Customer Reviews

Philips AJ300D Clock Radio with iPod/GoGear Dock

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

Once you get past the fact that Amazon has really misrepresented this item, I can say that it really is a what I needed. Yes, as mentioned by another reviewer, there is NO CD player funtion at all. It would have been fantastic if Philips had designed it with one in mind, but I think it would have killed it's compact size which is why I bought it. There are only 5 presets (not 20 as per Amazon's description and the unit only plays FM, no AM). This is mentioned in the "Technical Details" of the description page, if you click on it. The detail that there is no CD funtion is there, too - very contradictory.
I love the fact that it's small (I can move it from room to room). There are three wake-up modes (FM radio, gentle wake buzzer, and iPod dock). But, the best item would have to be the wOOx technology for powerful bass, on the back of the unit. That sold me on this "Play and Charge" unit, and I love that feature the most. The sound is excellent for the price. You can still connect a portable CD player, VCR or even an iPod Shuffle, through the AUX port and cord supplied. So, it's not a one trick pony.
The clock function is good, with 3 brightness settings (Bright, Low and OFF), and both Sleep and Snooze funtions on the alarm. I found it simple to set the clock and alarm(s). No battery back-up is a negative. Even a simple 9V would be enough to keep presets and radio function if the power went out.
Overall: I like it, I really do.

If you're looking for an inexpensive way to get solid sound from a small device AND charge your iPod, this unit is for you. I have tried (and returned) several sub-$100 players like the mediocre iHome with its tinny sound and inconveniently wide body. This Philips unit offers rich bass (as long as you don't crank the volume way up) and a decent feature set.

While it's not going to replace your surround-sound home stereo system, or even your boombox; it IS an excellent clock radio. It keeps time well. The remote advances to the next track on the iPod (or skips back), fast forwards or rewinds, and adjusts the volume.

The display can be set to bright, dim or off if you prefer to sleep in complete darkness. The alarm stores two different wake times with three alarm options: radio, buzzer or iPod. It gets good radio reception. It has five preset FM stations. The built-in battery will save your settings for ten minutes if you change rooms. It's has a small footprint. It charges your iPod. It's looks reasonably stylish. It's a good buy.

I use this in my office to play my ipod and listen to music at low audio levels. I have played it at home and it sounds great at louder levels also. The design is great! Simple and stylish. It has just the right features I've been looking for.
I had to really look for the cons... it doesn't have a battery backup but if the power outage is less than 10 mins, the clock will be ok. The presets remained even though i had it unplugged for a couple of hours. I think the remote is a little too small and some of the buttons are too close together but other than those two unimportant things, this is a great buy!

It's pretty good for what it is -- a very compact radio/iPod player with an alarm function. The other reviewer is right that there's no way to adjust the music volume on the alarm -- it comes on gradually, but always goes to full volume. And it's loud! You can adjust it then, but who wants to lean over the second you wake up and fiddle with the buttons? That is the item's biggest problem in my view. The sound quality is also just so-so, but what do you expect from a 2-inch speaker, right? Another feature that is common on other clock radios, but missing here, is a nap alarm function. That would have been a good addition. I decided to keep it and live with the flaws, but it was a close call.

If you are buying this as an alarm clock, stop now. This thing will blow your ears out before you even wake up. It's gentle wake takes literally two seconds to go from barely audible to absurdly loud. I have woken up just before the alarm goes off to experience this phenomenon.

That being said if you are looking for a clock attached to an iPod dock, you can't do better for this price. I have the Bose dock as well and though I am no music buff I can literally hear no difference. It's got great sound for such a little dock and can get very loud without distorting. Its really not perfect but I would suggest it.

I received this as a surprise Christmas gift and I was thrilled. It appeared to be a perfect bedside alarm clock. As others here have mentioned though, probably the biggest strike against this product is the inability to preset the alarm volume. Others have mentioned they thought the external FM antenna was ugly. I'm just glad there was one as my favorite station has a weak signal.

This unit appears to do all, charge ipod, dock, wake up modes, three brightness levels, two alarm clocks, snooze button, compact appealing design. It is with great regret that I will probably have to return this unit due to the Alarm clock volume problem.

There appears to be no equal products. This little Philips unit definately struck an emotional chord with me, initially. Its going to be hard to box it up.

I purchased this unit thinking that it also included a CD player but that's not the case. According to the helpful folks at Philips, the "CD" has been misinterpreted by Amazon. The unit is considered a "compact device." Also, the display is not as pictured. Instead of the black on green, it's black on gray, which is very difficult to see. Also, the display is unbelievably bright. Even the low setting is enough to illuminate the entire room, so I normally end up turning it off completely so that I can sleep... it's that bright. Finally, as someone else has mentioned, the alarm volume is very VERY loud and cannot be controlled. Even worse (for a snooze fan like me) it gets progressively louder from the second it goes off.

Bought this clock radio in order to have a radio with a iPod dock and it seems adequate for that task. In order to configure our Nano (or any MP3 player), you have to sort through a number of flimsy plastic frames that hold the player in place. In the case of our Nano, you have to really jam the player in, harder that you would expect, and the connection is tenous. Radio reception is OK. Doesn't have an AM band, which is irritating. I appreciate its small foot print. At $80, it's not cheap.

Its a great product except the alarm volume can't be adjusted so unless you like being woken up by REALLY loud music its not the alarm clock for you.

ok, so the item looks great, thought this would be perfect for us since mu hubby and i bothe have a GoGear MP3 player (a HDD6330) and it's almost impossible to find a docking speaker system for these GoGear MP3 players, so anyway we purchased it, looks fantastic on arrival, but volume wasn't working when we docked the MP3 player, we even sent a ticket in to philips, they suggested we send back for replacement, we did that, 2nd one we got, brand new, same problem when you dock the MP3 player no sound plays, you can use the remote to select play, pause, forward, back, but no darn sound, now we are no idiots, both of us work in the tech industries but still we spent too many hours trying to get the sound to play when the mp3 was docked, it didn't make sense, the sound plays fine for the radio (with bad reception mind you which also sucked). The instructions shows our mp3 gogear HDD6330 is compatible, after all it's a philips mp3 player trying to work with a philips speaker system - what an absolute shame. Since we have 2 mp3 players compatible we tried to get sound to play on both, same issue both times. What a shame it didn't work.
So it gets 2 stars for design and wishful thinking.
A few other cons would be:

CON #1. no way to adjust the very loud alarm - gets louder and louder extremely quickly, and when i mean loud i mean your neighbors might get woken up by it even if you're in a detached house 20 feet to another house etc.

CON #2. Will not give sound when you dock a GoGear HDD6330 MP3 Player even though the remote works for it when it's docked.

CON #3. The FM signals were very poor quality and crackling. We have a $5 buck alarm radio that does a better job.

Then the hopeful pro's:

PRO#1. Heard it works with you XM radio via the back AUX jack.

PRO#2. It looks nice and good sound from such a small system.