Customer Reviews

JBL Time Machine Alarm Clock/Dock for iPod (Black)

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

 

 

Pros:

-Dual alarms
-Progressively increasing volume of radio alarm
-Good overall sound quality
-Easy to use basic features by touch
-Informative LCD screen

Cons:

-Overdone styling
-Complicated menus/setup
-LCD screen is small and hard to read

Well, I've been living with this for about 3 weeks now, and I'm pleased with the purchase. I needed to replace an 8 year old Philips CD-radio with dual alarms mostly because the sound quality was like listening to AM radio through a drive-through restaurant speaker.

One of my top priorities, other than sound quality, was a dual alarm. I can't tell you how helpful these are if your schedule changes day to day. Not only does the JBL have dual alarms, it does it better than any other system I've seen. It has a separate on/off button for each alarm AND you have the option to have each alarm set to go off on weekdays only, weekends only, or all 7 days. This is also the first alarm I have had with a progressively increasing volume on alarm. It will start playing the music fairly soft and gradually increase the volume over the next 30 seconds or more. This is much gentler than the jarring way most alarms go off (or worse, the dreaded BEEP). Be sure, though, that if you do not respond to the alarm, it continues to get louder and should be enough to wake up even heavy sleepers. If that's not sufficient, it does have the obligitory BEEP alarm, too.

As far as sound quality goes, it's as good as your average, similarly priced "boom box." It gets plenty loud, has decent bass, and the highs are clear. It won't hold a candle to a good home theater/stereo system, but it's more than adequate for a bedroom. It's the best clock/radio I've ever heard and is easily the best iPod-specific speaker system I've tested out (though I have not listened to the Altec Lansing inMotion 7). It's not good enough to allow a sharp-eared listener to really notice the compression artifacts of the MP3s being played through your iPod.

Other nice touches include an LCD screen that is able to display a good amount of useful information. It can display Radio Data Sytem (RDS) information, though no RDS stations exist in my area so I couldn't test this out. Similarly, the LCD has an autoadjusting brightness based on ambient light (which can also be manually adjusted instead, if desired). The clock can be autoset by scanning through radio stations (assuming, of course, the station has their own clock set correctly), and a battery backup will rescue you in case of a brief power outage in the night (though the manual doesn't say if it will allow the alarm to go off if power remains out). Finally, the unit has the world's easiest-to-find snooze button. It's the big circle on the very top of the unit that looks like part of the speaker grill.

On the down side, I personally miss having a built-in CD player. I hate having to remember to take my iPod out of it and put it back in the car every day. A CD player would be a useful feature.

The LCD screen is relatively small and is angled away from you towards the ceiling in such a way that trying to read it from bed is difficult due to contrast issues (blue numbers on a slightly less bright blue background). You can adjust the contrast, but it makes it that much more difficult to read when you are standing (e.g., getting dressed). Some people may also be put off by the brightness of the LCD. If you require absolute darkness, you will not appreciate the little blue alien spacecraft sitting on your nightstand staring at you all night. To make it worse, there's a little blue LED light in the top of the circle facing down, which reflects off the unit's base in interesting ways. I would suggest that the black unit if either of these light issues are a concern.

Next up, the buttons. All of the immediate functions (volume, source select, snooze) are easy to use, even with your eyes closed, mostly because there are only a few buttons and they are distinctly laid out. However, if you have difficulty programming a VCR, you will hate trying to configure this JBL. The relatively limited number of buttons means that all the settings of the system, and there are quite a few, are buried in a hard to use interface. It consists of a series of nested menus, most of which don't make a lot of sense. It may hold an iPod, but it's nowhere near as easy to use as one. Unless you're very comfortable with obfuscated menus, or are willing to take the time to learn, you'd be better off getting something else.

I know it has garnered raves for its styling, but in reality, it doesn't really work. Sure, it's beautiful sitting on a laboratory table, but unless you're George Jetson, the unit will not match your bedroom decor. The unit stands out like a zebra in a herd of horses. It is also bigger than you think judging from the pictures, and it takes up a fair amount of nightstand real estate. I'd suggest checking out the measurements before jumping in.

Overall, I find that the positives outweigh the negatives. I'm glad the price has come down considerably from it's initial [...] to the current sub [...] range. It's the best-of-breed for iPod alarm/clock radios and makes a fine stand-alone unit even without the iPod functionality. Now I've just got to get another iPod to leave docked permanently.

I just got this a week or so ago and have been thoroughly enjoying the soundstation. the product itself was a little smaller than i expected [bought it online didnt see it in action as the specs made sense to me]-- but sound quality is fantastic [given the size]. though not at serious audiophiles standard, its great to use in a bedroom or office setting. i like this better than my bose wave radio.

stylish in its looks and the ambient light at night looks really cool -- too bad one sleeps through it.

the previous commenter mentioned that the unit didnt start off from where it was turned off -- and i havent seen that at all. maybe it was a defective piece, but i dont believe that's the case for all of them [you might want to return for a new one].

three other folks who have seen and experienced it at my office have gone out and bought it. i recommend the clock version [slightly more in price but definitely worth the extra features].

The unit is fantastic except for one major issue - the wake to song feature doesn't work on newer iPods. From what I hear, JBL recommends contacting Apple to backdate your iPod firmware version so the feature will work properly.

Yeah right. Stupid idea, bad recommendation.

JBL - You are a big company with a reputation to uphold. Please provide a fix for this yourselves. This issue is yours, not Apple's.

The size is small and compact but has awesome sound. I is hard to move room to room because when you unplug it you then need to reset all the settings once again. Also, when you turn it off the songs start at the beginning and needs to be reset to where you left off.
However it is an incredible machine and I really like it.

Sound quality excellent ... can't complain here.

Menu is not so good, and integration with iPod sucks (you cannot program what you want it to play in the morning if you have latest software on iPod or Gen 5 iPod .... that really sucks !!!).

Pros:
-Looks cool
-Sounds GREAT

Cons:
-Expensive
-No remote?
-Wake-to-iPod song does not work.
-nightlight WAY too bright

I own an 80 gig black iPod video. I got this as a gift because I always wanted to wake up to a specific song on my iPod. Supposedly, this thing is supposed to do it. It doesn't. Please, please do not buy this if you own an iPod video and expect it to wake to a specific song. I have yet to find out if the unit is defective, or if there's something I'm doing wrong, but my guess is that because my iPod is one of the latest generations, that it doesn't work with this thing.

The sound is GREAT. And it does look cool. But it's EXPENSIVE - and for such an expensive price you'd expect a remote right? WRONG. Also, the nightlight is WAY too bright and I've had to throw a shirt over it at night otherwise my room is a hazy blue all night.

Close but no cigar on this unit.

If anyone has gotten this thing to work (wake to specific song) with the new generation of iPods, please let me know.

Before purchasing this item I read many of the reviews posted on amazon. Many said what I am about to say, but I chose to ignore them. I should have listened! This clock sounds good and looks good, that's where the good stops. It is supposed to increase in volume when the alarm function is used. Mine did not. Only came on at a jarring volume. No way to control it. I sent it back to amazon for a replacement. The new one worked the same way. I now sent it back to JBL for a replacement, and am waiting arrival of that one. It really needs a remote control. Using the ipod controls while it is docked in the unit is a pain. I bought my son a $70 Memorex ipod clock radio. It came with a remote. And the alarm volume increases automatically like this one is supposed to. The display points up so it is hard to read from bed without lifting your head up. Sound quality and appearance are the only reasons this unit rates three stars.

The iPod connection on my first machine didn't work and I returned it and got a replacement. This one did work with the iPod and does provide great sound. However, it will not work correctly with my 80GB Video ipod! Problem is that every time you stop playback either using the on-off button or switch to another mode and return to iPod mode, it doesn't ressume from where you were and instead plays the first song in your library. This is also true when you set the alarm to wake you with a particular iPod selection - it ignores your selection and plays the first song in the list. I tested an older 30GB iPod and it worked fine! I checked with JBL and they recognized my complaint immediately - it had been reported many times before. They blamed it on firmware changes Apple made for the new iPod Video machines and said JBL could not fix the problem but Apple hopefully would. I called Apple technical support and they had only one other report of this problem but the support person said he would check with engineering and get back to me. I am returning my Ontime machine as the resume function is an imperative for me. I would recommend it highly for any iPod other than the new iPod videos.

The unit does not come with an adapter to fit the new 4 or 8 GB nano ipods. There are a bunch of adapters supplied that allow the many older ipod styles to fit the unit. I called JBL tech support and parts and both indicated that it indeed did not support these new ipods. One agent indicated that he thought that the product may be at 'end of life' and that they probably would not supply the adapters. So if you plan to use the unit with current generation iPods you might consider something else.

Otherwise it sounds great. The controls are 'ok' but take some getting used to.

We have had two different units now and both displays became pixelated for no reason. Unit is completely useless when this happens. DO NOT BUY!