Customer Reviews

Sonic Boom SBB500ss Sonic Bomb Loud Plus Vibrating Alarm Clock

5 star:		(212)
4 star:		(54)
3 star:		(20)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(34)

 

 

I've had a history of sleeping through alarm clocks. This past summer I lived with a few other people and they would come into my room in the morning and yell at me, because my old alarm would wake them up but I would sleep through it, despite the fact that it was positioned right next to my head.

While I do not believe this alarm reaches 113 decibels or that it is louder than a jackhammer, I will say that it is much louder than your standard alarm clock. The vibrator works very well and is guaranteed to wake up even the deepest of sleepers. You can put it under your mattress, which will cause the majority of it to vibrate, or you can place it against a solid object which will cause a loud vibrating noise. I opted to keep mine under my mattress.

Many people have posted that their units burned out or that it kept time incorrectly. This is because they failed to look at the directions. In the directions that come with the alarm clock there is information detailing a switch on the backside of the unit. It is labeled 24hrs 50hz, 12hrs 50hz, and 12hrs 60hz. This switch not only controls the time format(12 hour vs. 24 hour), but also controls the tuning of the internal electronics. In European countries, 24 hour time format is standard, and wall outlets alternating current runs at a frequency of 50hz. In America, most people use the 12 hour time format, and our electrical outlets operate at a frequency of 60hz. What this means is that if you have this switch in the wrong position, you run the chance of damaging your unit, and you will notice that the time will not be accurate(it says this in the manual).

The only thing that keeps this alarm from getting five stars is the face that I can't use the 24 hour time format. I live in the US but work on a military base and have become accustomed to the 24 hour time format.

tldr; This alarm will wake you up, just make sure to read the manual or you run the risk of incorrect time and a fried alarm clock.

I had to get my hands on the second copy before it worked as advertised.
The first one I received couldn't keep the time properly.
It might have been just a defective alarm clock, or it might have been the frequency setting in the back that fixed the new one.
As far as 113 db, I don't have the wherewithal to measure it, but it's far from being deafening or absolutely startling.
However, along with the alarm, which is louder than any other alarm I've heard, and the vibrating device underneath the bed, the combination should be enough for even the deepest sleepers.

The vibrator function is AWESOME. As long as it works. I actually have a problem with thin walls in the apartment and was waking up neighbors with my alarm clocks - this seemed to be a perfect solution to the problem.

It worked GREAT for about a month; then the vibrator function began spazzing out. And by spazzing out - I mean it would run in the middle of the night. It would short out. It would buzz twice, then quit. Finally, it just stopped working altogether. I troubleshot it, I checked connections, made sure I wasn't dreaming that it wasn't working.

If I wanted a really LOUD alarm clock, I'd just throw the iPod dock I have onto a stereo and crank up the volume. The appearance of this clock isn't all that sexy, either - I bought it because it was the only thing that buzzed the bed in the morning. Now that doesn't work, and I'm out the $30 plus shipping for it.

I was desperate to find an alarm that would wake me up in the morning. I joked with my husband about finding one that has a sledge-hammer to clock me in the head, because I just couldn't wake up in the morning.

I was setting an alarm clock, my cell phone clock, and having my husband calling on his way to work and I was sleeping through all of it!

I found this on Amazon and I am astounded at how well it works. The disk goes right under the mattress and it literally vibrates (in bursts) the whole bed. It's not what it sounds like...it's not going to collapse the bed or damage anything...the disk is the size of a large hockey puck and is self contained in it's vibration. The decibel level of the alarm, although doesn't seem much different from other clocks...is unique in its tone and pitch. It has a louder and "stronger" sound (if that make sense). The lights, to me, are unnecessary, because between the shaking and the alarm, it's enough to wake me up.

The only problem is that it has a snooze button! So, I'll get jolted awake, smack the snooze button, and fall right back asleep. However, that's my problem...not the alarm.

A great alarm for people who have a hard time waking up to a Traditional Alarm Clock.
Sonic SBB500SS

Highly recommended!

I bought the Sonic Boom Alarm clock for my 10 year old, who is very hard to wake up. HE HATES IT. I LOVE IT!!!. He just got a loft bed and I can't reach him to shake and beg and pull him out of bed, but the clock does a wonderful job. The most effective part is the vibrating piece. He can't ignore it and is not so alarming. The alarm is extremely loud. It tends to just put him in a bad mood. Overall, it is great!

While not as loud as I had hoped, it's still louder than the average alarm clock. What's nice about it is you can change the pitch of the alarm as well as the volume to create the most annoying sound possible for your own ears. This, coupled with the vibrator under the pillow, does a sufficient job of scaring me awake with a jolt every morning. Whereas I used to sleep through any alarm for several minutes to several hours, I have yet to sleep more than a second through this one. While scaring myself awake isn't exactly pleasant, it's a lot better than being late every day because of sleeping through the alarm! I highly recommend this product for the heavy sleeper.
Minor cons (why it didn't get 5 stars): plastic does feel a bit cheap, but no cheaper than the average alarm clock. Even with the "dimmer" switch on, the display is still annoyingly bright. Should be made louder for those who are hard of hearing.

This alarm clock is an industrial strength solution to your need to wake up on time. It's loud and the vibrating alarm works nearly as well if you don't want all that noise. However, it has one drawback that's just a little too big to overlook. The alarm never times out and won't stop going off until you shut it off. A couple of times I've hit the snooze button and launched myself out of bed a short time later, forgetting to completely shut off the alarm. When it came back on I was in the shower and it kept ringing the full 5 minutes or so until I got out of the shower and was able to shut it off. I live in an apartment building and this sort of thing will not endear me to my neighbors. Imagine if I had just rushed out of the place without showering: the alarm would have been blasting away for hours on end.

I have one other beef with the unit I got. It runs way fast if you set the clock for 24 hour display (23:30 instead of 11:30 pm). I had just gotten mine and soon discovered that the clock was gaining ten minutes every hour. I really didn't want to deal with shipping it back, so I tried setting it to normal time display and discovered that it keeps perfect time with that setting. I kept it and it's done its job, but it can't be that hard to build these things to time out and I wish they had thought of that before I got mine.Sonic SBB500SS

I've spent tons of money trying all kinds of alarms... CDs with annoying sounds, light alarms that simulate sunshine. Nothing worked. Until I got this. I don't use the buzzer portion, so I can't comment on that, but the shaker wakes me up every time. In fact, I set the shaker alarm to go off in the middle of my 30 minute wake CD I made, and I remember nothing before the shaker went off. I stopped using the CD altogether and now just use the shaker as my alarm.

I've only had this a month, so I can't speak to the people who say the shaker stops working after a while. If it does, I'll be sure to repost. But so far, I haven't gotten used to the shaking and slept through it the way I have other alarms, it still wakes me as well as it did the first day. So for those of you who are having trouble with sound alarms, over sleep with no memory of your alarm going off, for the price, this is worth trying. I wish I had found this before I spent hundreds on other alarms. Bottom line, I haven't been late with this alarm yet. That alone is enough for 5 stars for me.

This is a good clock. While it can be loud, the volume can be adjusted for those who do not want to have a heart attack when they wake up. The bed shaker does a good job of waking you up too. If you sleep like a rock this is a good buy.

I'm 17 and am terrible at waking up, my friends and family will attest to that! The Sonic Bomb is a great product it has really helped get me up. It doesn't just buzz (loudly I might add), it flashes 3 really bright lights on the front of the clock. It also has a bed shaker package with it that literally shakes the entire bed.