Customer Reviews

Morning Sunrise System Dawn Dusk Sun Alarm Clock SRS210US

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

 

 

1) Sometimes the alarm clock doesn't go off when scheduled.
2) If I press snooze, the alarm clock turns off and never turns on again.
3) Because it doesn't light the time, but rather that background screen, you are stuck either with a screen that is too bright while you are sleeping, or the inability to see what time it is without turning a lamp on.
4) You are forced to wake-up to the same sound you go to sleep to (assuming you are using the sounds at night and in the morning). This means you either have to try to fall asleep to cheery morning sounds, or wake up to soothing night-time sounds, or find your own mp3 of sounds that will work for both situations.
5) You have to set the alarm clock for every single day of the week. You can't just set it once for everyday.
6) You have to turn of the music and the alarm if you want to set any features of the clock. If you forget to turn the alarm back on when you are done, you're going to be in big trouble the next morning.

In short, I love the idea of this product, but the execution is extremely poor, and you are likely to wake up late more times than you'd like.

Let me start by saying I was very skeptical about this lamp. I have tried MANY similar lamps and clocks in the past with poor results. I have tried gently chiming alarm clocks. I have tried gradually lighting alarm clocks. I have tried soft music alarm clocks. Every one I have tried has ended up with really annoying noises, water torture noises, cheesy construction, and poor lighting. I had really pretty much given up.

Then I gave this one a try.

First off, you are paying a substantial amount of money for this item. There is the saying "you get what you pay for". This is STURDY. Where other lamps are like cheap camping lanterns, this one is very sturdy. Yes, it's made of plastic - I imagine metal would heat up like the dickens! It is very solid, though, and holds up to a lot of use.

Next, it doesn't have cheezy built in sounds - a problem with many other units I tried. It doesn't go with chimes which are meant to be gentle but which you would slam into a wall after a few days. Instead, it is *brilliant* - it uses a MP3 card!!! So yes you can go with their built in sounds of ocean waves etc. if you wish. But if you want to wake up to Jean Luc Picard's soft voice, you can do that! If you want to wake up to a series of Peter Gabriel tunes, you're all set! Heck, make up a series of playlists and have one for weekend wake-ups, one for work-day wake-ups and even have a special set for that special-meeting-day wake up inspiration. Whatever your goal, this thing is perfectly customizable.

So, the construction is great and the music / sound is about as perfect as you can get. How about the light? I have done a TON of research on light and sleeping. Your eyeballs sense light through the closed eyelids. It's why so many of us have trouble falling asleep in a lit room. With this, the room really does go from quite dark to VERY bright in a slow, gradual way. That is so much better for your health than being jolted awake! It really does wake you up too. I highly recommend getting thick curtains, double shades, and then letting this light wake you up when YOU say it is time to. Take control of your health.

Speaking of which, I cannot talk enough about how critical it is for good health to get a good night's sleep. Swing by my site for numerous articles on this topic. A good night's sleep lets your muscles rebuild, lets your stress levels reduce, lets your brain recharge. It is really critical for health. And yet so many of us do not get it! We barely sleep well - and then we jolt ourselves awake in the morning. This system is an investment in your health. It gets you to wake up in the most healthy manner you can. If you can't fall asleep before then - there are many websites including mine which can help you achieve that goal too.

Really, make it a priority in your life. You need good sleep.

The clock lets you set a DIFFERENT time every single day of the week - so you can set it up for a rotating schedule and for later weekend times. Note that for healthy sleep you should try not to vary your schedule TOO wildly. While sleeping until noon on weekends may feel cool, it's not very good for your overall pattern. It's much better to maintain some sort of a regular timeline for your body to get used to.

Do I have any complaints? The memory card is one of the small SD cards - and my Dell had numerous problems using its built in card slots. It took me weeks to get the memory card to work. However, that wasn't the clock's fault! It was my computer's fault. So if you want to play with the memory card, make sure you get your computer or laptop working well with SD cards and test that out. If you don't have a built in reader, get yourself an adapter.

Still, again, you can hardly blame the clock for an issue with my computer. And I could have used its built in sounds if I wanted - I was just wanting to wake up with my own music, with my own sequence. Once I got that worked on, I was in seventh heaven. This is everything it says it is. Heck, I got it to turn off its "back light" for the clock to get the room super dark. I'm sure people want that back light on so they can see the clock numbers at night. So it is the ultimate in adjustable.

Highly, highly recommended, and feel free to write me if you have any other questions about it. Given the number of other junk clocks I've tried over the years, my quest has ended.

Update: I wrote this review in April 2008 and it's now July 2011 and I am still using this and adoring it. It is absolutely the best way to wake up.

But wow -- it works! I find myself waking up before the alarm time. And I'm not cranky because sone annoying sound has jarred me out of a deep sleep. This is nature at it's synthetic best. If you don't think a light bulb can get you up and going -- I bet you REALLY need this. I'm almost becoming a morning person! Okay, not really but this is the most pleasant way I've even been awaken.

Delivery was very quick and the product is excellent value for money.

After using the Sunrise System SRS200 for only a week it has totally changed my life. I'm no longer feeling depressed during those dark mornings.

The is a feature packed product with 7 day alarm clock, nightlight and security mode to mention a few.

I would have no hesitation in recommending this product.

The light came on at the time set to begin "sunrise" at full brightness.
The factory is sending a new unit. I'll let you know how the replacement works.

Bought this online. Came damanged. Merchant told me contact Manufacturer and Manufacturer told me contact Merchant. Total run around. Don't waste your time or money on this. You will be throwing your money away. Would give this zero stars but Amazon won't let you to do so.