Emerson CKS3020 Clock Radio
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- Snooze Alarm: Yes
- Tuner Type: Analog Tuner
- Display: LED
- Dual Alarm: Yes
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Above Average But Short Life Expectancy
Pros
Readable Display, Radio Reception, Longevity
Cons
Stubborn buttons from the factory, sporadic alarms, volume control.
Recommended it?
Yes
The Bottom Line:
It is a pretty good clock radio if you can get past the quirks that separate the A's from the B's.
INTRODUCTION
Some people are very materialistic, no argument. I would not call myself one, but I do need to know the time, all the time. With that being said, I rely on my Emerson clock radio every single day. It wakes me up, I look at it more times in the course of the day than I do a mirroe, and it puts me to sleep at night.
I bought this clock mainly for the alarms. My last clock worked perfectly fine until the alarm function quit. When I say quit, I mean completely terminated itself. I am not hard on my clock radios; but if the alarm function completely ceases to work, I need to get a new one.
THE DISPLAY
MY RATING: 5/5. The display is very easy to read. The light blue color is easier on my eyes than my last clock (a Lennox) with green. I leave the brightness on the low setting (low or high). The low is perfect, but in a dark bedroom the bright is much too overpowering.
The blue dots for the alarm and AM indicator could be bigger. They are visible, but you must look to find them.
I like the day of the week indicator, but I think that instead of a lighted dot (red for weekday, green for weekend), there should just be a letter that lights up (S, M, T, W, R, F, or S).
TIME
MY RATING: 5/5. The time is pretty easy to set. All you need to do is hit the "Time" button and the up or down arrow. There is an indicator for AM and it has yet to lose time (this has been a problem on past clock radios). One feature that I LOVE about this product is that it keeps the time even if the power goes out!
NOTE: The buttons have to be pushed hard and this has been since day one.
ALARMS
MY RATING: 3/5. The alarms are easy enough to set, following the procedure above for setting the time. There are two alarms, and they can be individually set for a certain time or the radio, but it is important to note that if both use the radio method, you must use the same station for both. The alarm worked flawlessly for the first ten months of ownership, and now it works sporadically. One day a week (5 work days), it will not go off. I have actually set it and watched it NOT GO OFF. I have it set to a valid radio station (and LOUD!), the days are correct, and the alarm is actually on!
RADIO
MY RATING: 3/5. I think the radio has good reception; it is better than my previous radio. However, the station and volume controls are ENTIRELY too sensitive, and tuning the station can be tedious because the wheel must be in an exact spot.
I really like the "Sleep" Mode.
FINAL VERDICT
I have owned this clock radio for a year. I loved it up until I had the alarm issue at ten months. My last clock lasted me nearly three years before the alarm died. I think it is on its last legs. The clock is a great clock, it works and has a good radio, But, the alarm is enough of a compromise that may deter me from being a repeat customer.
UPDATE: November 27, 2010
About ten days after I had written this review, the alarm function decided it would work again, but only on Alarm #1. Alarm #2 will not work to this day and I do not know why.
The radio button is awkward; it must be slammed to work or pressed multiple times. The radio will turn itself on and off at random intervals, and this is not the alarm.
The volume control is nearly dead; the radio is either off or on full blast. The dial works just fine and spins as smoothly as it did when I first got it, but the volume will not adjust.
I have had this radio for two years. I would say I got prety good life out of it, but at the moment I don't know if I would purchase another one. Instead of giving four stars like I originally did, I now have to give it three stars given the aforementioned failures.
UPDATE: November 26, 2011
Believe it or not, the clock is still ticking! Alarm #1 seems to have permanently fixed itself and Alarm #2 is still dead.
The volume control is still funky, and the volume is still either on full blast, off, and sometimes, in a rare while, halfway.
The clock radio is still on its original battery, which is incredible! My favorite feature to this day is the "automatic reset" for power failures.
Let's see what another year brings!
Some people are very materialistic, no argument. I would not call myself one, but I do need to know the time, all the time. With that being said, I rely on my Emerson clock radio every single day. It wakes me up, I look at it more times in the course of the day than I do a mirroe, and it puts me to sleep at night.
I bought this clock mainly for the alarms. My last clock worked perfectly fine until the alarm function quit. When I say quit, I mean completely terminated itself. I am not hard on my clock radios; but if the alarm function completely ceases to work, I need to get a new one.
THE DISPLAY
MY RATING: 5/5. The display is very easy to read. The light blue color is easier on my eyes than my last clock (a Lennox) with green. I leave the brightness on the low setting (low or high). The low is perfect, but in a dark bedroom the bright is much too overpowering.
The blue dots for the alarm and AM indicator could be bigger. They are visible, but you must look to find them.
I like the day of the week indicator, but I think that instead of a lighted dot (red for weekday, green for weekend), there should just be a letter that lights up (S, M, T, W, R, F, or S).
TIME
MY RATING: 5/5. The time is pretty easy to set. All you need to do is hit the "Time" button and the up or down arrow. There is an indicator for AM and it has yet to lose time (this has been a problem on past clock radios). One feature that I LOVE about this product is that it keeps the time even if the power goes out!
NOTE: The buttons have to be pushed hard and this has been since day one.
ALARMS
MY RATING: 3/5. The alarms are easy enough to set, following the procedure above for setting the time. There are two alarms, and they can be individually set for a certain time or the radio, but it is important to note that if both use the radio method, you must use the same station for both. The alarm worked flawlessly for the first ten months of ownership, and now it works sporadically. One day a week (5 work days), it will not go off. I have actually set it and watched it NOT GO OFF. I have it set to a valid radio station (and LOUD!), the days are correct, and the alarm is actually on!
RADIO
MY RATING: 3/5. I think the radio has good reception; it is better than my previous radio. However, the station and volume controls are ENTIRELY too sensitive, and tuning the station can be tedious because the wheel must be in an exact spot.
I really like the "Sleep" Mode.
FINAL VERDICT
I have owned this clock radio for a year. I loved it up until I had the alarm issue at ten months. My last clock lasted me nearly three years before the alarm died. I think it is on its last legs. The clock is a great clock, it works and has a good radio, But, the alarm is enough of a compromise that may deter me from being a repeat customer.
UPDATE: November 27, 2010
About ten days after I had written this review, the alarm function decided it would work again, but only on Alarm #1. Alarm #2 will not work to this day and I do not know why.
The radio button is awkward; it must be slammed to work or pressed multiple times. The radio will turn itself on and off at random intervals, and this is not the alarm.
The volume control is nearly dead; the radio is either off or on full blast. The dial works just fine and spins as smoothly as it did when I first got it, but the volume will not adjust.
I have had this radio for two years. I would say I got prety good life out of it, but at the moment I don't know if I would purchase another one. Instead of giving four stars like I originally did, I now have to give it three stars given the aforementioned failures.
UPDATE: November 26, 2011
Believe it or not, the clock is still ticking! Alarm #1 seems to have permanently fixed itself and Alarm #2 is still dead.
The volume control is still funky, and the volume is still either on full blast, off, and sometimes, in a rare while, halfway.
The clock radio is still on its original battery, which is incredible! My favorite feature to this day is the "automatic reset" for power failures.
Let's see what another year brings!
