Customer Reviews

Salubrion Enso Clock

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I purchased this excellent clock back in March of 2008, and have been using it daily since then.

In my opinion, the key strengths of this device revolve around flexibility and looks. It allows you to choose from a number of wonderful, rich sounding chimes and other sounds (they actually sound better than the real bells & chimes built in to other meditation timers I own). You can set the tones to repeat "forever" after your meditation period has ended, or sound only twice at varying volumes. Good stuff.

You can also create very complex "programs" for yourself (Chime after x minutes, then y minutes, then z minutes, etc. etc.)

I also find the clock very attractive, but that's just personal opinion.

The flexibility that this clock gives you comes at a price, however - setting (time, alarm time, etc.) the thing is a bit complex. The first thing I normally do with any new electronic gizmo I purchase is throw away the instructions - it's an ego thing, I admit it. Anyway, 3 months later, I'm guarding the instructions to this baby with my life. While setting up a basic timer is easy as cake, doing more interesting programs will take a bit of trial and error.

The backlight button on the clock has also been hit or miss for me. I have to touch it just right or the backlight won't come on. I'd also like the ability turn the backlight on and keep it on. In it's current incarnation it only stays on for 5-ish seconds.

Finally, it would be nice if the buttons had some sort of tactile "nubs" attached (this comment is stolen shamlelessly from another reviewer). At 4AM in the morning, I need all the help I can get making sure I have actually activated the timer.

So, this clock isn't perfect, but it is the best one I've found so far, and it is fantastic for travel - packs really easily.

I note that some people are complaining this does not have a seconds timer that they need for yoga positions. Well, the reason for that is this is a meditation timer not a yoga timer! Therefore, this clock does exactly what it is meant to do. If you need a yoga type timer then you need to look elsewhere.

I also see some people are worried about losing the instructions, indeed they needed to refer to the instructions to set up the clock between sessions. However, as I am pretty technical I did not need to use the instructions to set up the clock - it was very logical to me. Of course, I understand logic in technological egonomics, so maybe my experience is skewed in this respect. If you can effortlessly program your video recorder or microwave oven then this clock will present no problem at all. You can download more detailed instructions from the Salubrion website.

This clock does has a few flaws as a meditation timer, but none that are 'show stoppers'. Here they are in full.

1. You cannot set the timer to chime just once at each interval - it would be better if you could set each interval chime count. In my case I would set it to chime once for mid-intervals and chime twice for the last interval. The option for 'continuous chime' is only relevant to an alarm. NOTE: for some reason mine chimes only once on every other interval - is this an undocumented feature?

2. When dismissing the display during a session to make it less distracting (a good feature), all items except the ring should vanish. However, the 'alarm' icon, 'enso' text, and 'enso icon' remain - they should really vanish, too.

3. For the price I think it should have a crown-glass front. I know this would add to the weight and expense, but the face can scratch the way iPods displays do. I leave the protective shipping screen on mine - though I think it will only last a year or so before I have to remove it.

4. The backlight is too weak. There is a time when you need to use it because the display is too dark to read but the ambient light is too much for your eyes to have completely adjusted to the dark. I would like to see several levels for the backlight depending on the ambient light. This feature is available on cheap digital watches.

5. The backlight should extend to the buttons, too.

6. The backlight button is difficult to find in the dark.

If anyone is put off the product by the list above, they should look to doing some deeper relaxation practice - the problems are just to small to worry about.

Wish list:
1. It would be cool to be able to add my own chimes. I can do this on my baby monitor, so the technology can't be that difficult to add. ;-)

2. It would be useful if the backlight came on automatically when the alarm rings or the end of an interval is reached. This feature should, of course, be optional.

The good stuff.

1. Easy to use.
2. Well built with a nice feel (though I would like glass on the front)
3. Very clear and undistorted sound - amazing in such a small package.
4. Nice travel case.

Overall, I am very happy with the timer and can recommended it to people using it for Mindfulness meditation practice. Those wanting it for Yoga should look elsewhere. It cannot replace a proper singing bowl and guided meditation sessions, but for med-on-the-move it is a great little item.

The chime sound is beautiful; would that the rest of the timer were as well done. Much as I wanted to love it, and much as Chime 1 pleases me, this is not a usable device.

I bought this as a yoga timer. The timer has 1-minute resolution; for yoga you need something finer, to allow 45-second or 90-second poses... or 85 if I'm feeling tired, 100 if I'm energetic. Even if it had 1-second resolution, setting intervals is challenging: you can't just say "chime every 90 seconds", you have to define a fixed number of intervals through a clunky interface. Perhaps there's something I missed? I emailed the manufacturer, then emailed again after a week of silence, and still (5 days later) haven't heard back from them.

The product shows signs of not having had usability testing. For instance, the backlight button--one of many on the circular face--has no tactile signature. It can't be identified in the dark. And even though the chime is lovely, it sounds twice. That makes it unusable (for me) as a meditation timer. A "chime once only" option would fix that... but I could find no such setting.

Might just be one of the very rare alarm clocks or timers that doesn't suck (and was actually thoughtfully designed), but I experienced a few problems. It's three chime sounds are very nice, especially compared the hard beeps of most alarms and timers, and the ring timer display is interesting. Ultimately, however, I don't know if it is quite worth $100, at least for my needs. The build quality (especially the buttons and the look of the display) is slightly less than I was hoping. In fact my clock was defective, and I had some serious problems communicating with Salubrion about it, though they eventually got back to me with a refund etc and resolved the problem completely. So mixed feelings -- pretty good idea and design, a bit problematic in my individual experience. If it has all the features you are looking for (timers, visual progress, size and shape [note, includes a very nice carrying case], and fits your budget, then you could give it a try.

I would like to add a few things to the other great reviews.

My timer came with tactile back-lighting, stop and snooze buttons, a noticeable upgrade from what the other reviews describe. Thus you can now turn the alarm off without sight.

The manual is quite simple, such that I do not understand the other reviewers' previous problems with this product. Press alarm, then + or - and then the green start (or red stop to cancel out). It's the same operation regardless of the option: volume, clock, timer, etc. The << and >> buttons are used to program intervals and alarm sounds. Simple and intuitive. As was indicated by other reviewers, you may not set fractions of minutes, so if you require that, beware.

It comes with a case and the manual fits with the timer inside the case. It's all very elegant and aesthetically pleasing. The included sounds are two chimes, one small wood drum (which plays a roll down plus 5 more beats) and a digital alarm sound. I, too, thought it a bit weird that the "hide display" option doesn't actually hide everything... It only hides the time, though the rest of the indicators stay lit: enso, enso circle, play indicator, graphic time remaining and alarm indicator.

The only disadvantages that I've noticed, I consider very minor. The face is made of flexible plastic. I would have liked it to feel solid. Also, the buttons feel loose, though I've had no problems with operating the timer and they don't feel so loose that they would be problematic later.

I did some research and this appears to be the best meditation timer to be found atm. I'm frugal when it comes to money, so for me to buy a $99 timer is a big deal, my previous timer being a $5 timer from goodwill that works wonderfully. I am pleasantly surprised at how much I like the timer and how... effective it is for its purpose, whatever that may be.

I read the reviews and I am SO GLAD I didn't listen to the negative ones. This clock is awesome! No difficulty pressing the buttons whatsoever, just like any other electrical device. You push the button and the button works perfect. As for programming it and set-up, it's all spelled out VERY clearly in the manual that comes with it. People, what you're paying for is the functionality, OF COURSE there's some actions you need to take to make it do what you want. WHAT'S AWESOME is the clock can do so much... BE THANKFUL!!! Chimes are super and LOUD if you want them to be- adjustable. I have to admit, I did not yet find out if water damages the clock, and would rather not find out, but we are talking about an electronic gadget like any other... just like a computer keyboard, calculator, flash drive, etc.... these are not things one spills water on, so why would this be different. I could go on, but I think you get the picture. GREAT PRODUCT, HIGHLY RECOMMENDED, and GLAD I DIDN'T LISTEN TO THE BAD REVIEWS.

Update: I just got back from two weeks out of the country and used the clock as both an alarm and a meditation timer. No problems. The hotel didn't have an alarm clock, so the Enso was it for me. It took me a few tries to learn to find the button to temporarily turn on the light (even with a small piece of tape on the edge to identify the location) if I needed to see the time in the dark, but it wasn't as necessary as I thought it would be.

-------

The main reason I got this clock was for the multiple chimes and the variable volume of the chime. I travel a lot and sleep very lightly, so I don't care for the sound of most travel alarms and a wake-up call is way too jarring. So far the chimes and volume settings of this clock make it pretty ideal for my needs. I also practice yoga when I travel, and while I don't use a timer for the asanas/poses, I do use a timer for the meditation sequences at the end of my practice. This clock is great for that as well since I have two or three fairly routine timings that I use for meditation..

I agree with other users that since the timer intervals don't allow fractions of a minute, it makes it a little less ideal for timing yoga sequences if you are holding each pose for a certain period of time.

The programming of the clock looks more complicated than it is. If you want to set the clock, press the "clock" button and then the + or - buttons to increment or decrement the time. Press "clock" again to finish setting, or press the green "play" button. Same goes for the alarm. It's not the simplest setting sequence for a travel clock, but I've owned some international, multi-time-zone travel clocks that were extremely difficult to program even with the instructions.

It's tough at night in a dark room to find the button to light the screen, but I put a piece of tape on the edge of the clock next to the button to make it easier. In most hotel rooms there's another alarm clock with a lighted dial so it usually doesn't matter.

But so far I really like it. A nice design and shape, lightweight, large enough to see clearly and manipulate, not too hard to program and the variable chime and volume clinched the sale for me.

P.S. I do practice Sikh Kundalini-style yoga at times and for those complex sequences I use a piece of software on my phone (Treo) called PocketDoan. I have dozens of sequences programmed in along with text to describe each one. If you have a compatible phone, I recommend looking into this software to time your yoga sequences.

The Enso Clock is exactly what I was looking for, and more. I was looking for a meditation timer that would have a pleasing, natural sounding tone. That's what I got with the Enso clock. What I wasn't expecting was a choice of three natural sounding tones (plus one normal electronic alarm sound), the ability to create three programmed timed meditations (with as many "stages" as you want). You can adjust the volume of your alarm tone. You can also set the tone for the final stage of your meditation to either ring twice, or repeat continuously until the alarm is turned off. The clock is well constructed and the back of it is made with a plastic that has a "rubberized" surface, so it's easy to grip and it won't slide around. The clock has a little pop-out stand in the back (which I don't really use) a backlight (the button for which is a bit hard to find in the dark, but nothing's perfect), and a nice round zippered case to protect it while travelling. The price was high for a battery-operated alarm clock, but you get a lot for the money and it's the only meditation timer like it out there. I'm happy I bought it.

Update: I see that they have a new "pearl" version available which supposedly improves on the first model (tactile buttons, more tones), so I'd suggest taking a look at that one.

I use this for meditation, not yoga, and as a meditation timer it's quite satisfactory. Once you've programmed your usual meditation length on one of the memory buttons, getting started is easy. Simply hit that memory button, push the start button, and that's it. There's one more button that can also be pushed which turns off all the numbers on the display and makes the clock give a visual display of the elapsed time -- worth doing, as it keeps you out of "thinking" if you check to see how much time is left. I agree with an earlier reviewer that it should have a "one gong" setting to mark the end of the session, and a seconds timer would be a great help with yoga. But this gadget travels easily and works well.

I like the round shape, the rubberized backing. The chimes are very realistic. As I meditate and do yoga, this clock comes in handy.

However, instructions on how to use the M1, M2 and M3 buttons are poor. These are the buttons that save a particular set of time intervals that you've set up. I've fiddled with the M buttons quite a bit to no avail. Also, would be helpful if the nightlighting was abt 20-30% brighter.