Clock Reviews

This system is WAY too expensive. I considered buying one until i actually heard it.
There is NO BASS!!! So you have to buy a subwoofer if you want good sound from it.
If you add it up(400 for the stereo, 300 for a decent subwoofer) 700 BUCKS!

I like the overall looks of my stereo, very cool!!!!!!!! For how my parents spent on it, $399.00 ouch! But it's on Ebay for less, but it's worth the money. Plays mp3's so I have music for hours.

Having read the reviews below, I feel compelled to set the record straight.

First, the speakers DO produce bass. It's not the overwhelming blowout hip hop concert kind, but it's bass nonetheless. If you want spine-tingling lows, get a more expensive system -- or one with a subwoofer. Or, better yet, adjust the bass on this system up a step or two. I'm pretty picky when it comes to audio (I also own a pair of B&Ws) and I'm pleased with the overall sound from these speakers.

Second, the system really does look great. One reviewer said it's impossible to turn off the display light. That's not true. Hold down the power button, and the display light turns off completely. Five stars for looks.

The features are great too. I wont go into too much detail here; you can read about that stuff online. I personally like the gradually increasing volume on the alarm (which will wake you up to your favorite CD).

Finally, my complaint: the remote control, which you WILL use, just sucks. It is not backlit, and its shape is such that you have no way of telling which buttons you're hitting in the dark (the buttons are indistinguishable from one another by feel). Result: it's really hard to use the remote at night in bed. This is an example of design run amok.

Otherwise I'm happy with the thing.

This system is WAY too expensive. I considered buying one until i actually heard it.
There is NO BASS!!! So you have to buy a subwoofer if you want good sound from it.
If you add it up(400 for the stereo, 300 for a decent subwoofer) 700 BUCKS!

I like the overall looks of my stereo, very cool!!!!!!!! For how my parents spent on it, $399.00 ouch! But it's on Ebay for less, but it's worth the money. Plays mp3's so I have music for hours.

Having read the reviews below, I feel compelled to set the record straight.

First, the speakers DO produce bass. It's not the overwhelming blowout hip hop concert kind, but it's bass nonetheless. If you want spine-tingling lows, get a more expensive system -- or one with a subwoofer. Or, better yet, adjust the bass on this system up a step or two. I'm pretty picky when it comes to audio (I also own a pair of B&Ws) and I'm pleased with the overall sound from these speakers.

Second, the system really does look great. One reviewer said it's impossible to turn off the display light. That's not true. Hold down the power button, and the display light turns off completely. Five stars for looks.

The features are great too. I wont go into too much detail here; you can read about that stuff online. I personally like the gradually increasing volume on the alarm (which will wake you up to your favorite CD).

Finally, my complaint: the remote control, which you WILL use, just sucks. It is not backlit, and its shape is such that you have no way of telling which buttons you're hitting in the dark (the buttons are indistinguishable from one another by feel). Result: it's really hard to use the remote at night in bed. This is an example of design run amok.

Otherwise I'm happy with the thing.

This system is WAY too expensive. I considered buying one until i actually heard it.
There is NO BASS!!! So you have to buy a subwoofer if you want good sound from it.
If you add it up(400 for the stereo, 300 for a decent subwoofer) 700 BUCKS!

I like the overall looks of my stereo, very cool!!!!!!!! For how my parents spent on it, $399.00 ouch! But it's on Ebay for less, but it's worth the money. Plays mp3's so I have music for hours.

Having read the reviews below, I feel compelled to set the record straight.

First, the speakers DO produce bass. It's not the overwhelming blowout hip hop concert kind, but it's bass nonetheless. If you want spine-tingling lows, get a more expensive system -- or one with a subwoofer. Or, better yet, adjust the bass on this system up a step or two. I'm pretty picky when it comes to audio (I also own a pair of B&Ws) and I'm pleased with the overall sound from these speakers.

Second, the system really does look great. One reviewer said it's impossible to turn off the display light. That's not true. Hold down the power button, and the display light turns off completely. Five stars for looks.

The features are great too. I wont go into too much detail here; you can read about that stuff online. I personally like the gradually increasing volume on the alarm (which will wake you up to your favorite CD).

Finally, my complaint: the remote control, which you WILL use, just sucks. It is not backlit, and its shape is such that you have no way of telling which buttons you're hitting in the dark (the buttons are indistinguishable from one another by feel). Result: it's really hard to use the remote at night in bed. This is an example of design run amok.

Otherwise I'm happy with the thing.

Nice shape and size. The speaker grill looks cool. But the CD player is the worst I have used.

Does not play audio CD-Rs that even my 5 year old boombox plays effortlessly. With regular CDs the delay before the first song comes on is longer than most other CD players - upwards of 10 seconds. Occasionally fails to play even regular CDs on the first try. No sleep timer for CD.

Looks like Sony slapped a mediocre CD player on to an otherwise good clock radio. BTW the clock supports 'World Time' but only as an offset to 'Local Time' in multiples of whole hours - it should have supported offsets in multiples of half-hour.

pro - compact; light weight; reasonably sound quality con - no universal a/c adaptor for travel; no carrying case; no cd sleep mode

This is a good choice for an office radio because: a) the small size makes it easy lock in a drawer each night; b) it has an antenna that extends or retracts; c) it has digital tuning (and mega-bass); d) it can play very softly or pretty loudly; e) I can hit the stop button quickly.

Among the drawbacks are: a) the controls are not quick to find (for example: I always have to look for the CD play mode button) and not the easiest to understand; b) the high price - I think you pay for the Sony brand and the lightweight size.

Perhaps it's because I'm on the East Coast and the NIST transmitter is in Colorado. I could only rarely get any decent reception for the clock. Forget about having the clock in the same room as the computer or TV. It won't work. The instructions say that the best reception is at night, yet the instruction/spec sheet says it automatically checks for the time signal at 12pm...that's right folks at NOON! It didn't work for me and so I returned it. I'm going to look for an AM radio that receives in the range of 5,000 to 25,000khz (shortwave). The NIST transmitter broadcasts in that range at every 5,000khz.

This clock works great for me; the time is accurate and the signal reception is good (in Cupertino, CA). As a clock it is troublefree. As an alarm it's not so great; the buttons are really clunky and require a lot of force to operate, except for the set button in back which is way too easy to press when picking up the clock. There are dual alarms, each using a simple loud beep that beeps faster until you turn it off. Amazingly, there is no snooze function. My clock arrived with two AA batteries ("not included") already installed; perhaps it was a return unit - but it seems to be in new condition.

I've been using this clock for over a year now. It sits right on my kitchen table, and I must say I actually feel affection for this thing (though that may have something to do with its having been right there in the delivery room when my daughter was born at 10:23 p.m. on...). Reception was great everywhere I tried it, but it works best as a sort of "absolute reality check" whenever I'm getting ready to head out to the bus stop, etc. Setting the alarms, the one time I did that, was a little confusing. But mostly I'm just happy to have a clock that simply and reliably tells me the time, the date, and exhibits its soothing curves all day long. It travels well--and I haven't had to change the battery yet!

Perhaps it's because I'm on the East Coast and the NIST transmitter is in Colorado. I could only rarely get any decent reception for the clock. Forget about having the clock in the same room as the computer or TV. It won't work. The instructions say that the best reception is at night, yet the instruction/spec sheet says it automatically checks for the time signal at 12pm...that's right folks at NOON! It didn't work for me and so I returned it. I'm going to look for an AM radio that receives in the range of 5,000 to 25,000khz (shortwave). The NIST transmitter broadcasts in that range at every 5,000khz.

This clock works great for me; the time is accurate and the signal reception is good (in Cupertino, CA). As a clock it is troublefree. As an alarm it's not so great; the buttons are really clunky and require a lot of force to operate, except for the set button in back which is way too easy to press when picking up the clock. There are dual alarms, each using a simple loud beep that beeps faster until you turn it off. Amazingly, there is no snooze function. My clock arrived with two AA batteries ("not included") already installed; perhaps it was a return unit - but it seems to be in new condition.

I've been using this clock for over a year now. It sits right on my kitchen table, and I must say I actually feel affection for this thing (though that may have something to do with its having been right there in the delivery room when my daughter was born at 10:23 p.m. on...). Reception was great everywhere I tried it, but it works best as a sort of "absolute reality check" whenever I'm getting ready to head out to the bus stop, etc. Setting the alarms, the one time I did that, was a little confusing. But mostly I'm just happy to have a clock that simply and reliably tells me the time, the date, and exhibits its soothing curves all day long. It travels well--and I haven't had to change the battery yet!

Very hard to set up. Unit would respone some of the time. Never got remote temp. Buttons worked some of the time This unit never would seek time standard. Returned unit to store.

I decided to list the pros and cons first for those that want the short and sweet.

Pros: Projection display works well even at max distance. Able to rotate the projection. Able to choose what is projected (Time, Remote Temp, or Both). Impressed with accuracy of remote temperature. Able to receive info from remote sensor even through several walls.

Cons: Too light. Main base unit could be a bit larger. Awkward initial setup. Bracket for remote sensor needs improvement. Alarm could be louder.

This is a nice little unit. The picture and measurements are a bit deceiving as they give the size of the entire unit including the projector - the 'main' part of the base is a bit smaller than I expected. Still, the item works well and I was quite impressed with the projector, although the documentation states it will project 3-6 feet, in a test I was able to project across the room (about 10ft) with no problem. You can also rotate the projected display in 90 degree increments, which is nice.

I was quite impressed with the range and accuracy of the remote temperature sensor, I have it about 30ft away, through 3 interior walls and one exterior wall. As for temperature accuracy, I live about a mile from where one of the local TV stations has a remote weather monitoring site and can pull up their real time info - this unit comes very close to what they report. Getting the temperature to report for the first time is a bit of a pain, it does not actively look for the remote sensor... you must make sure the main unit is unplugged and has no batteries - then install batteries in the remote sensor - then supply the main unit with power. To me this went against my 'hook it up and play' demeanor.

The backlit display could stay on a bit longer - but as long as you are actively pressing buttons (such as setting the alarm) it will stay lit. I like the adjustable snooze - up to 59 minutes - and you don't have to remember to turn the alarm on every night, just press any button (other than snooze) and the alarm silences, but remains set for the next day. The alarm is easy to set, but the volume could be louder - if you need a marching band to wake up to, this is NOT for you.

There are some design flaws I found frustrating. The unit is very light weight.... too light. This causes it to move around slightly, so the projection is never in the exact same spot. Even the weight of the power cord will cause the unit to move. The base could be made heavier. And don't expect to be able to press buttons on it without having it move around.

The power cord awkwardly plugs into the unit, and is almost impossible to remove without tweezers.

I was very disappointed in the mounting bracket for the remote sensor. You can adhere the bracket with either the supplied double sided tape or supplied screws. I wanted to go the screw route, however the screws are so small - it is impossible to screw them into a wall. They are about the size of eyeglass screws - only longer. With my precession screwdriver I wasn't able to get enough torque on the screw to get it to go in the wall. I then tried small nails, but the holes in the bracket are too close to the rim, so with a hammer you cant get a clean strike.

All in all I like and would recommend it, the functionality is impressive, the design is not.

I never use the radio on my old alarm clock, but wanted one with two alarms like mine had. I decided to give the projector unit a shot, since it's nice to be able to not have to twist around to see the time in the middle of the night.
The unit is great - nice, compact, and unlike most of my other alarms I've ever had, I don't have to turn the alarm off in the morning. You can program the snooze to simply turn it off when it goes off, but leave the alarm on so it'll go off next time in 24 hours. No more trying to remember to set the alarm at night.
The projection will work well at night, when there's no light, but I was disappointed with it because it only has a focal range of between 3 and 6 feet. I had been hoping to project it onto my ceiling. I have to settle for one of the projections on our wall. But it's still functional at that point, so I'm content. I wish there was a way to set the clock display to be backlit all the time, but you can't. It'll only light up when you hit a button, and then for just 2 seconds. Not a big issue since there's the display projected at night, but when you want to see something else, like the alarm, or the temp, you can only see it for a couple seconds after hitting the buttons.
All in all a good unit though, despite the small shortcomings.

I bought this clock for the projection feature, but was pretty dismayed to find that the projection is so faint, that the room needs to be in pitch darkness in order to see the time. Since our blinds let in some light, by 6:30 AM, it is almost impossible to see the time.

Also, the "Radio Controlled" atomic clock setting doesn't seem to be received in NYC. It just shows the "No Reception" symbol, so you have to set the time yourself. So much for the "ExactSet" functionality...

And, oddly enough, the images show the clock as being black, but the one I received is silver.

Very sleek looking clock but a few problems: The LED display on the face is not very bright and very difficult to see during the daytime (at night it is impossible to see the time unless you click the button to light it up for a few seconds), it is too easy to turn the alarm on/off by mistake since the buttons are flat.As mentioned in another review, you can project the time (in red digits) but only on the ceiling. On the wall, the time is displayed backwards. One thing I like about the clock is the alarm. It is a loud beep that goes off in intervals (the beeps move closer together until it goes off completely) ...Overall, I think it is a very nice-looking clock that works adequately.

I purchased this clock for my visually impaired father. We both like gadgets and this was intriguing with its ability to receive short wave time broadcasts from the National Institute of Standards atomic clock in Boulder. It set its own time after a few minutes of operation.

He finds it difficult to use: if he picks it up he's apt to turn on the alarm function by mistake. This was waking him up nightly at 12AM until he put it in another room.

The projected time is only visible in a darkened room on the ceiling. I thought it might be able to project onto the wall behind the clock, reasonably close, and be visible during daylight. It does this, however the projected time is upside down. The designers intended for it to project on the ceiling.

The projected time, in red block digits, is bright enough and large enough for him to see at night on the ceiling.

This is the second Oregon Scientific product I have purchased. They build in high quality with innovative features. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this for its intended use. However if I were to purchase another clock from OS, it would be without the projection feature.

I have a couple complaints about this clock. I am a very light sleeper. I set the alarm to turn the radio on at a very low volume. However, there is a VERY loud internal switch that clicks just as the radio/alarm is being turned on. For me, it's like being awakened by someone slamming an encyclopedia on a tile floor. I actually contacted RCA's customer service about this. They told me "that's just the way it is". My second coplaint is about the large display. It has a dim control, but even on the low setting, it is way too bright. If you're a sound sleeper who doesn't mind having a bright light shining on your face, it could be the clock for you.

Though some reviewers had problems with this clock, I liked it. It works as advertized, and the numbers are easy to read, and in a pleasing color. The brightest setting is a little too bright , but at the dimmer setting, the numbers are readable without being overpowering. It's a good deal for the price.

I have this clock and it works great. I can see the time from 3 rooms away. The other guy who's clock broke must've got BCA brand from Chinatown.

This is a cute little clock that is easy to set. The radio controls are easy to use, but the near station rejection is so poor that a single strong signal takes over nearly the entire FM tuning range. My old (circa 1966)analog tuned clock radio works much better.

This radio does have ecectronic tuning, but adjacent stations easily override the tuner circuit. It is a cute little clock, but not what I needed.

A nice clock overall, but a little expensive. Lacks a back-up battery and has too many buttons to make it easy to turn on and off without looking at the clock directly. Better choices for the money.