Clock-Radio Reviews

It took three attempts to finally receive a unit with a working CD player. Never before have I had to go to a third shipment to have a working product. Furthermore, their customer service department had a "so what" attitude. Keep sending them back and we'll keep shipping out product till you get lucky. Absolutely no consideration for the time and effort expended to deal with the hassle of unpacking, testing, repacking and sending back multiple defective units.

Bottom line: Go with anything else.

Purchased my first unit and was forced to exchange it due to a defective speaker...
Despite all the hype surrounding this unit, I found it to be a huge disappointment. The unit suffers from a number of engineering flaws, the most frustrating being a CD track search that will only scan in 13-second increments (did it on both units) AND that remains muted during the search.
FM reception is extremely erratic particularly in urban areas, changing drastically from day to night, and seeming to only receive powerhouse FM broadcasters, poor selectivity and lots of images rendering it useless for lower-powered local stations; the use of the power cord as the FM antenna is a huge design flaw. AM reception is also poor due to the lack of a ferrite rod antenna, this unit again relying on the power cord for reception. Sound quality is quite nice for the size.
Overall a huge disappointment, needs to go back to the drawing board. Buy a Tivoli Model Two and plug in an external CD/MP3 player, comparable or cheaper in price, outstanding sound and solid radio reception.

Just received this unit, on the whole it is quite nice. However, I also have a Bose Wave Radio CD and I must admit that the Bose edges out the Cambridge when you put them side by side. The Cambridge may be able to put out more volume but for total sound quality the Bose still gets my nod. The Cambridge offers more features than the Bose unit and costs substantially less, and if you can't play the Bose right next to it you may never know the difference, unfortunately, now I do....

I love the basic features of the unit...touch screen is easy to use and works well, small size.

Problems:

*Gentle-wake isn't, really. Volume starts at 10, which is slightly loud for me, and moves to 25 in about 20 seconds. Too fast, too loud.

*Speaker defect - HEAVY distortion under volume level 18. I'm not looking for super-high-quality sound from an alarm clock, but I often don't recognize songs that I know well because the speakers are vibrating so badly, especially on the left side. Has to be a defect in the unit, although other reviews lead me to believe that it was a common defect in this model.

Will try another unit to see if the speakers are acceptable.

This is the best radio ever made!!!!!! The dual 2" speakers are trash, yes trash, but hear me out. The headphone inputs can be attached to computer speakers and they are simply the sweetest sounding house pounding mofo to hit my neighborhood. CRYSTAL CLEAR. I have a logitech Z-560 4 chanel THX surround sound hooked up to this baby and with its 8" sub it is insane! Its my Clock Radio! my cdplayer! my Radio! and when the alarm goes off it starts up slowly until it gets to medium level. I can wake up to a cd and its extremely easy to do so also. Its freekin sweet looking too. The touch screen face changes its buttons for each mode, and when you press a button it will get bright and wait a second, then sloly get dim again. So when you want to change something its bright but then fades so your not looking at headlights trying to sleep. It has DIGITAL scanning, A very powerful and clear reception, and setting the alarms I can do blindfolded. The alarm is one of my favorite features. It has a seperate smaller clock that tells you exactly when the next alarm is. There is no way you will ever mis-set this clock. Even if you set it to CD, and when it goes off and you dont have a CD in it, it automatically switches to buzzer! Idiot proof! Also there is a seperate button to push that will reset the alarm for the next day in one button, I love that. I used to miss classes because i would forget to reset it some mornings. Now that I have sold all of my other audio equipment, I dont know what I would do with out this little thing. Buy some computer speakers! It's freekin awesome!

Well, I read and read reviews here. Looked at many web sites, multiple models and brands, but kept coming back to this one. This is one awesome machine. I'm surprised why so many people complain. If it's deffective - one thing, but sound, functions and features are very good. Display is superb. Touch screen - awsome. Sound very good, far better than Sony dream machine. Keep in mind - this is an alarm clock not a full size stereo. Even Bose one in the store didn't seem to sound better. And at x10 the price? 2 alarms are great. Fact that u see the next alarm setting while in a clock mode - brilliant. Very easy to set and adjust. Some say that it doesn't play CD-Rs - not true. I burn CDs using several programs and each one works on this cd player. No problem at all. No skipping, no noise. I wish it had a remote, a battery back up, and repeat function for CD, but can't have it all. But compared to what else is out there - it's the best IMO. So, I'm very happy with this purchase. And it looks very modern and stylish, unlike most other alarm clocks. Screen brightness when low - no problem to sleep at all. It's right next to my bed. Gentle wake - while u can't pre set levels - starts very low and goes all the way up, but gradually, so it's pretty "gentle". So, I'd say - if u like the way it looks on a picture - get it. Or at least go play with it at the local store - I think you'll love it.

This radio looks good and makes an interesting conversation piece. It's fun to use and appears to be well built. If you mostly listen to AM radio the sound quality is about as good as you'll find on other radios. I wouldn't rely on this radio for serious shortwave listening, but it does have some pulling power. However, it's impossible to tell the exact dial location of the station you're listening to from the analog dial. My biggest disappointment: the quality of FM sound. This is not a radio to listen to music on. Also, while it has a CD input jack on the back, you will be very disappointed if you think you're going to get anything more than mediocre sound. It's unforuntate that such cheap speakers were used. Bottom line: If you find this radio on sale and you're looking for a nice, retro conversation piece, grab it. At full price, go get a good shortwave radio.

Hello everyone its Vince the radio man. I have been a buff and collector for many years and I love to do compares . Its was very interesting to see the great variation of ratings on this radio from you folks out there . As I read them I understood and related to all of them . Depending how you use this radio it good be a 1 or a 5 . It is an authentic looking "retro" radio that is pretty well made . The wood cabinet and the gold paint trim are done very nicely . The sound quality is typical of what a '50s radio sounded like ...not great bass nor high highs but a punchy mid-range . This radio does have some very good features and I have gotten unbelievable performance out of mine. First off ( and this will sound a little silly) it has a ground screw . Very valuable if you know how to properly ground a radio. This will greatly increase your reception on AM and SW . I have DXed Europe and Asia on AM!!! on this radio with a Terk AM advantage antenna and a nice ground . You must also connect an RCA cable to the Aux. inputs and complete the ground by connecting the cable to a receiver or tape deck that is plugged into the AC .True its analog , but you can get ( sometimes better) performance from and analog tuner that isn't weighed down with those overly clean filters that the digital radios have . It also has an aux. in to use the system from another source , nice . Yes , mostly its a show piece, but if used correctly and if you buy the newer model that has the built in fine tuning ...you'll be very surprised as to what this thing can do . Buy it if you are a collector or want something unique .

I think there are TWO things to keep in mind when purchasing one of these:

1.) There are two versions of this radio, one that was "the 960 classic". Identified by it's extremely dark finish and a horizontal list of small boxes with counries listed in them just below the FM scale. Another couple of ways to tell edition one from the second edition is the side speaker grills on version one is divided in four sections (on the Second edition has only three sections). The function keys (FM,AM,SW...) on the Second editions are much taller then on the first.

WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT??? The second edition has much better attention (and quality control) on the tuning section. Over all it's better performing product.

With that said that brings me to my second point (I take it you're really interested if you've read this far!!!)

2.) I own both editions of the "Classic 960" and enjoy both. I think (by reading the other reviews) some folks expect a bit much from this radio IT IS NOT A WATKINS JOHNSON 8718 SHORTWAVE RECEIVER!!! NOR IS IT A McIntosh STEREO SYSTEM!!!

Again with that said it is solid on AM/FM and Shortwave if setup properly (A.K.A. like ALL radios it needs a GOOD antenna).

My point in closing is this; this radio can be had for less then $150.00 for the money it looks, sounds and performs very respectable. If you expect more than that you will not be happy. However if you keep your expectations realistic you will enjoy this fine little radio.

I bought this clock radio for the large display (nice) and supposedly good reception. The reception is awful, and I cannot tune into two of my favorite stations, which my husband is able to get on his bedside radio. I have tried everything: moving the radio, placing it on a stack of books, gentley moving the tuner. Nothing works. I do not recommend this radio.

After much searching and one return, I settled on this model.

Good points include the dual time dual mode alarms, lock out clock settings, (very handy among curious toddlers--can't reset), nap alarms, and especially the forward and reverse time set keys.

Agree that the shortfalls of this unit are the stiffness of the rotary radio controls, and the FM tuner. Like the other person, I can't get two of my favorite stations, that my wife can get on her clock radio, but can get on the radio (also an old GE) in the bathroom. Also there is bleed over from some of the stronger stations across the lower half of the FM band. And the AM is really hard to tune, even on some local stations. Oddly enough, I returned a digital tuner radio with the same problem, not to mention a wimpy chirping alarm; although the AM tuner on that modlel was superb.

Fortunately, it does get the stations (3 out of 5) I like in the morning, so I can live with that. I'm puzzled that my wife has three radios with good tuners; yet I get ones with the bleed over problems.

At least it wakes me up in the morning and so far the alarm (which is what clock radios are designed to do) works well.

An average (mediochre for the radio, excellent for the alarm system) of 4 stars.

This clock radio was a recent purchase to replace my failing Panasonic model. I have not always had good luck with small GE appliances and electronics, but this item is an exception.

The large 1.4" green clock display is easy to read even without my glasses, at least while in bed. The auto-dimmer keeps the display at a comfortable brightness level and does not disturb me at night. The dual-alarms can both be set to alarm or music wake-up. The alarm tone is not the typical harsh, want-to-kill-that-clock sound, but a fairly reasonable beeping. It starts off at a reasonable volume and gradually gets louder. Turning off the alarm, using the On/Off button, resets it to go off the following day at the programmed time. The Snooze feature is a large button in the front-middle top of the clock that is easy to operate. It defaults to 9 minutes, but you can change that from 1 minute up to I believe 15 minutes or more. The Nap feature is essentially a third, short term alarm that you can set for up to two hours from the time you engage it. It's useful for naps, of course, and even as a reminder alarm. The Sleep feature allows you to fall asleep to music and is adjustable from 1 to 59 minutes. It does not interfere with the alarm settings.

I found all the controls easy to operate, except for the rotary tuner dial, which was a bit stiff. The controls are fairly intuitive, and after reviewing the manual once, I had no problem operating the available functions.

The AM radio tuner is typical for these units-nothing to brag about. The FM tuner, with built-in AFC, works fairly well. The mono speaker is located in the back of the unit. Volume was adequate, and the sound quality acceptable for such a unit.

All in all, I have to say I am very satisfied with this purchase.

I bought this as a gift for my dad for Christmas. I read the other negative reviews here and a warning flag went up. But I was foolish enough to still buy it because there were a couple of good reviews. Well don't make my mistake. Heed my warning and don't buy this piece of junk.

It is impossible to read the time on the display. My poor dad spent two hours reading through the manual and fiddling with contrast settings and brightness to see if there was any way to salvage my gift. He even tried going to ConAir's site to see if there were further suggestions to adjust the display. But it was no use. It is poorly engineered. Even in a room with the curtains drawn, I couldn't read the clock from seven feet away and I have 20/20 vision. The display is not the LED type, but like a digital watch. How ConAir could ever design a product with such great potential and then so thoroughly ruin it because of a horrible time display is beyond me.

Furthermore the poor engineering extended to the battery cover. How could I put the battery in, if the the battery cover couldn't be opened?

Now I have the hassle of buying a box to ship this back to Amazon with shipping paid by yours truly. Arrgh! Don't waste your time with this product. Heed my warning, or you too will be sitting like me in a month venting your frustration by writing a negative review.

It is certain that CID500 does bring a lot of advantages while using the multi-funtional phone. I can use a telephone to listen to music, as it provides CD player. It is amazing that there are radio, clock and cd player exsisting in a featured phone. Moreover, the price of CID500 is quite reasonable, since it has so many functions, which you cannot find in other phones. Thus, you should buy it!

This is really a *4* star product for the money, but I'm giving it *5* stars because I feel the overall average has been unfairly dragged down by users who refused to read the manual and/or those who could use a new pair of glasses!

I'm an audiophile of many years experience with home and car stereos. For a combination clock radio/cd/telephone, your options are this product or the Zenith Z828B.

First let me settle the LED Display issue. Viewing the display at night is *NOT* a problem. Not only is there a high/low brightness switch, but there are also *5* levels of contrast settings (which you probably wouldn't discover unless you read the manual). The entire display itself can also be adjusted to 4 different viewing angles. The display is only slightly difficult to read if you have not adjusted things properly. As a sleeper who prefers complete darkness at night, I will admit, the display is a little bright for me, even on the low brightness setting. However, I intend to add an on/off switch for the backlight! :)

As for the rest of this unit, the phone, caller id, digital tuner & alarm clock function well. Programming is not so difficult as one reviewer had mentioned.

Bonus Features: 1) Automatic time counter for length of phone conversations. 2) Auto-mute of cd/radio upon answering a phone call. 3) Random play and programmable song order on CD player. 4) Headphone jack can be used for hookup to powered speakers or as in input to additional stereo equipment. 5) Call-back button works well with the included Caller-ID. 6) Sleep mode includes a 'loudness' setting if you prefer to fall asleep to a softer volume and wake to a louder volume.

Weak points: 1) Only some of the lighted dial buttons are lit well, the rest are dim. 2) Does not have the ability to display caller ID on call-waiting. 3) This is more of a personal preference, but the "up" buttons for volume/presets/tuning presets are on the left and "down" buttons are on the right--Would have been nicer if it was reversed.

Overall, I feel this is a good buy for the money! The phone reception is clear and the CD player and tuner are decent for the price. I would not recommend it as a replacement for a primary household CD stereo. But it is great way to save space on your night table and wake up to music of your choice!

I made the mistake of purchasing this clock.
The times are hard to set. The alarm is easy but gives you no option for CD except on one alarm.
The nature sounds are the worst I have ever heard.
The radio reception is lousy. I can't even get local stations with the antenna that I can get on a cheap boom box!
The Indiglo night light burnt out right after the 30 day warrenty expired! So now the clock is totally unreadable at night in the dark. I contacted the manufacturer who said I could mail it in at my expense with a check for very high repair charges and shipping and handling fees. They also said that might not even be enough and they would contact me put put the difference if needed on a credit card before they would ship my clock back. I threw out the piece of junk and lost my money before I would spend another penny on this piece of----.
Timex may make great watches that take a licking and keep on ticking but their clocks dont tick, light or work for longer than 30 days!

Save money and frustration and buy a dirrent brand!

The sound quality of the CD and radio is pretty good, but the nature sounds are almost comical, not relaxing at all (other than the "wind" setting). The buzzer alarm only works if you do not have a CD in the holder. Also, the digital display is AWFUL! You need to above the unit to see the time, so if you look at the display while lying on your bed, the numbers are invisible (there is no contrast setting, only brightness).

This could be a really good product but it falls short in a few basic ways that just seem like sloppy designing. How hard could it have been to include a Buzzer alarm option separate from the CD? How about checking the angle for display readability while reclining in bed? Did anyone listen to these nature sounds before they installed them, did they think that annoying seagull in the Ocean selection was relaxing, or the goofy cricket sounds were realistic? I really liked the range of features this unit has, so I can still give it three stars, but I am really tempted to return this thing.

I like a clock radio that can awaken me to either the radio or a CD. I like digital tuning and presets on a radio. I like dual wake times for weekdays and weekends so that I can set them and forget them. I like a display that can be dimmed to a low backlight. These features are available on this product. But in spite of these features, there could be more flexibility. For example, you cannot set more than one alarm for a specific media type (CD, radio, buzzer, or nature sounds). So if you want the CD to play at 8 AM on weekends and 6 AM on weekdays, you are out of luck. The nature sounds are artificial and irritating, and are a useless feature to me. The buzzer and CD share the same alarm, so if you want the buzzer you must remove the CD.

Programming the times and other settings is not intuitive since there are many buttons and they often have multiple functions. Therefore I need to have the manual nearby every time I have to change a setting. I have had this unit for about a year now, and I have had no problems with its performance. The case has a small footprint, so it doesn't take up much space on the nightstand. If you like the feature set on this product, then I recommend it to you as a reliable clock radio. But if you question the feature limitations, I suggest you shop around to see if other products now available might have more flexibility.

Eileen Rieback

I think the nature sounds are sad. The loop of the bird calls is about two seconds long. If you like to listen to the same shrill whistle fine. The fidelity is really bad. The ocean waves, I think it is ocean waves, are more like static waves. Like a transformer is about to blow. Not very restful, although you can use it to wake up to. The radio, as someone mentionned, is something you'd get as a toy in a fast food promotion about fifteen years ago. The body of the thing has buttons everywhere. So it is not that easy to figure out what you have to do to have a simple alarm. The package came from Amazon as a pre used product and two of the three batteries were gone and the one that was in the box was still in the machine and had been drained. This ranks up there as the worse purchase I have made on Amazon. On the bright side, the design does look cool with the clock illuminated very nicely.

I've only had it for a week, but I LOVE my new clock. I love its retro styling, which fits in wonderfully with the decor of our bedroom, and I love the fact that it combines an analog and digital clock into one.

Easy to learn to use, easy to get going, etc. Great alarm, which grows louder the longer you wait to turn it off, etc. The only drawback I found was that it took me until last night to figure out how to get the clock's internal light to turn down so it didn't blind me in the night.

Forget the naysayers, enjoy this clock!

This alarm clock has a brilliant feature that should have been standard years ago: the ability to set or disable different timed alarms for weekdays or weekends. The "fall asleep" ocean/woods sounds are just a bit too repeptious, but the gradually louder chamber-bells-wake-up sound is the best I've ever heard. The buttons are not that intuitive at first, but after a couple days I didn't find it harder than any other digital alarm clock. The lighted digital display and analog face can be set to low or bright light, and battery back-up allows me to sleep without the fear and worry of not being woken in time. I would definitely make this purchase again.

Pro: It sounds ok. This price isn't the shafting *I* got when I bought mine! It allows you to set the volume of the alarm and can increase it from silent to blasting you out of bed. Worth keeping it despite below

Con: The digital tuning is easy to use but sometimes you don't HAVE 30 radio stations in your area to program. But you still have 30 settings to scroll through. Not a great design, but at least it works like it's supposed to. As opposed to the dim, dimmer, dimmest blue backlighting. Mine is out now. You can only see the display looking down on this very tall radio, anyway.

If you buy this, don't forget to buy a separate alarm clock so you can find the time. (Pssst...don't let it be a Philips. Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice...)

As an alarm clock/clock radio, the unit leaves a little to be desired. The other reviewers are spot-on regarding the brightness of the displau, the fact that it washes out at eye-level, etc.

However, if you're looking for a stereo for an area where space is a premium (Kitchen, nursery, etc.) this is a good little unit. (The clock is fine as a room clock... Oddly it's at it's worst in the position you'd expect to use it as an alarm clock: eye-level!)

The sound is adequate, as good as can be expected from a unit this size. The digital tuning on the radio is a nice feature.

Would definitely buy again as a super-compact stereo -- Would probably avoid it as an alarm clock.

Great sound & features. It just needs bass & treble controls.

It's compact, looks good and sounds good (that's one star.) I have it for less than 30 days. However, the CD doesn't work now. The alarm doesn't work properly. Don't buy this junk!

I also had trouble with the CD stopping in the middle of songs and not starting again. Also, sometimes, it wouldn't even start the CD. This happened and I exchanged the unit for another and it happened on the second unit as well. The digital tuning on the radio was terrible, too. I bought a Sony Psyc with an analog radio and I love it. Way better than this RCA which was more expensive than the Sony.

I have an old Sony "Dream Machine" that needs replacing. I thought this RCA would do the trick. Wrong! The AM radio reception is the worst I have ever had in a radio. I live in San Diego so signal should be no issue. My Sony picks up LA stations with no problem. Also the sound is more like a tiny screach coming from a tin can. Another thing is that the little buttons are in the front. Try laying in bed and pushing one. The stupid thing has to be held with one hand while fumbleing with the buttons so it won't fall off my table. Back it goes and the search is on..

After only several months, the CD player just stopped working. The radio and clock work OK now, but I was very disappointed in the early failure of the CD player. Unless RCA has done an upgrade that consumers can be aware of, I would stay away from this product.

I had the same experience as Wichita Falls, TX. The unit looks great and worked well but after about a month the CD player just died. That was last year. Since I haven't replaced it yet (for my desk at work) I thought I'd try again. Hopefully the CD issue (if there is one) has because corrected and my replacement unit will work as well as it looks.

I bought it to wake from CD, but when it activates, the CD mechanism makes an ungodly racket cueing to the track it's going to play.
End result: I woke to grinding CD-mechanism noises, not great music. Toss this puppy in the trash.

Other than that (fatal) flaw, the unit rocks. Everything is easy to use and intuitive, clearly labelled and very functional.
I thought the sound was great for an alarm clock.

Battery backup works well to preserve your settings but you should know it won't operate the unit. When the power goes out, the unit shuts down, just like everything else in your house. When the power comes back, you have a fully functional clock with the correct time already set and all your alarms, etc still there.
I didn't realize that when I bought the unit, and I think I'd rather have it require more batteries so that the unit will remain operational (for perhaps a day, and then switch to "save settings only" mode if the power remains off) -- that way, you won't miss your train the next morning if the power goes out in the middle of the night, and when you get home from work, you can get out your old wind-up alarm clock until the power comes back...