Customer Reviews

RCA RP3765 AM/FM Dual Wake Clock Radio

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(14)

 

 

This model looks nice and has some good features, but also some major flaws. The biggest problem is the CD player. Instead of having a simple mechanical latch (push a button to pop it open), this one opens by pushing a button that electronically opens it with a motor--needlessly complex and just one more bit of circuitry to go bad. The problem I had after a few months is that the door wouldn't close properly because it started catching on the ribbon of wires that connect the door to the rest of the unit. I was able to poke things back into place and make it work, but the opening mechanism seems poorly designed and I have a hunch I'll have more problems with it.

The biggest annoyance is that the CD player tends to make a fairly load whirring, clicking sound as the CD spins. That's a problem on most small CD players, but this one is especially loud: enough to drown out the soft music or nature sounds CDs I like to play at low volume while falling asleep. When playing things at higher volumes it's not a big problem, but this issue alone makes me wish I hadn't bought this model. As another reviewer said, the vertical CD player seems to be the cause of problems, so I'd go for a traditional set-up where the CD is laid flat.

Another weak spot is that the set-up of the button controls are poorly designed. Some key controls (like the nap and sleep-to-music buttons) are on a top panel that slopes downward toward the back of the unit, making it difficult to see or even feel what you're pressing if the unit is at head level, as most clock radios will be when people are in bed. The buttons on the front are also confusing, with several identical buttons in a row. There are separate on and off buttons, on opposite ends of the row of buttons. Why not simplify things with just one on/off button? Similarly, there are separate up and down volume buttons. Why not use an old-fashioned wheel- or slider-style volume control? That would be easier to use and would avoid cluttering up the unit with so many identical buttons. The buttons to change radio bands and stations are especially confusing, and not even placed next to each other. Even after using this every day for six months, I still end up hitting buttons at random to change stations because the set-up is so counter-intuitive. It would be better if it was set up like a car stereo: one button to change bands (FM1, FM2, AM, etc.), then have five or six separate buttons to select each station within that band.

The general problem with this is that the designers made it complex and overly fancy when something simpler would have worked better. For example, you can change the color of the clock display, and the display automatically brightens or dims based on how much light is on in the room. Those features seemed cool for about five minutes, but then I settled on the color I liked best and haven't changed it again, and I wish that the brightness of the display could be controlled manually.

Despite the weak spots, there are some good features here. The unit does look pretty nice and sounds good. Not hi-fi, but it has two speakers rather than one and the sound is decent for a clock radio. The nap timer is also great, letting you set a timer to count down from any 10-minute interval (up to two hours), then have the alarm beeper (but not radio or CD) go off without having to reset the actual alarm time and then reset it again to your usual morning wake-up time.

With some redesign this could be a very good product, but the whirring of the CD is a big problem for me, and the CD door and the arrangement of buttons are definite weak spots, too.

I agree with the other reviewers. It has alot of nice features, but the CD player stopped working (same clicking noise when you try to open or close the mechanical door - returned to the store and noticed their display model was doing the same thing). Antenna in the power code is insufficient for use in interior rooms. Don't waste your money. Displays time incorrectly after 6 months use.

This little unit had such great potential! Everything I was looking for! Bought it in early June 2005. I loved it! It worked GREAT for 3 months- and one of those 3 months shouldn't even count - I was on vacation all of July, and didn't use it. Now at the end of September, it SUDDENLY (no warning whatsoever)crapped out on me. Can't even use the radio part of it because of the nasty snapping noise the CD door makes. Now I'm either out $60 or I pay to send it back to RCA, and figure out if they are going to replace it with a new or refurbished unit.

I purchased this clock radio because it seemed to include all the features I need. It did not disappoint me until I attempted to use the CD player. The CD player in the first unit I received was very noisy and made strange clicking sounds. I returned this unit as an exchange. The second unit I received would not play a CD at all, so I sent it back and received a refund. Overall, I am very disappointed in the purchase, but Amazon did guarantee the product and handled the exchange and refund very efficiently.

Oh what a disappointment. A friend purchased it as a Christmas present, and it is broken already. The clock stopped displaying the time and the cd player does not work. Do not purchase this product!

I bought this unit so I could listen to the radio in the morning. However after about 4 months it began making loud clicking noises (like a gear was slipping) when I turn it on, open the CD door or even if I turn the radio off! Don't buy it. There are many better units out there that actually work.

My husband purchased two of these pieces of junk because he got a "good deal". The first one had problems with the CD door clicking off the bat so I stopped using the cd player. The rest of it worked for about a year and one day everything on the display lit up and froze. Since it was too late to return it, I thought I'd try the other one. It only took two weeks and the display on that one froze as well. I wrote to RCA and they were of no help at all.

I found reviews of this crazy garbage radio as I was shopping for a new one.Mine is literally in the trash right now as it wouldn't stop making an intermittent clicking noise as the door would automatically open and try to close, as if possessed!I could tolerate it for a time, as I just wouldn't open the door or play CDs, but It started doing the clicking at odd hours,for no reason, waking me up after causing my dogs to bark and go crazy at 2 or sometimes 3 in the morning!!!! I then unplugged it to stop the problem and the alarm went off at 5:45 am- without even being plugged in!!

It all started when the electricity went off and then on again one day, about three months after I got it as a gift, and then you couldn't even open the door to put a CD in without the door making loud clicking noises as the drive gears ground together. I must admit, I liked this alarm clock for the few months before this happened, as it does have some real nice features. It just has WAY TOO MANY bugs that need to be worked out.Wow, it REALLY has a lot of bugs. Don't you dare buy it!!! RCA, you ought to refund our money! The thing SUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!

Bought this item from Best Buy because it was the only one they carried that had all the features I wanted, or at least claimed it did. First, one I bought the display didn't work at all. Returned it for another, which worked better than the first but still skipped badly when playing CD-R's, even though both RCA's and Best Buy's website say it should. Decided to give it one more try and returned it again and even checked in the store to make sure it would play CD-R's, which it did, for a while. When I brought it home it played about half a CD-R and them started skipping again. I won't be fooled a fourth time and hopefully, you won't be fooled at all. This product is badly designed and/or poorly produced. Don't buy it...

On paper this looks like a great featured alarm clock, but it has a lot of problems. The controls are not very intuitive. The placement of buttons makes it easy to accidentally change settings when trying to hit snooze. Next, as others have mentioned, the cd player makes a lot of noise. If you are waking up to a cd and hit snooze the cd keeps spinning and it's rather loud. Overall the audio seems poor, but that's probably normal for a cd alarm clock.

Most importantly the mechanical door now makes several loud clicking noises (gears slipping) when closing, turning the power on, anytime the cd is played, or when the alarm goes off.

I got a lot of joy smashing this. Waking up to load clicks really sucks.