Review on ⏰ Sony ICFC414 Clock Radio - Limited Availability, Perfect for Home and Office Use by Kristi Green

I've been looking for a replacement for my old clock radio for a long time. My old clock radio had very large numbers and two alarms, two features I consider essential, but this radio hummed louder than the transmitter. This is the first replacement I've found at a reasonable price. He arrived today. After trying all the functions, I am very satisfied. First the cons. The sound of the radio is what you would expect from a small speaker. Not something you would buy to listen to music. The brightest green display setting isn't as bright as I would like for distance daytime viewing. At the brightest of the three settings, it becomes legible at around 20 feet, so this probably won't be an issue for most people. (Interestingly, I've seen a number of negative reviews about the display being too bright.) Radio reception isn't great (especially FM for me), but I live in an area with poor reception. The instructions state that the cable is an FM antenna and that placing the unit horizontally can improve AM reception, but none of that worked for me. Finally, I would have preferred the buzzer to have a volume control so I could turn it up really loud. After unpacking, I deliberately tried to use the features without reading the manual. Everything I tried was intuitive and well laid out. However, reading the instructions provided more information and more options than I expected. For example, you can press the snooze button to see the date on the display. One of the things that bothered me a bit was that one review said that because the alarm control is on top, it's easy to change the time without knowing it. I found this place convenient and it seems very unlikely that I would have any issues with randomly changing my wake up time. Setting the alarm is very easy, with good feedback on the display to make sure you're getting it right. For example, the alarm time is displayed not only when you set it, but also when you move the alarm on/off slider. There is a light that indicates whether each alarm is on or not. Another feature I like is the battery backup system. It uses a CR2032 battery and has a low battery indicator on the display. In the event of a power outage (and the battery is still good), the clock works with smart settings to keep the clock and alarm running, and to notify you when the power goes out. The repeat and sleep functions allow you to choose different times. The snooze button can be pressed multiple times to repeat 10 to 60 minutes in 10 minute intervals. The sleep button can be pressed multiple times during 90, 60, 30 or 15 minutes of radio playback. Several surprises. The volume slider only controls the volume of the radio, not the volume of the buzzer or melody, which you can't change (so you can wake up to a buzzer but fall asleep to a quiet radio I think). Although the device is described on Revain as an "automatic timer," that's an exaggeration. Not to be confused with radio clocks, which set themselves. Instead, the time is simply preset at the factory, so the included backup battery will keep it going until you plug it in for the first time. You can then use the time zone button to adjust the hour to your time zone. You can also set the time manually. If the backup battery fails and the clock is not connected to the mains, you will have to set the time yourself. It features automatic daylight saving time compensation, which can also be turned off. Only the first alarm can be set to radio and only the second alarm can be set to a melody (both alarms can sound). Melody "Spring" from "The Seasons" by Vivaldi. This clock radio does everything I need and does it in a simple and easy to use way. For the price I paid ($19.95 for Revain), this is a steal. Of course, I haven't used it to wake myself up yet, so I'm guessing Sony's buzzer volume setting will work (that's my guess, but others have complained about it). If not I will update this review. Of course I could always use a radio with a volume control instead of a buzzer.