Sony ICF-C255RC Clock Radio

I spent more time than any sane person probably should to find a clock radio to replace the one I've had for 20+ years. But I'm very satisfied with my purchase. I had three primary criteria in looking for a replacement - styling, auto time set, and digital tuning. I got all of this plus a product that is very easy to use. Since my husband and I are retired, it was not particularly important to have many alarm options. This Sony product does have dual alarms. One alarm can be set to a radio station (either AM or FM), and the other alarm is a buzzer. The buzzer ramps up in volume and speed. You can choose to set none, either, or both alarms. The alarm indicators are back lit on the alarm dial rather than on the face of the clock. I find that it is much easier to see if the alarm is set and which alarms are set. Some consumers may find that 3 choices for alarm settings are not sufficient for their personal tastes since there is no CD or nature sounds available on this radio.

The auto time set works very well. We've already experienced one lengthy power outage since we made the purchase. The time automatically reset within 10 minutes of when power returned. There is no battery backup so you do have to reset the alarm times and the radio presets. A possible disadvantage for some buyers is the 'extra' cord and small external device that picks up the time signal. The con is that the mechanism isn't built into the radio. The pro is that with an external device you can move the device, not the radio, around to get ensure that the signal can be received to set the time.

I particularly like the color used for the time and alarm functions. It's a soft, backlit orange. I wear glasses, and I find that this color is much easier to see in the dark without having to put my glasses on. There is a switch to let you increase or decrease the intensity of the display. The low setting is more than sufficient to see at night without feeling like you have a nightlight on in the room.

All of the dials and buttons used to set the radio and alarms are easy to use and fairly self-explanatory. I did refer to the instructions when I first got the product to make sure I was doing the auto time set correctly. The snooze bar is nice because you can tap it muliple times. Each tap will give you an additional 8 minutes of snooze up to one hour. While I have smaller hands, the setup buttons and dials are adequately sized for larger hands.

I am particularly pleased with the styling. The radio is actually smaller than I expected it to be. It doesn't take up a lot of space on a side table. I was a little concerned that the silver color would look too modern in our bedroom, but I feel comfortable saying that the style should work for just about any decor. I looked at several other brands which offered auto time set. In most cases, I thought the styling was more funky than I wanted.

The sound is probably average or a bit above average. It's not stereo, but it's not tinny either. Since I don't spend a lot of time listening to the radio in my bedroom (especially when I have a Denon stereo in my den), great sound wasn't important to me. It's more than adequate as an alarm or for drifting off to sleep.

For a complete list of features, read the Specs on Eopinion or the Sony website. They are accurate and not overstated.