My trusty Panasonic clock radio, that I figured this morning I’ve had for 18 years, has finally fizzled out. The alarm that used to wake the dead is now just a sputtering crackle. Not enough to awaken a non-morning person like me, I’m afraid.
So I’m considering a Bose Acoustic Wave as a replacement. Anyone have experience with that or other brands that you like or should warn me of?
I know, I know. This is really stretching the mundane and pointless purpose of this forum. But, heck, I use the thing every day.
I’ve had a bedside alarm for 20+ years, but no radio. It’s in the guest room.
The bose probably has better sound than your average CR, but I’d ask if you’re really looking for good sound in a clock radio.
We just replaced the alarm clock in the main bedroom wtih the Sony Dream Machine. I like it except it only comes in blue display (which reminds me of a pit I’ve been thinking of). It’s got dual alarms and a radio.
The good thing is, you can set the alarm by moving forward and backward through time, instead of scrolling around 50 minutes to set the alarm 10 minutes earlier – like the one I just replaced. It’s kind of nice looking too.
I had a Panasonic alarm clock with no radio once. It fell under my pillow one night and I was awoken not by an alarm. Heat. Lots of heat. The bastard clock was trying to kill me. When I pulled it out from under the pillow it was all warped and melty from the heat that it was generating. I figure that it was about to light my head on fire. Thus, it must be posessed or evil or both. So I unleashed the “Hammer Of Justice” on it. Since the “Hammer Of Justice” is an actual hammer, that clock is no more.
So don’t get one of those. Go for the Bose. They do run about $200-300 if I remember correctly…
Yeah, I think I’ve changed my mind on the Bose after seeing the price. I had no idea they were that expensive. That Sony Dream Machine sounds cool … and being able to travel back in time is a real plus if I haven’t gotten enough sleep!
I have a Bose Wave and I wouldn’t recommend it as a clock radio because of the following:
The blue fluorescent display is very bright. Far too bright to sleep with and there is no way of dimming it. Ok, you can dim it by masking it with electrical tape, but then the remote doesn’t work very well. You’ll cuss at that for a while.
The buttons on the top are not laid out in a logical manner, and there is no easy way to tell which is which in the dark. Look at the photo - the dark button is the power button, but in a dark room it feels the same as the other buttons. You’ll be cussing at that longer than you think.
The power cord plugs into the back. That is, the cord is separate like the power cord to a computer, rather than permanently wired to the radio. But it’s not very secure, and moving the radio can cause the cord to come loose. Since there is not battery backup, you’ll have to reprogram the clock, the alarm, and all the radio presets. Yep, you’ll be cussing every time that happens.
For the money they charge, you shouldn’t have to put up with that. It’s a poor design, but you really can’t see the flaws until you live with it.
I have a Sony Dream Machine, which is radio-controlled so it is always correct to the second, which is handy. Only downside is the display is quite bright even on the dimmest setting. It doesn’t bother me, but it’s too bright for some.
I have a battery-operated alarm clock that goes beep beep beep…beep beep beep…beep beep beep. It’s a good thing I sleep lightly when I know it’s set or I’d sleep through it for sure.
I have a…hmmm… :dubious:…well I think that it is Pantasonic. Anyway, mine has a loud, annoying alarm, thermometer, and it has the date. Very useful for a nerd such as me. As, a blue light so you can check the time at night. Not that bright. Battery opporated, so you don’t have to deal with choards. No radio though. Still, great clock. I’ve had it for like 4 years I think. If I knew the name and if they still sold it, I would recommened it to you.
I prefer something a little bizarre to wake me up in the morning.
For a while, I had a Sanrio alarm clock shaped like My Melody. It had an analog clock face with a digital alarm. When the alarm went off, it would play a loud, somewhat off-key cheery little tune and then a child’s voice would say “Wake up!” It would repeat this over and over until the alarm button was pressed, at which time the voice would announce, “Good morning!” It was very annoying and never failed to wake me up. Unfortunately, when groping for the shutoff one morning, I knocked it over onto the floor and something inside broke - it never worked again.
I replaced it with a simple little imported all-digital cheapo. The alarm is a rooster crowing. This also wakes me up instantly.
I don’t really miss a clock radio. Music never really woke me up anyway.
Thanks for all the input. Especially about the drawbacks of the Bose.
I ended up buying a Sony Dream Machine. They must have different models 'cause mine doesn’t set itself like someone previously mentioned. But it sounds fine and seems pretty easy to operate. I put a jazz CD in last night and was asleep in no time. The alarm isn’t very loud. It woke me this morning but we’ll see if I get immune to it.
Maybe now we can let this extremely mundane topic die!
I have killed countless alarm clocks just by using them as alarm clocks… especially the snooze bar part of the alarm clock.
For some reason, if you sleep the sleep of the dead, and allow an alarm clock alarm to operate for hours every morning before finally turning it off, it will quickly destroy the alarm clock. Go figure.
So, my advice is, Hie Thee to WalMart or Target or SuperMegaUltra K-Mart or whatever, and try out every alarm clock.
Check for the following features:
Does the LED display dim when the alarm is making noise? Pass on that one. It will probably commit suicide before you do.
Are the controls laid out so that you can accidently turn off the alarm while groping for the snooze bar? Pass on those, too. Nothing sucks more than waking up two hours late for a final exam and discovering it was because the retard who designed the damn thing placed the freaking alarm set button right next to the snooze button?
Does the volume control also control the loudness of the alarm, not permitting you to fall asleep to music at a reasonable volume without making the alarm so hushed it’s useless? Yea, pass… Again. (retards)
Does the alarm go peep peep peep peep or Braaak Braaak Braaak Braak?
You know which one to get.
And actually, I’ve found that a computer in the bedroom can make for a good alarm clock – there are plenty of freeware alarm programs around, and --when combined with an MP3 collection by bands like Ministry, Hole, and Bob Dylan-- make oversleeping damn near impossible.
