Customer Reviews

Sony ICF-CD855VSIL TV/Weather/FM/AM 4 Band CD Clock Radio

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

Bought this for its sleek design, small footprint and CD capability. It was purchased for our babies room so that we could play CDs. We wanted something smaller and better looking than any of the boom boxes and not as expensive as the shelf systems at which we looked.

So your needs may differ if you plan to use this as an alarm clock.

We really like the size and sound quality for something this small. It is very easy to set up without even using the owners manual. The buttons are well placed and have a very solid feel. The unit has a very high quality feel to it as you would expect from Sony and considering the price.

All functions work as described so I won't spend a lot of time on them individually. Reception is excellent in FM mode, AM is a bit weaker. The TV and weather bands are very hit and miss as far as reception and was dissapointed that I could not get better reception from the preselectd weather frequencies as I live in a well populated area that is subject to severe weather.

CD works flawlessly but the size hinders the bass and mid-range a bit. But again, consideing the size of the unit I am more than happy with the sound quality. If sound quality is more important than size you may want to consider the Panasonic RC-CD350.

I have only four complaints about this unit... the wall wart power supply is huge, the LCD backlight is VERY bright, even on its lowest setting of three. This isn't too much of an issue for us as we will use it as a night light in our babies room. More frustrating is the fact that considering how bright the LCD backlight is it is difficult to read the LCD diplay. I couldn't use this if it were for my bedroom alarm clock. And the last is the lack of a battery back up. This is sort of silly in a unit that costs $80.

Bottom line is this is a high quality unit which has a few drawbacks that a unit of this price point shouldn't have.

Pros:
Sleek design (Only Panasonic was close on design)
Relativly small size (considering it plays CDs)
Good sound quality (Panasonic was better but bigger)
Solid feel (What you expect from Sony at this price)

Cons:
Huge wall wart transformer
VERY bright LCD backlight
Poor weather band reception
Difficult to read LCD
No battery back up

I really like this clock radio but Sony needs to fix a couple of items. The sound is great compaired to most of the clock radios I have owned and I like that you can set the two alarms to different stations and audio levels.
Now to the problems. First is the power cube. You can not disconnect it from the radio. I have a headboard with a 2 inch hole for power cords to go through. There is no way that cube is going through that hole! Currently I have the cord running across the headboard and down the side. I will be cutting the cord shortly and then splicing it back together. If you could unplug the cord from the radio this would not be needed. Second is a big one no battery backup of the clock data. I have had two power outages since getting the clock. Both times I had to reset the radio preselects and the alarms. Here is a hint set the radio channels first, you need them set when you do the alarms. Third issue is the light. This clock could be used as a flashlight! For some reason Sony did not cover the back of the display. There was more light coming out of the back of the display than the front. I have a mirror on the headboard so you could almost read by the light. I place a piece of tape over the back of the display and it cut down most of the light.
Overall I am happy with this clock radio. The sound quality and digital tuner are great. It is just the little things that Sony needs to work on, but I would buy it again.

I suffered with this clock for a year because it was a gift and expensive. Even on the lowest setting the blue glow is so bright my finace says it looks like an alien spaceship is landing in the room. The sound is so-so and it has no battery backup, lose power for a second and you have to reset everthing. It is also very big, taking up 1/2 my nightstand. The final straw was that it has trouble tuning in even the strongest radio stations where I live. This morning I finally gave in, accepted reality and tossed it in the trash. I won't miss it at all.

I was very happy with this clock radio - the sound is great, the options for pre-sets are wonderful. However, if the power goes out, you loose EVERYTHING - the time, the radio presets and the alarms you've programmed. This is rather annoying & time consuming (as it's a bit complicated to reset these things) and there is no battery back up.

The CD sound from this compact unit is virtually unmatched. CD's sound magnificant. Unfortunately, the backlit display was bright enough to warn overhead air traffic to stay clear of my bedroom. The display is transparent and, as a reuslt, its light shines through the front and the back of the unit. Even on the lowest setting my bedroom was significantly illuminated. Sony should have included a hood to put over the unit at night, or perhaps a black-out mask for your eyes. If you intend to use this in your bedroom, forget it. Otherwise, it would make a great appliance for another room in your house.

Sound is bright and crisp. Pulls in weak FM signals and by using mono switch the sound becomes much cleaner. Problems are numerous: Cannot easily read the display, have to turn on room light to make adjustments, too easy to hit wrong buttons, has no batter back-up, the constant back light is a bit disturbing. I am really disappointed and am about to return it for refund.

Too many disadvantages:
1. No battery backup
2. Even on the brightest setting the clock are barely visible from the distance.
3. You'd be expecting better sound from this unit. It's acceptable with the radio, but CD sound quality is extremely poor.
4. etc.

This radio is very sleek, has pretty good sound and some useful features. However, as an bedroom clock it fails pretty badly. I bought this as a replacement for an older Sony Dream Machine clock radio and I loved the looks of it. Once I got it out of the box though, its appeal started to slip. The non-detachable power supply is gigantic which makes plugging and routing a hassle.
As for the 'bedroom' features, there are some serious issues. First off, the backlit display has three settings, the lowest of which is still much too bright for a dark sleeping room. The numerals on the display are difficult to read at night, even at the brightest setting. The back of the backlit display is also translucent, allowing an incredible amount of light to leak out.
The nap feature allows you to set the clock to alarm in a set period of time, handy for, obviously, naps.
The sleep function is nice of course except if you are trying to listen to a CD to go to sleep. The CD mechanism is VERY loud when skipping tracks or, as the case when using 'sleep', resetting to the beginning after playing. So, you have the sleep set for 30 minutes, are sound asleep as it decreases the volume to zero at the end of the sleep timer then GRINDS LOUDLY when shutting off the CD. This brought me wide awake the first night I used it. Hint: Use the sleep feature only with the radio.

All in all, pretty disappointing for the price. I am returning mine for something different.

To sum up:
Too bright
Too many sound and usage issues
Not good as a bedroom clock.

Caveat:
This would be great for an office or other room where no sleeping occurs.

Seriously. This is a great alarm clock. It has great features and is clearly well thought through. I absolutely loved the features. It is very, very easy to use. HOWEVER, the lowest setting for the LCD display is very bright. We had to put a towel over the clock so that we could sleep at night. It glows a pretty white/blue that is very much like sleeping under a full moon. We returned the item. I have not found a system I like better, but the brightness is a killer.

Please - make it stop. Even on the dim setting, the display from this clock radio lights up the entire room. I can make shadow pupets on the wall (seriously). I got a sunburn sleeping next to it (that one was a joke).

Everything else about this CD alarm is wonderful. It sounds and works great! But don't try to sleep in the same room with it!