Alarm - AM - MPN: ICFCD843V
Strengths: Great sound for classical wake-up music.
Weakness: No battery back-up, but the settings hold for at least a momentary outage, not fully tested yet.
Great quality sound for classical wake-up music on a clock radio/CD player. I have shopped around looking for both good reception (under poor conditions) and excellent sound quality, this gem fits both needs. The unit is rather ugly but provides me with all that I was looking for in a bedside situation. There is a sensitive wire antenna which most clock/radios do not have. It fills all my personal criteria, I don't need all the bells and whistles this unit offers (but nice to have just in case) nor do I need other features! I bought this at a local store, tested all the similiar types of radios for reception, this was the only one that had any sort of reception for my favorite classical station!! A true winner !!
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TopStrengths: Sony, Nice Sound, Digital Tuner
Weakness: Radio has no auto seek.
Radio doesn't have auto seek. Otherwise, the radio/cd function as one would expect. The lcd is difficult to read from certain angles, but the unit as a whole is worth it. Another quality product from Sony. I would buy it again.
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abc27400
- Dec 10, 2007
Strengths: Great features and sound quality. Easy to use.
Weakness: Bulky; Some buttons are hard to read.
I ordered this product because I wanted an alarm clock that I could wake up to a CD. Not only does it let me wake up to a CD and choose any specific track to wake up to, but has the ability to wake up to any radio station or a basic alarm tone.
In addition, sound quality is great. This product is easy to learn and use and is worth the purchase.
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TopStrengths: Presets, Digital Tuner, Nap timer, plays all CD's, excellent reception, EASY TO USE
Weakness: No battery backup means you have to reset everything. A bit bigger tahn ideal for me.
I needed a new radio for the bathroom (not an alarm clock) and this seemed too good to pass up. The digital tuner is very important to me, as most cheaper alarm type radios seem to have those knob tuners still. The nap button was a great new feature to me, like a reverse snooze button. Surprisingly excellent radio reception!! regarding the poor viewing angles - I really don't have that complaint at all. Especially if you intend to use this as an alarm clock, I don't see that as a problem - better than one that's display is TOO bright!
The only downside to this radio I have found is the lack of battery backup. But this made me realize how great the features on the radio are, so not a complaint necessarily. With frequent power surges, I have grown accustom to having to reset the clocks. But with all the little features and presets, it becomes a slight pain in the rear. Simply taped a piece of paper under the radio with what stations all my presets were, and not a big deal anymore. If I had this on a nightstand, I would simply plug it into a UPS and there would be no "battery backup" problem...
Lastly, this unit replaces a very small radio, so this is a bit bigger than ideal - just a personal preference. I would buy this again ten times out of ten.
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TopStrengths: Compact radio clock with good sound, digital tuning, cd player, nap and sleep features, pretty decent reception
Weakness: Boxy look, hard to see LCD in dim light, no battery backup, could look a little nicer
I was looking for a very good clock radio with cd player for a place with not too good reception. It seems like many clock radios out there are vary basic and not well designed. I have always been happy with SONY portable radios and their sound quality is above average. My requirements were: audible clock, cd player, digital tuner (who wants to keep programming stations!?), cd player, sleep timer. The nap timers are a plus. The radio is compact to fit on a night table but that makes it very boxy. The LCD screen is sometimes hard to read in dim light. It would be nice to have the battery backup since we live in an area with overhead power lines where we get surges and may lose power for a little bit in a storm and its a pain to reprogran. Design could also be better for this price point but overall a very solid radio and cd player. I am happy with this purchase.
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TopStrengths: Compact, CD Player with lots of alarm options
Weakness: Sound quality and No battery backup for an alarm clock
I purchased this item to put in my home office as I wanted a small radio with CD player. I have used these units in high-end hotel rooms and thought the sound was above average. After purchasing this unit I proceeded to purchase a different unit with better quality sound.
Being advertised as an alarm clock radio with CD, I am very disappointed that this unit does not have battery backup.
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TopStrengths: Great Sound with Bass; Sleep and Nap Functions
Weakness: Price
I purchased a second unit for my second child after being pleased with the performance of the first unit after a year of use. It has great sound with bass for a mid-range clock radio. It's no match for a full sized receiver but nice for a small unit which doesn't take much space.
I especially like the sleep and nap features to use as timers. Sleep will shut-off the unit including CD player after the chosen delay. Nap will sound an alarm after the chosen delay has expired. Both features are helpful at bedtime to limit CD listening or reading time.
The unit is more expensive than most clock radios with a CD player but has better sound and features. The weather radio is a nice extra. We don't use the TV tuner. AM and FM work well.
It's a great unit for basic listening with stereo sound.
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TopStrengths: Sony, good looking, digital tuner, good sound
Weakness: no battery
The is a good player which is capable of playing radio, cds, and is not bad. Ordered this online and the picture online made it seems small but it was bigger than I expected it to be. Has lcd screen.
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TopStrengths: Large screen, quality CD player
Weakness: None so far
We bought two of these clock radios with CD players for our young sons' rooms. They are replacing two Disney CD players that were pure junk. So far these have been extremely reliable and the CD player has worked with every CD we have put in there including burned CDs. At this point we couldn't be happier with this product.
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Good sound, but some drawbacks
Strengths: Good sound, good price
Weakness: Difficult to read the face, no battery backup
This is a nice little clock radio that also plays a CD. The sound is great from such a small box and the reception in my fringe area is very good. There are lots of station presets available for quick access to favorite stations.
One weaknesses is the clock/radio face is impossible to read unless you are looking straight at it. Move off to an angle of about 30 degrees or more and you just can read it. That's the nature of LCD screens. I think they would have done better to use LEDs for this.
The other weakness is lack of a battery backup. Loose power for more than a few seconds and you have to reset and reprogram all the features. That's a pain in a rural area with frequent short power interruptions.
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