Magnasonic Alarm Clock Radio with USB Charging for Smartphones & Tablets, Auto Dimming, Dual Gradual Wake Alarm, Battery Backup, Auto Time Set, Large 4.8" LED Display, FM (CR63)

This Radio has some nice features, and several drawbacks. It seems to suffer the fate of so many electronic devices these days, in that it offers a slew of technical features without much thought for how or if users will actually use them.One surprise when I received it was to find it had a 3’ FM antenna wire, in addition to the electrical cord. This isn’t shown in the pictures above and doesn’t improve the reception over internal antennas. I’ve owned several clock radios in my 60+ years, and they all had internal antennas. It’s a disadvantage IMO, and just more clutter on your nightstand.It has 20 preset stations (10AM, 10FM). In my opinion, this is overkill. This isn't your living room stereo (as the sound quality makes clear). Whether sleeping or waking, it’s more likely you’ll have one or two stations you like. Two to 4 presets would be sufficient. I'd prefer jazz or classical music to go to sleep by, and a news station to wake up to. It would be nice if you could program the sleep timer with one station, and the wake alarms to another, but that’s not an option. The station you go to sleep to is the one you wake up with.The sleep timer gives you 4 options for the length of time the radio runs before shutting off (90, 60, 30, or 15 minutes). You have to make this choice each time you use it. It doesn’t allow you to make a default choice and save it for repeated use. If the manufacturer reads these customer reviews, maybe this will be an added feature in the future. The wake-up alarms, when set to music, run for 30 minutes, and this is not adjustable. I would prefer if they ran for an hour, which seems like the default in previous radios I’ve owned.The biggest drawback is the display itself, and that’s the reason for the low rating. This is mentioned in earlier reviews, and though I'll wait until I give it a reasonable time to get used to it, I may return the unit because of this. The calendar and alarm readouts are very practical and convenient, but the legibility of the display is terrible. The problem is that the numbers are all in a light gray color, against a light blue background. Of the 4 intensity options (Auto, Hi, Lo, Off) the display is only easily readable in Hi mode. At night, with no other light source, you really have to squint and strain to read the time in auto or lo mode. If by chance you take your glasses off when you go to sleep, it’s even more difficult. The numbers should be in high contrast to the background color, preferably jet black. To anyone trying to read this clock on their nightstand, it’s an obvious problem.This last complaint is admittedly, rather picky, but remember the context of how this product is used. In the morning, when your eyes are closed and you just want to go back to sleep, you fumble for the snooze button, or at night when you want to turn the radio on or off, change the station, or adjust the volume, you reach over to find the right button to push, only to find they all feel the same and you can't tell which is which. I would love it if someone would make a clock radio with different shaped buttons that you could differentiate by touch (round, square, triangular, or pointed, etc). Alas, that technology eludes us, and doesn’t seem to be in the mindset of engineers intent on perfecting an internet toilet that you can flush from anywhere in the world. Oh well, it’s something to dream about.This may not matter to some readers, but another minor disappointment was learning that while I could access a web-page pdf of the owners manual, I couldn’t download a copy to my iPad. This is important to me in case the manufacturer decides to delete or move it, or my internet service is down at that time. It’s often easier to read a pdf, and it has the added benefit of a search function.On the plus side, there are several features I think most users will appreciate. When setting the alarms (to either music or alarm) you can choose the volume the alarm uses (1 to 10). This gives both light and heavy sleepers more control over their wake-up experience.Also, as mentioned above, the display shows the time both alarms are set for, and whether they’re set to music or alarm. This is very handy. The model I bought (CR63) also displays the month and day which is useful, as opposed to the CR64, which displays the temperature in your bedroom (whaaaat?).Another nice feature is the automatic daylight savings time adjustment. I haven’t had the unit long enough to see it work yet but it’s a nice little labor saver (especially since everything from your toaster to your toothbrush now has a clock in it).Although I don’t use it now, I appreciate the inclusion of the USB charging function. For those addicted to their cell phones, this should be a must have as both a de-cluttering device on your nightstand, and one less outlet needed for a separate charger.One last thing that’s neither here nor there. The photo-sensor on the back is lightening fast. I have a lamp on my nightstand and in “Auto” mode, when it’s dark, the unit display is in “Lo” mode, and when I turn on the light, the display instantly turns to “Hi”.Overall, this clock has a lot to recommend it, but the weak display problem is a major concern.

It's nice to have a clock that not only tells the time but also the date AND can remember it for a while after losing power. That last point is what I bought it for, as I was pretty tired of having to reset my old clock every time a power outage happened in my area.That said, sometimes it tends to fall behind the clocks I have on my other devices and I end up having to push it forward a minute or two to keep it in sync. A more pressing issue, however, is that the brightest setting is too dim to read casually in the daytime or when I have the lights on at night--probably an issue related to glare which I hope gets fixed in a newer model.Still, a clock that remembers the time without power is a vital asset for the home, so it's still worth the money spent!

Nice but bigger than I was looking for.

The alarm beep is very low. My old alarm is loud, like a truck backing up.. I need that.If you like to wake to the radio and like the display dim, then maybe it could be 5 stars for you.The alarm setting has a volume 1-15 but it only increases the radio volume - not the beeping volume. The beeping is too quiet to wake me. I do not like waking to the radio because it slowly gains in volume and does not really wake me up. I may fall right back to sleep with the radio on.. even if it is loud.For me, the display is not useful unless set to high. Low and Auto are too dim to see. One problem is that the display looks much dimmer if it is not directly in line with your eyes. Since it is tilted up a bit, it is not in line with your eyes when you are lying down. The room needs to be pretty dark to see the time well. Or you need to sit up some to get in line with it.

I'm a fan of the design aesthetic of this clock and will probably use it for a long time.I don't expect super audio from a small radio alarm clock or I'd have purchased something more along those considerations. This may only be the one I have but, it does not get very bright. Mine's not even as bright as the one pictured but, I can see it in a darkened room and unlike the last couple I've had.. I don't have to put something over it because it's dimmest is too bright to sleep by. The design is very clean and has a modern retro Black & White CRT feel to it though it's LCD. I had hoped for more dynamic dimming range from somewhat brighter down to maybe as dim as the one I have's brightest. Still, it does the job and looks good doing it. I have no real complaints with it as a bedside alarm clock radio.And, it's still pretty slick with it's clean lines and design.

The display is exactly what I was looking for. It goes very dark at night; just bright enough to read the digits, but is bright enough in the daytime to read too. It does this automatically without having to adjust anything. Why can't all clock radio manufacturers achieve this when such an inexpensive product can?The radio is good - our previous clock radio struggled with reception, but this one is very good, very clear without any distortion. We only listen to Radio 4 in the morning - at 7am to be precise. The receiver is analogue only. I wish it had DAB, but its an American product so won't have UK DAB.Downside - it has a US plug so you need a plug adapter though it copes perfectly well with 220v 50hz. You have to un-set Daylight Saving Time (DST button on back), otherwise it changes for daylight saving in the US which is out of sync with the UK.We have the radio coming on in the morning at 7am. I wish it stayed on for an hour in the morning but having turned on automatically, it turns off after 30mins.I would have preferred a DAB, but we had to send the previously purchased DAB radio back because of the display, then paid just 25% of the DAB purchase price for this analogue variant, and as far as I'm concerned, its just fine and I'm very pleased.

I ordered this clock radio because my old one always lost time and the FM reception was terrible.Shown is the model CR63 Magnasonic I got.Following the instructions, I set the time zone and saw that the time was behind by a couple of minutes and I had to correct it. Hopefully, it won't keep losing time, but so far, so good. I'll come back and edit this review if it does.PROS:¶ Radio reception and sound is decent, reception with my old one was bad and often non-existent before dawn.¶ PLL Digital Radio Tuner, accurate, never drifts. My old one had a thumb wheel, constantly needed adjustment.¶ Scans for stations to preset.¶ Screen is easy to read.¶ Day, month and date display is a bonus.CONS:¶ Inadequate brightness adjustment, only the Hi setting can be easily seen from across the room. All others are too dim.¶ The display is dark and almost invisible when viewed at eye level on my bedside table. You have to view it vertically perpendicular to the screen or higher because the screen tilts back at about 15°. See picture. I have to prop the back of it up on something so I can see it at night.MINOR ANNOYANCES¶ Other than the date, etc., the screen is a bit cluttered.¶ I wish there was a way to optionally disable the fade-in feature of the alarm and radio volume.As with all dual alarm clock radios, the play time is 30 minutes instead of 60 like the older ones. To get an hour, I set the two alarms consecutively, which is where the fade-in of the second one is undesirable.

I liked everything about this little radio. Thoughtfully useful with easy set up. It's compact but easy to read. Love the auto dimmer if that's the mode you select and the auto time zone feature. You need two hands to volume up or down as the unit is compact and very light. One hand to hold down the unit while the other adjusts volume button up or down, otherwise the unit will run away on you. Better grip pads would remedy this quirk. Small sacrifice for all the other great features this radio offers. Very happy and would most definitely recommend.

I loved this clock due to the large screen display. Functionality is pretty simple you just need to know how to read and the rest falls into place. I like the fact that this Clock has 4 brightness adjustments. One being on Auto might be the better choice for me as I have sensitive eyes even when I sleep. Any little bit of light disturbs my rest and this clock doesn't do that. The speakers could be on the left and right instead it is at the very back but I give it a 10/10 star rating due to it's well built construction and many buttons to make it simple to set an alarm for 2 people. Seems they even thought to put a USB port in the back so you can charge your phone or listen to M3P music before you sleep.

I wanted a digital clock radio with more features than my 20+ year old model, which had "dials" and was a pain to program and reset.This beauty is exactly what I wanted and I loved it from the first day!!! I notice that there are comments/ complaints about how the settings work, but I find it completely "user friendly" and the set up is intuitive. You can dim or brighten the display by just pushing the large switch on top. It's easy to turn off the alarm for a day or two or three if you don't want to use it.The size of the unit is perfect for my bedside table and I can see the large numbers from across the room!So glad I bought this product.