit tricky to find the station you want, but it does tend to stay put much better than other radios. My last one would drift pretty heavily.

There are really just a few things I'm not crazy about:

1. The snooze timer is not adjustable. Each snooze is 9 minutes. Personally, I prefer 7. Many other clock radios on the market today have adjustable snooze, but not this one.

2. No atomic clock. It uses that "SmartSet" business, which is basically just factory-set with a very strong battery. But if it does ever get the wrong time, you'll need to set it by hand. Adding atomic clock capability would make it just about perfect.

3. No digital tuning, but as I said above, it's really not a big deal.

4. The display doesn't prominently show the weekday/weekend option for each alarm. Let's say alarm #1 is set for 7:00, on weekdays only. The display will always show the 7:00 part, but you need to press a button to see which days the alarm is set for (weekdays, weekends, or both). It would be nice to add another indicator -- a light meaning "this alarm WILL go off tomorrow", for example. If you don't change the settings too often though, this isn't much of an issue.

Overall, this radio is highly recommended!

This item was purchased with three needs in mind. First, my fiance and I needed a dual alarm clock. Second, we needed one with large enough numbers for him to read without his glasses. Happily, he is able to read this one easily. Lastly, we needed one with a LOUD alarm sound, or at least one that is adjustable to a loud volume. Unfortunately, this alarm would probably only suffice for the lightest of sleepers (which neither of us are).

Being able to see, without moving any switches, what time the alarms are set for is nice. I just wish the alarm would wake us up when it goes off. I guess we'll be buying another new alarm clock.

I got this clock as a gift, and could care less whether it sets itself or not, I've been setting clocks since I could walk, not a big deal. Most older clocks have battery back ups, so this is not a new feature.
The thing that makes this clock worth the price even without the smart set is the alarm settings. Dual alarm, and can be set for weekdays, weekends, and a couple other settings. So if you are like me, and have different schedules on the weekends you can set one for the weekdays, and one for weekends. bright display, suprisingly good sound, a good everyday clock, worth the price, whether it sets itself or not. Setting itself is a nice feature though. As many others have explained, this is not an atomic clock, nor does it advertise itself to be. Yes, it is a "Self Setting" Clock, pre-set at the factory defaulted to Eastern Standard time in the USA (Mine was 2 minutes behind my actual atomic clock). The set up is easy enough, plug it in, it set's itself, then press the time zone up or down for the time zone you are in, then forget about it for several years. This new version does have the correction for New daylight savings time settings (2007 versions). Again, check this out, even my mother (who is technologically challenged) loves this clock.

Pros - Nice display
Time sets automatically

Cons - Touchless snooze allows you to be late for work just by raising a hand or foot.
Alarm is probably not loud enough for a hard sleeper.
There is no hour or minute button for the alarm set, just up and down buttons. You must scroll through minutes to get to the next hour.

This clock radio has a lot of nice features, but there are also some quirks and Emerson may have a problem with quality control. Nice features: automatic time setting (but who really believes we will have the same daylight savings time system for another 100 years?), dual alarms each with 7/5/2 day settings, 2-level display that's not too bright. I thought the snooze control activated by passing one's hand in front of the clock would be nice 'til I sat up in bed and the radio shut down - it's too sensitive. Radio does not pull in very well at least the station I like to listen to.

First one I got had some LED elements that did not illuminate. Amazon shipped a replacement FAST - kudos to Amazon - and the replacement had a small defect too, tho not worth pushing Amazon again. (One of the alarms won't show "off," even when it is off.)

I purchased two of these clocks - one for me and one for my husbands. His never worked (no radio), but mine seemed okay. However I've not had it a full year yet, and mine just went completely dead - kaput a few days ago.
I'm very very disappointed.

It amazes me today how many companies are all too interested in adding "features" to a product, but they lose sight of either establishing / maintaining basic core functionality. This, like many other alarm clocks today, is a perfect example.

Like many of the previous postings that complained about this alarm clock resetting itself (among other things), mine has experienced these issues as well. I have had my alarm clock for 6 months now, and was quite frankly excited for the dual alarms that could be set for weekdays and/or weekends (set it once and forget it), the jumbo display, the battery backup (which doesn't work), and the dual display of the alarm times. Unfortunately, all of this was for not since the base functionality of the alarm clock is extremely weak and unreliable.

For example, this morning I rolled over to shut off the alarm clock, and before I came anywhere near it, the clock began to reset itself. Great, now I have to reset the clock again from scratch, because the Automatic Time Setting is WAY off. I honestly believe that it has something to do with the hand sensor on the front of the alarm clock that sends the clock into a tailspin. Again, one of those "features" that I can do without.

Bottom line, this was a great concept but poor execution! With a few minor cosmetic adjustments, removing some un-needed "features", and concentrating on making a solid alarm clock...Emerson could have a real winner. BUT for now this only gets one star in my book - I won't be back!

By the way, for those that might think that I just don't know how to use the alarm clock properly (and you know who you are), I'm rather technically savvy - it's what I do for a living. Thanks for reading, I hope this helps others out that are considering this clock. I wish I could recommend something else in its place but really can't at this time.

I've had this clock for about 3 months and it's been working out great. You only have to turn the alarm on once if you keep a regular schedule, since you can set each of the two alarms to go off on either weekdays or weekends (or both). Hitting the snooze is super easy (just wave your arm in front of it), which is actually more of a negative for some people. I saw one reviewer say that it isn't loud enough to wake them up... when it first starts beeping it's very quiet, and gradually ramps up until it's pretty darn loud. I wear earplugs at night and it's never failed to wake me up. The fact that it ramps up gradually also prevents it from startling me awake every morning like all of my previous alarm clocks have. I also have not had any problems with it keeping poor time. It's at least within a minute of accuracy from when I set it 3 months ago. Actually, I didn't set it, it set itself. A display model I saw at Sears did a very poor job of setting itself to the proper time when the power was cut, which made me wary of purchasing it, but the unit I got set itself correctly.

It also has feature that sounds really useful - it can turn off the display unless you wave your hand in front of it (good because the display is actually pretty bright). Unfortunately, what's happened in my experience is that anytime I move around in my bed it turns the display on - right in my face and on the brightest setting - which basically makes me paranoid about making any movements and thus is obviously not helpful for sleeping. I gave up on using this feature pretty quickly. It would have been much better if it at least pointed up at a 30 degree angle or something.

Overall good quality. The display is plenty big, but I wouldn't call it "Jumbo." I've had bigger. It's easy to set the time and it seems like it will probably last for quite a while, especially since I rarely even have to hit any of the buttons, so they shouldn't be wearing out anytime soon. I've had trouble with fidgety alarm on/off switches on my previous alarm clocks.

I've been through a lot of alarm clocks, but I never found one that had everything I wanted. Until now.

+ Crescendo alarm: Alarm buzzer starts out soft, but gradually gets louder and louder until you wake up

+ IR Snooze: Simply wave at the clock to catch another 10 minutes of sleep. It ignores your movements for the first few beeps, so you can't accidentally oversleep by moving around unintentionally.

+ Sets itself! True, this doesn't set itself to the atomic clock, but the battery backup keeps you on time during power outages (the alarm still sounds even when on battery backup).

+ Monday thru Friday alarms: I always forgot to set my alarm Sunday evenings, and forgot to turn it off Friday evenings. Now, I don't have to worry being late Monday or waking up too early on Saturday.

+ Dual Alarms: Have one setting for Monday-Friday, and another one for the weekend! You can look at the clock and at-a-glance see which alarms are set to go off and for what time.