225 of 225 people found the following review helpful:
Almost perfect
My now-ancient Philips CD clock radio let me down, so I decided it was time to upgrade with more-modern technology. I still wanted to wake to CD sound rather than a radio station or normal alarm sounds, and after a short search, I found this Sony. It has some features that I really appreciate, which make this clock intuitive and useful. Specifically ...
92 of 95 people found the following review helpful:
Great Features -- Cut Corners
I hated to return this radio. It has some fantastic features. This is the clock radio I want. Except it's cheaply made is some areas that turn the best clock radio on the planet into an epic fail.
The good. The features are great. Dual alarms. Nice sound. An excellent strategy for the backlight (the plague of modern clock radios) which lets you change it very...
This review is from: Sony ICF-CD7000BLK AM/FM Stereo CD Clock Radio (Electronics)
My now-ancient Philips CD clock radio let me down, so I decided it was time to upgrade with more-modern technology. I still wanted to wake to CD sound rather than a radio station or normal alarm sounds, and after a short search, I found this Sony. It has some features that I really appreciate, which make this clock intuitive and useful. Specifically ...
1) There is a perpetual clock built in, so that after a power failure the clock has the correct time. My old clock had a 9V battery to keep the clock circuit energized, but it always ran fast (really fast) and needed to be reset after the power returned. This one works really well.
2) The CD track selection works every time. My older clock seemed to have a "mind of its own" when I set the wake-up track. I resigned to just letting it go on track 1, which would reliably repeat; just pick a CD with an acceptable first track. This Sony clock wakes me on whatever track I set it to every time.
3) The second alarm is a nice feature. I can easily set it to one of two different wake-up times with the press of a button (really it is two buttons). The out-going Philips clock had a more-arcane method of setting a second wake-up time. I don't think that I ever mastered it.
4) The sound quality is more than adequate. What I would expect out of the tiny 2-in speakers seems to be surpassed. Perhaps it is my imagination.
5) The generously sized snooze bar is easy to find in the morning. Although my Philips clock had a proximity sensor to detect my approaching hand, it seemed to have a very narrow field of regard, and I often had to wave my hand numerous times to get the alarm to stop. This Sony clock has the snooze bar located just above the table surface, so a groggy sliding hand can find it easily.
6) The addition of two alarm times on the main display help in seeing that the alarm is set and to what time. No button pushes are required to read the alarm time.
7) Oh yeah ... it is a pretty cool-looking clock with an easily loaded CD.
Now for the not-so-good part...
This clock uses blue LCD backlighting, which is very bright in a dark room, even at its lowest setting. It is so bright that I had to cover over the display to prevent it from lighting up my room. I found that cutting out a 2.5 x 5 piece of card stock makes a suitable display cover that prevents the night-time light pollution, but you also lose the time on the display. It works out OK in my bedroom, because we have a second perpetual-time clock with a less-obtrusive red LED display.
Overall, I would still give this clock a high mark, and I am happy using it. I would expect that someone with more light seeping in at night might not have the same objection to the display brightness that I have. Selectable display colors, where red is a choice, might be a solution for me.
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This review is from: Sony ICF-CD7000BLK AM/FM Stereo CD Clock Radio (Electronics)
I hated to return this radio. It has some fantastic features. This is the clock radio I want. Except it's cheaply made is some areas that turn the best clock radio on the planet into an epic fail.
The good. The features are great. Dual alarms. Nice sound. An excellent strategy for the backlight (the plague of modern clock radios) which lets you change it very easily from the snooze bar. Dual alarms. Even a battery backup!
The bad? An incredibly cheap radio tuner that couldn't even bring in a local station with a transmitter 8 miles from our home. My requirements on a clock radio are pretty minimal, but hearing my Morning Edition is one of them. The CD player also seems cheaply made and when we went to sleep to it, we woke up in the middle of the night to the click click click sound of the CD transport. While the snooze bar was a wonderful and functional large bar that doubles to easily turn down the backlight, to actually turn off the alarm requires accessing a fairly small button on the side. Our nightstand is a bit above the level of the bed and the display is only visible from straight on or above.
As I said, on paper this is everything I could have asked for, but it had a couple of problems that left us not only dissatisfied, but returning it.
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This review is from: Sony ICF-CD7000BLK AM/FM Stereo CD Clock Radio (Electronics)
When the CD player failed on my old Timex (Piece of junk) unit I began the search for a new one with the features I wanted. This item fit the bill 99%.
It features great sound with the little conveniences I wanted.
I wanted a unit that played my homemade CDs- check.
I wanted duel alarms- check.
The light from it can't be too bright- check.
A sleep feature is necessary- check.
A nap alarm would be nice- check.
Nature sounds as well- Nope. That is the one thing I didn't get.
I have had the unit for over a week now, the alarm requires a bit of getting use to with the insistent beep-beep that gets louder and louder, but it will do. I go to sleep to music on the 90 minute sleep setting and not having to change the alarms for a nap is nice. I love the way you touch the snooze bar and the light dims and then with a second touch, goes off. If it lasts well I will be overjoyed with the choice.
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This review is from: Sony ICF-CD7000BLK AM/FM Stereo CD Clock Radio (Electronics)
This Sony Dream Machine CD/Alarm Clock is by far the best available anywhere at any price. I replaced my aging Sony Dream Machine (10 years old) with this one. Not at all disappointed. It's very easy to program, sounds good for 2 small stereo speakers in an alarm clock! The ice blue luminecence of the alarm clock is awesome. You can set it to Bright, Dim or Off. The LCD display is very clear, large and easy to read in all lighting. Very easy to turn off either of the dual alarms, when you don't have to get up in the morning! Awaken to alarm (which starts out soft and gets louder) or your favorite radio station (excellant FM reception by the way, not too many alarm clocks can say that!) or wake up to your favorite CD track! All very well thought out and easy to program. This alarm clock is idiot proof. Take this Sony out of the box, plug it in and the correct time is automaticly displayed. Eastern Standard time is the default. Those in other time zones just have to push a small button on the side (hidden from main buttons so you won't push it by accident) keep pushing button until your correct time zone PST, MST, etc. comes up on the display and you're done. The correct time! Note, you can also easily set it manually if you prefer. The lithium battery back-up should last 10 years. Another plus, not having to worry if the power goes out. Sony pretty much thought of everything on this CD/Alarm Clock. I've had mine for 3 months now. And I can't really think of anything I would change on it or anything extra I would add to it. Simply put, as perfect as you can get. Just like most anything Sony makes. Looking forward to using this for 10 years! By the way my nephew is using my old Sony Dream Machine, it's still working perfectly! You have to buy this Sony Dream Machine, yeah it's pricey but remember these days YOU GET WHAT YOU PAID FOR!
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This review is from: Sony ICF-CD7000BLK AM/FM Stereo CD Clock Radio (Electronics)
I purchased this radio when a previous Sony radio died on me. My criteria were: a clock radio with digital tuning, preferably from a name manufacturor. Digital tuning proved to be the difficult criterion (why are people still making radios with vernier dials, anyway?)
Pros: I agree with the previous reviews - it was simple to set up. The factory set time was off by a couple of minutes, so I reset it. Since then, it has kept perfect time. I like the battery backup, we had a four-hour power outage not long after I bought it, and it kept time and all of the settings.
Cons: I agree with the previous review - there are blue lights behind all of the buttons (12 of them!) You can dim them, but the clock backlighting is connected to the same switch, so then you can't read the clock. I suppose it could serve as a nightlight, but I'm glad I don't have it in my bedroom.
Unexpected Pro: FM reception is really good - I am directly behind a tall hill, and I get beautiful quality on stations that the previous Sony only got as static.
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This review is from: Sony ICF-CD7000BLK AM/FM Stereo CD Clock Radio (Electronics)
Very nice alarm clock. I'm glad I believed the high ratings.
I assume the white model has the same features, but mine is the black one. Here's my review:
Good:
- Both alarms can be set to wake to radio (or both to CD, or one of each)
- Can set different volumes for each alarm, and both can be different from main volume.
- Alarm time (including AM/PM) is displayed in the corner whenever alarm is set to on. One glance at bedtime tells me both alarms on and are set correctly.
- Sound is very good for the size.
- FM Reception is great where we live.
- LED backlight has three settings: High, Low, and Off. With it off, it's a little hard to see the time at night. We leave ours on low which is about as bright as a normal LED nightlite.
Bad:
- If both alarms are set to radio, they have to be on same station (not a big deal to me)
- Can't wake to MP3 player
Overall, I highly recommed this!
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This review is from: Sony ICF-CD7000BLK AM/FM Stereo CD Clock Radio (Electronics)
I read some negative reviews of this product and am glad I didn't listen to them. this is a great little clock radio with great sound and a good alarm. the only thing I would love to have on it is an earphone jack. but, all in all, it is far superior to the one I had previously and I am glad to have purchased it.
As for the brightness of the display, the snooze bar allows you to adjust the brightness to a very low level; I don't know what people are talking about it being too bright. go for it if you want a nice clock radion with CD player and dual alarm.
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This review is from: Sony ICF-CD7000BLK AM/FM Stereo CD Clock Radio (Electronics)
I saw this clock in a boutique hotel and enjoyed listening to a CD before falling asleep, so I bought one for me. I've been very pleased with it. You can adjust the brightness by tapping the snooze bar. The bright setting is very bright and makes a great night-light. It's one of the few CD alarms with a back-up battery. The CD player works fine. My only complaints or changes I'd make is that you can't program the alarm to go off mon-Fri (or any group of days) like my old alarm clock, so if you forget to turn off the alarm Friday night, you might be waking up sooner than you want Saturday morning. Also, you can't adjust the brightness while the alarm is going off since if shares the snooze button. Still, I'd highly recommend this CD/alarm clock.
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This review is from: Sony ICF-CD7000BLK AM/FM Stereo CD Clock Radio (Electronics)
Overall this is a fairly nice unit however I found that sound quality to be fair at best and the radio reception is terrible. If you are planning to mostly listen to CD's or use it to play your MP3's then I would say it's a nice unit. If you plan on using it to listen to the radio, I would reccomend passing.
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This review is from: Sony ICF-CD7000BLK AM/FM Stereo CD Clock Radio (Electronics)
I like the features this offers, but once the alarm sounds, the button you need to press to turn the alarm off is not readily 'at your fingertips'.
If it's a dark room, you have to feel your way around for one of the smaller buttons on this unit to turn the alarm off - the snooze button is HUGE and easily found. It would be nice if the OFF button were just as easily found - otherwise, it's a pretty nice unit.
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