Sonoro AU-4400BL Elements Audio System (Black)

by Sonoro

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 4.3 x 5.7 x 8.3 inches ; 5.8 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 6 pounds
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B001TDKMT6
• Item model number: AU-4400BL
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #114,371 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics)

Product Description

Minimalist in appearance, the Sonoro AU-4400BL Elements audio system with AM/FM radio alarm clock and MP3 connection radiates style. In sleek black or white, wood casings are meticulously hand sprayed and polished numerous times to give them a high gloss, lacquered "piano" finish. The Sonoro logo is a unique on/off mode sensor and the LED illuminated metal ring enables intuitive control of tuning and volume. Each Elements is engineered with the Sonoro 360 degree sound technology, which combines a bass reflex tube and full-range upward facing speaker that blends right and left channel audio. The result is clear, robust sound that fills a large space. Sonoro Elements picks up excellent FM and AM reception and lets individuals pre-set up to ten of their favorite stations.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Pricey, sleek and stylish, March 29, 2009

By 

Raymond Parsons (Issaquah, WA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

While some may think it's crazy to purchase a tabletop radio for $250, you may think differently if you're looking for one that's sleek and stylish yet functional.

I searched extensively when looking for a modern looking clock radio for my bed side, and the Sonoro Elements Tabletop Radio was at the top of the list. While there are others out there, none are quite as sleek as the Sonoro Elements.

Unfortunately, the Sonoro Elements is not really designed to be an alarm clock radio, although it can be used as one. The large drawback is the digital time display, which is extremely small, and for those who having a hard time focusing on small numbers at 2AM, this radio is probably not for you. Lucky for me, the radio sits on my night stand only a couple feet away and I don't glance at the time very often. If you're interested in using this more for a radio and less for a clock, then all should be well.

I've talked a lot about the styling, so let's talk more about the functionality. The functions are controlled via an IPod-style dial with buttons surrounding the dial and the dial also acts as a button. Getting the hang of the sequences to change the various options may take some time, but once done, you can move pretty quickly around the settings. Turning the radio off/on is done by touching the Sonoro logo at the bottom left corner - a nice touch, although not very intuitive unless you read the manual.

The radio has a single alarm function, allowing you to wake up to a radio station or to a "beep". I have yet to experiment with the beep, but the radio wakeup works well, even allowing you to set a specific volume. Snoozing is done by pressing the large button in the center of the dial, and the snooze feature allows you to adjust the delay for the alarm to go off again. I struggle a bit in the morning to find the dial, and this is quite a bit different than a large snooze bar along the top.

The radio itself produces excellent sound quality, something you would expect for something this expensive. The bass and treble can be adjusted, allowing you to produce a deeper sound and it sounds great at low and high volume levels. Aside from the radio, you can control the dimmer for the display, although I imagine that everyone will want a bright display since the numbers are so small.

On a final note, let's talk about the "white glove" treatment. When unpacking the radio, you'll find a pair of white gloves and a cleaning cloth. The instructions tell you to use the white gloves during setup and for good reason - it's very susceptible to fingerprints due to the shiny finish. I have not needed to use the cleaning cloth because my touches are restricted to the dial, surrounding buttons, and the Sonoro label to turn it off and on. I don't think you'll find many (any?) clock radios that will ship with white gloves.

All in all, this is an excellent clock radio and is very stylish. The pricing is my only compliant, although I wish for more alarm functions, but clearly it was designed to be a minimalist alarm clock and more of a radio.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great sound, quality appearance and design, October 17, 2010

By 

Christine "Student of Life" (California) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Sonoro AU-4400BL Elements Audio System (Black) (Electronics)

My husband and I wanted something with a modern design to put next to our bed. Our decor is ultra modern and most traditional alarm clocks would look out of place. Finding a sleek modern look was harder than I thought. The Sonoro delivers. It is sleek (high gloss finish but it is not plastic, it is wood).

pros: modern design; great sound quality - really great; when the radio goes off as the alarm it starts softly and rather quickly comes up to full volume (I love this, it doesn't jolt you out of bed); the display is not bright (like some backlit clocks) so good for those who like a dark room; snooze is easy and allows you to increase or decrease the time if you want each time you hit the snooze button. So I may have my default at 10 mins but today I want to snooze for 20, I just hit the arrow up once and I'm done. then when that goes off it will do another 20 unless you arrow down to say 5. This feature and the ease of use I find very nice. You can make the changes even when you are only minutely awake.

cons: it is a bit larger than I would have liked. It provides accurate dimensions but I just didn't realize how much room it would take up on my night stand; the display is a bit small so if the clock is far from you it may be hard to see the time; programming the alarm is pretty easy but getting to all of it's other features is not intuitive and probably requires reading the instructions. It does not have a "nap" feature. My last clock allowed me to hit a nap button one time for 10 minutes, 2 times for 20 mins etc up to a 2 hour nap, with no need to make any changes to your alarm settings.