Clock radios have tended to be the most reliable of electronic devices in my life. Until a few weeks ago I had possessed just two. The first was a repurposed micro hi-fi system, which set the bar high for sound quality in subsequent clock radios. It was abandoned when the alarm setting button stopped responding, and was replaced with a high-end (for a student) Akai clock radio, the CR 5000.Last month the Akai started playing subtle tricks on me, such as gaining one hour during the course of a night, leading me to prepare for work an hour early. Over the following nights it got worse, sometimes gaining one hour per hour and going off at 4am instead of 9am. It also started to refuse to be turned on manually, so it had to go.
I naively assumed that the march of technology would have brought costs down and increased features in the world of clock radios in the ten years or so since I bought the Akai. It cost $50 or $60, so I was expecting to find something for a similar price but perhaps with digital tuning. What I found was a disappointingly bland collection of identically-styled 80's-fashioned clock radios from the major brands, a more interesting variety from the no-names, and far above my price range were the quality devices.
My requirements for a satisfactory clock radio are basically a description of the Akai's features:
- AM/FM radio
- two alarms
- wake to radio or alarm
- progressively increasing volume of alarm (Akai called this their Progressive Audio System and Sangean call it a Humane Waking System). Rather than having a heart-attack each morning the alarm gets incorporated into your dreams until it attains a volume to wake you. The steadily increasing volume makes it impossible to ignore for long.
- Easy-to-read digital clock, visible day and night from across the room, and with auto-dimming so it doesn't light up the whole room at night
- Decent speaker(s), avoiding the tinny sound from tiny speakers
- Non-hideous (ie. vaguely modern) design
For the princely sum of $30 I came up with the (superseded, but available at Dick Smith) Philips AJ3225. Its single speaker is a bit too small and tinny (which is not unexpected given its output power of 100mW versus the Akai's 2 x 1W speakers), and the rotary tuning is nigh-on impossible to read. It also lacks an auto-dimmer and progressive alarm.
The Philips lacks the size and weight of the Akai, and has lower sound quality because of it. It also has smaller, more inconveniently located buttons, which is important for dopey morning pressers.In my research I found that manufacturers have been moving on to clock radios incorporating iPod docks. These tend to have good speakers. However, they often lack AM radios, and also use backlit LCD displays rather than LEDs. Although this may be good for displaying iPod information it makes the clock difficult to read at night or from a distance. Perhaps LEDs are just too old-fashioned. All of these notes apply well to the TDK iCubic. I liked the TDK's design so much that I would have happily ignored the clock legibility issues, but the lack of AM made it useless to me.
I also liked the OLED display and mirror finish of the Philips AJ3230, but the upright design would get too easily knocked over in my slumber, and its speaker again has too little power. The Philips iPod docks have the power, but lack AM.
Perhaps DAB+ will become popular in Australia. Then I would move on from AM, manufacturers would move on from FM, and together we would find the ultimate clock radio.