Clock Reviews

I got this clock as a present a few days ago. It still hasn't managed to set itself despite many attempts both outside and inside. I just spoke with a friend who has Oregon Scientific's radio controlled clock and is very happy with it. I definitely wouldn't recommend it.

I am very disappointed in this product. I wish I did not wait so long and I wish I were still able to send it back.
The product is very difficult to use without a manual because the the buttons are very poorly labled. You would think that by now it would be a breeze to set an alarm clock wich has only time/day and alarm as its functions not so. There are 4 buttons, none of them is labled hour or minute or alarm. They are labled "mode", "set", "adjust", "receive". What does that mean? It turns out that it is very simple to adjust the alarm once you have the manual, you just have to memorize all the counterintuitive names.

Also, note that the alarm clock does not set itself right immediately after you put the battery in. It sets itself right of it is volition after a while. Sometimes the time lag before it sets itself right is hours. There is way to set the time manually in the meanwhile but you don't want to attempt that unless you have memorized the manual.
This is a MAJOR darwback, if you travel often and you have to take off the battery when you put the alarm clock in the suitcase.

I am really befuddled by the fact that with all the alarm clocks around that are labled clearly enough to be set without the manual, this one isn't. And I am no technofobe. I am one of those guys that like to learn about all the advance options in its computer.

I ordered this as a birthday gift for my mom. She works over night on the weekends, and she takes a clock to wake her up. So, I thought, this would be perfect. It works very well, and it is so simple. Just pop in a battery, and wait a few seconds, and the time goes to the correct time. However, if like me you do not live on the west coast, you will have to follow the instructions for setting your time-zone. Overall, this is FANTASTIC product.

First of all, the nature sounds are awful! They repeat much too quickly so you'll be hearing the pattern in a minute or so. And the CD player has been touchy since the beginning. Now it doesn't work at all!! I contacted Timex...the only way to get it fixed it to mail to them with a check for $30. Forget it. Find a better one. Stay away from Timex.

This is a cheesy clock. While I like nature sounds to sleep to, this clock has a loop that is so short it drives you nuts as you listen to the same cricket or frog hiccup endlessly. Random sounds, guys, random. This is just plain awful. And it looks chintzy, too. Skip this one.

The other 4 reviewers must be those same people that still haven't figured out how to program their VCR. My only complaint is that the Indiglo display is difficult to read when the dimmer is turned down at night. It has a decent sound from the radio and my family actually likes the Nature Sounds (when turned down low). I wouldn't pay $149 for it but at < $70 it's a good buy.

I attended a Cancer relay and one of the gifts given to Cancer Survivors was a "Salton Wet Tunes" shower radio. Turning on the radio took a good 1-2 minutes and if you were not careful, it would turn off. After one week, it would not turn on at all. I know the batteries are good, because the clock works. When, and I use that word very sparingly, it worked the reception was so poor I could hardly hear with the volumn up high. I was extremely dissapointed in the product. I'm happy I didn't purchase the product. Having said that, I'm sure the group that put together the relay will not request that paticuliar product again. One would think a manufacture would donate a product that is workable because, what better "free" advertisment could one get? This advertisment for "Wet Tunes", went south. This product, "Salton Wet Tunes" is in the trash.
I hope no one else purchases one.

I purchased the radio/cd model. It will not get through an entire CD without the batteries going dead. I contacted Salon-Maxim customer service and was told this was "completely normal","CD player uses a lot of power", "use rechargeable batteries", and "sorry... nothing I can do for you". He also suggested I use an ac/dc adapter (IN THE SHOWER) !!
I do not recommend this product.

This product is certainly not for anyone looking for quality sound. Reception is poor, and the tuner is difficult to work with. However, I suppose you could expect as much from a shower radio, and the radio's durabilty and true water resistance almost make up for its shortcomings.

I have the same comment as those before me - what good is an alarm clock without a battery back-up? Sony seems to be a little out of touch - I can't believe they'd even bother to manufacturer this product without that feature.

It appears this radio does not have any type of power backup for the clock and alarm which, in my opinion, makes it useless. Also, according to the Sony web site this product has been discontinued. Maybe there's a connection there.

I like the styling and features of this radio, but there is one feature that I am concerned about. Most clock radios have battery back up in case the power goes out. I do not see this feature. Does it have battery back up? If so, how long does it hold the time, 20 minutes or for several hours. I am thinking of purchasing this item. This will be the deciding feature. Thank You

Navigating through AIWA's customer service is almost as bad as dealing with the IRS. It makes their warranty practically worthless.

In my experience, the AIWA products I've owned (one shelf system, and one portable tape player) have functionally lasted about a year or less. Save yourself some money (and more importantly the headache of dealing with their customer service) and buy a Sony or a Pioneer (anything else).

The AIWA FR-A200 AM/FM Clock Radio works about as one would expect a low-end clock radio to work (if its music you are after there are better radios in the $60.00 range, but for news and early morning traffic reports who needs fine reproduction). The controls are fairly easy to get used to, although the "Sleep" button is sometimes a little difficult to locate in the dark. The "Snooze" button is a snap to find. The only drawback of this Clock Radio is that the green luminous numbers on the clock are VERY bright and may keep light sleepers awake. The light from the radio might fool you into thinking dawn has come earlier than expected. Otherwise I have no problems with this machine.

Thought this was a semi-stylish unit that had the dual alarm and backup features that I wanted, however, I soon found out that the radio had stopped working and so had to use the regular alarm. This has to be the world's most annoying sound since Jim Carrey screeched in "Dumb and Dumber". The Beep, Beep, Beep gets louder and louder until the entire neighborhood is waking up with you! In addition, the clock sometimes decides to just shut down for awhile until it feels like waking up. Please stay away from this product!

I like the auto set time feature but think the alarm could be louder. It starts off quite low but will increase in volume as you let it go. I guess for some that might be a cool feature but not for me.

Bought this for my daughter who really wanted to listen to 1560 AM and various FM stations. AM reception very poor especially in the car. FM reception is sporadic. Had to return it. Still looking for something that will work that is reasonably priced.

The only thing I wasn't pleased with, is the quality of the sound. There were stations you could tell should have been clear, but for some reason, either the reception was bad or there was something wrong with the headphone jack. I'm not sure which. And I can't stand to listen to things that are not clear. It's a pet peeve. Perhaps some people don't have a problem with it, which is totally understandable. I guess it's more of a personal opinion.

After some searching, I determined that this product was exactly what we needed for a CD alarm clock because it has:

1) dual alarms, both which can use a CD
2) a remote (so you don't have to get out of bed to turn it off or snooze)
3) battery backup (so you don't lose your settings when you lose power)

When we got it, we discovered 3 nasty drawbacks that basically make it unuseable as a CD alarm clock.

1) CD mechanism is so *unbelievably* loud that you don't wake to the music of your choice, you wake to a grinding humm as the CD spins up for 10 seconds before the music comes on.

2) No numerical volume level. When you change the volume for music during the day, you have to guess by ear to change it back to the best volume for wake-up.

3) The CD spins but does not play during snooze. So you don't actually snooze, you listen to the grinding humm described above.

If you don't want to use it as a CD alarm clock, I guess it's ok, but pretty expensive, compared to other non-CD alarm clocks.

I'm returning it.

btw - if anyone knows of an MP3 alarm clock, which would completely solve the noise problem, I'd love to hear about it.

I had high hopes that this clock raido would be in the tradition of the RCA name. I was wrong. One of the few remote controlled clock radio/CD players on the market under $300.00. This clock has a mind of its own! I think RCA put too much brain in this one because after a few minutes of operation of the CD function, the whole thing will "lock-down". Nothing one does can stop the music or anything else for that matter. One must unplug it in order to shut-off the alarm in the morning. The flimsy, tiny, tiny buttons are just that. One gets the feeling the whole thing could break at any moment. He suddenly realises it already has! (Argh)

this clock looks pretty cool but the quality needs to be improved. it's absolutely not worth of $$.
i bought one with an AC adapter last year which cost me $$ more. i like the LCD to constantly show the time at night so i didn't care the extra $$.
it took a long time to receive the radio signal from Coloroda. but it was pretty easy setting the calendar, date, day, time and alarm. i was very happy about it until this February. the LCD suddenly went partially blank. i wouldn't even guess what time it was showing. i thought the batteries ran out so i replaced with a new pair. yet it still couldn't display the time properly and the LCD turned totally blank in a day.

i would say the products from sharper image are pretty cool but the quality needs to be improved. it's too expensive for a try.
i bought one of this clocks with AC adapter last year, which is $$ more than the one without an adapter. but i like the LCD to constantly show the time, so i didn't care about the extra $$.
it took a long time(2 days) to receive the radio signal for display from Coloroda. but it was fairly easy to set the calendar, day, date,time and the alarm. the alarm was working fine too. i was pretty happy until this February. the LCD suddenly went partially blank. i couldn't even guess what time it was exactly showing. i thought the battery went dead so i replaced with a new pair. Yet it still couldn't display the time properly no matter how i adjusted it. finally it just turned totally blank the next day.

When I first installed this item we were very happy with it. However, after playing 5 cds, it stopped working. We took it back to the dealer who sent it in and 2 months later, I installed it again. After one cd, the cd player quit again. Now its back to the dealer and another long wait.

I used to trust Sony quality, but I don't anymore!

I would have given this radio zero stars except that was not a choice. I, like the other reviewer, thinks this is the worst radio you could possibly buy. Every feature on the radio works great except the radio itself, which by the way is the main feature I bought it for. I even called Sony customer service, but all they said was to return it if dissatified. If there was at least an option to add an external antenna, that might help, but there is not, and no way to even hook one up if you had one. Please don't waste your money!!!

I bought this for my mom for christmas two years ago...we've had no problems w/ it at all...of course we live in a suburb of Chicago..so radio reception is rarely an issue..but if you do too, feel free...

it's got pretty good sound and controls too!