Customer Reviews

SONY ICF-CD830 AM/FM Stereo Clock Radio with CD Player

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I ordered this from another etailer since Amazon didn't have it. It's a great unit. CD player sounds very good, but not great with no extra buzzing or noises. You can select shuffle CD and can also select the particular track you want the alarm to start on. Radio has very good reception and sound. I have not used the buzzer yet so can't comment on how ok or annoying it is. The manual says it beeps and progressively changes. You can set the CD, radio, or buzzer for the alarm...one, all, or any combination of the three each with it's own seperate wake up time. I start with a soothing CD, then NPR comes on, and then the buzzer is the final backup in case I'm really lazy that day. The display is very good, visible from variety of angles and not so bright as to be annoying at night. The unit in general feels well made and I expect it will last awhile. Good value.

I admit this is really excessive, but I honestly shopped around for a CD alarm clock for about six months! They are kinda' pricy and I wanted to get a good one that would last, but also had lots of features. In the end, I ended up where I started. I've had a Sony Dream Machine alarm clock for over 10 years (pre-CD alarm clocks!) It has worked great and I've had no complaints....But in the end, if this lasts me another 10 years, it was worth the money (plus the price has gone down a little.)

But the best features of this alarm clock are:
* You can set all three alarms...I like to have the CD start first to wake up to music, and then the buzzer goes off 15 minutes later to actually get me out of bed!
* Speaking of the buzzer, this is about the best alarm I've ever heard. It isn't some harsh buzzer that starts your day off with a minor heart attack. This is a light beeping that gets louder and faster over time. So it too wakes you up nicer than many alarms.
* Finally, the programming is really simple and quick, so it isn't hard to change it if you need to.

So if you are looking for a CD alarm clock with all the features, this one is a good bet.

In addition to all the positive comments about this model, many of the reviews here cite the lack of a battery as a potential negative. But according to Sony's specs, "POWER BACK-UP SYSTEM is built-in and needs no additional battery to maintain time and alarm settings in event of blackout or power failure."

What can you say? The guys at Sony somehow know what little things people want in consumer electronics.

The CD player, first of all will read CD-R's. Which means you can put in your own disc in there. Helpful so you dont have to tie up your favorite CD in your alarm clock.

Secondly, what's the point in making a CD of music to wake up to, if it plays the same track all the time? (Personally, I mixed my own tracks using mixing software to lay mellow tunes over cuts from 'sounds of nature' sounds) Thats where the random track function really comes in handy.

Its a winner

I am the Sleep Queen, and apparently there is no alarm that can wake me without reinforcement from yet another alarm (or two). The only reason my Dream Machine gets a mere 4 stars is because its bleating wake-up call is a bit feeble and requires augmentation from another alarm clock. If *your* body does not equate sleep with hibernation, it might be plenty loud enough for you by itself.

What's perfect: You can set three separate types of alarm (buzzer, radio, CD) for three separate times, and it is simple to do. The CD sound is excellent, especially considering that this is meant to be just a clock radio and not a boombox. It is compact, unobtrusive, attractive and well-designed - there seems to be little danger of whacking the wrong button when trying to snooze.

This is an excellent value - a completely adequate clock plus CD sound that is much better than expected. If only it would bleat just a bit louder...

I bought this item several months ago. I love the quality of the sound and it can be plenty loud enough to wake me up. I also love the different ways to program it for CD, Radio or alarm. There are a few issues that may bug some sleepyheads out there or people that live in older neighborhoods that are prone to power outtages. There is NO battery back up! Its my fault for assuming it did when I bought it. The other problem is the low lighting on the time display. If the unit is going to be more than a few feet away..it could bug you. The unit is more than ample otherwise. I plan on taking it with me for "Take your clock-radio to work day". Actually, as great as the sound quality is..I plan on drowning out my co-workers radio setting she has set on "All Bluegrass, all the time".

I have used the Sony ICFCD830 CD Stereo for about 6 months now and am very pleased. I use the buzzer to wake up and like it better than any other alarm clock I have ever used. I would not call it a buzzer, I would call it a progresively faster gentle beep. It does not have that harsch alarm buzzer that we all know (and hate) so well.

Hope this helps.

The Sony Dream Machine is a solid cd/radio/buzzer alarm clock. Yes, it sounds good. Please note that ANY CD alarm clock will have some "hissing" sounds. These hissing sounds come from the CD spinning and not the speakers (this is pretty much true for any CD player). You'll see people complaining about hissing sounds for virtually all cd alarm clocks. Anyway, the hissing is negligible and the sound quality is good for a cd clock.

The three alarm options (CD/radio/buzzer) feature is very nice allowing multiple ways to wake up. This feature also allows you to set 3 different times for your alarm to go off (one per alarm option). As a result you can wake up to your favorite CD track, have the radio go on to tell you when you should get out of bed, and then have the buzzer alarm to tell you that you HAVE to get out of bed (can mix these 3, use only 2, or one alarm option).

Another great feature is easy setup. Setting the alarm is very easy as well as setting the time. While not on the clock display, this clock also keeps track of the date (I assume to automatically adjust for daylight savings).

My only problem with this clock is that it can be difficult to see the time. Since I sleep right next to my alarm clock this is not a major problem for me, but I could see how this might bother people.

Overall good clock. I suggest shopping around for this one though since I found it cheaper ... I'm sure there is a better CD clock out there, but this one is pretty good especially since a "better" CD clock would most likely cost much more.

I purchased this item thinking it would be perfect. After a month or so, the CD player would simply struggle to start playing. I purchased a new one and returned the first one. Sadly the second unit has started to do the exact same thing. This is a sad product by Sony. If you think this is the clock/radio/cd for you, think again!!

My husband and I bought this CD player for our baby's nursery. We were very excited and thought we were buying a great product for playing our little one some beautiful lullabies. We decided to buy a nice CD player so that he could also use it as he got older.

The CD player worked for one day. The second night we tried to play his lullaby CD, the CD player refused to play. When you hit the play button it pauses for a moment and then the read out flashes "00". After reading the troubleshooting guide, we decided to try their recommendation of keeping the CD door open to decrease any condensation that might have built up. We did this and the CD player worked again for about 20 minutes. Also, we live in one of the driest climates in the nation. Anyway, if you open the CD door and leave it open for a good 5 hours, the CD player will work for about 20 minutes.

We are so disappointed with this purchase. I thought buying a Sony product meant we were buying a quality product. I was wrong. I hope this helps you to not make the same mistake we made!