Emerson CKSW0555 Smartset Wireless Charging Alarm Clock Radio Featuring a Large 1.4" Red LED Display and Temperature Sensor, FM Radio, Black

I read the reviews before buying this Emerson alarm clock radio and was half thinking I'll probably be returning it based on reviews. How wrong those people are! I've had 2 alarm clocks since my long time radio alarm clock became unreliable. I bought both at W, and those radios were aweful. What you want to know about this Emerson.. The radio volume can be adjusted pretty high, and for waking in the morning you would not likely set to more than 1/2 the available volume range. When the radio alarm starts, the volume is very low and gradually increases to your volume setting (over 5-10 seconds). Sound is clear. Obviously this is not a high end stereo, but the clarity is very good. I like the ability to reduce the brightness (4 settings, I keep it on the 2nd from dimmest setting). The green LED is different, I can see it, but for 30 years I always had red so its a change that I'll get used to. Time sets automaticlly with no problem. I only set one radio station which is somewhat local and not the strongest signal and it works fine. I like that station in the morning over other stations with a stronger signal. Dual alarm mode is nice. I did read the directions, which I normally never do because a couple things were not obvious when setting the wake up times, but very easy to operate. the only downside is the lettering on each button is black (they did not fill the letters with a color for contrast), but after a couple days of using it I know where the buttons are and there is no issue. Battery backup is a CR type flat battery that's already installed. Bottom line, radio and alarm works great and this was exactly what I was looking for in an Alarm Clock Radio! :-)

I've had this clock radio for about two weeks and am really enjoying it. It's actually the second one I ordered; I had to return the first because the radio just didn't get loud enough. I had read complaints about this in some of the reviews, although others complainied that their radios were too loud. I chaulked this up to inconsistent manufactuing and figured a replacement radio might work better. It did. This little clock radio is packed with more features than I've ever seen in one device, and it cost less than $15! All those features, however, can be a little daunting, but once you've set it up, everything can be customized to your satisfaction. Be aware, however, that some features can only be activated when the radio is off and others when the radio is on. I forgot this and messed up some of my settings by adjusting them when the radio was on. I'd recommend keeping the instructions close by the radio, since you'll need them to help you remember how to adjust each feature. I was pleasantly surprised by the tone of the radio, which I thought would be tinny but was actually better than the old (and larger) clock radio that it replaced. I also appreciate the fact that when the radio is used as the alarm, it comes on very quietly at first and gradually gets to the loudness level that you've preset. It's better than blasting you awake in the morning. All in all, I don't think you can find a better buy for the money, as long as you test it out when you first receive it to make sure everything works as it should.

Alarm clock has large numbers and are very easy to see. Clock is automatically set for the eastern time zone and daylight savings time. for EST. If you live on the east coast, you are set. If not, I recommend disabling the automatic daylight savings feature. The buttons are dark and hard to see. Would have been better if the letters were white. It's been 8 days and I still haven't figured it out. It is a smart clock which means it has a chip in it to pick up certain information automatically, e.g. date, time zone, etc.

I had to search for a while, both locally and online to find a clock radio that offers AM radio. This one was inexpensive and had an "Amazon recommended" note in the description so I used that as a deciding factor. The readout on this is green; through experience, I've learned that blue lights are the brightest and red the least annoying if you prefer a dark room. Green is somewhere in the middle. This one offers a dimming mode for the readout - there are four options from very bright to dim and it was easy to find a setting that works for me.The instructions tell you to simply plug the unit into the socket and the time will automatically set itself to Eastern time. There are instructions to reset if you live in a different time zone which is a good thing, since when I plugged in, the clock did set itself - to exactly two minutes earlier than the actual time. There is an option to set the date, but I'm not interested in that in the middle of the night so I haven't done that. No date shows on the readout and I don't know what it would look like if the date was set.To turn on the radio you have to hold the "on" button down until the station numbers appear, and then wait about 5 seconds for it to turn on. The radio sound is slightly tinny, but not annoyingly so.All settings are made by small, round buttons on the top of the clock. Most of the buttons have two different functions, which can be confusing. The functions are etched into the buttons and clock case with no color differentiation so you're reading black words and symbols on a black case, and in very small print. I have "senior eyes" and find it difficult to see the function of each button.Because of that, and minimal instructions (also in very, very small print) in the manual, my efforts to find andset a radio station led to accidentally setting both wake up alarms. At first, I couldn't figure out why the radio kept turning itself on an hour to an hour and a half after I turned it off. When I figured out what was happening and couldn't find any instructions on how to unset the alarm, I called the Emerson customer service number in the instruction manual. That led to a classic, machine-answered "press one for service, press two for radio," etc., which, when I had pressed the final selection, led to the recording saying "good-bye" and hanging up on me. Three times.I requested a return slip from Amazon and was offered a call from them to discuss the problem. I accepted the offer and received a call within minutes. The person who called took a few minutes to research what I explained, and ultimately gave me accurate directions to turn off the unwanted alarm and correct the time setting. With that resolution, I kept the clock radio.I gave four stars because it's a decent clock radio, one star for accuracy as the instructions are incomplete (no info on turning the alarm), three for sound quality due to the tinniness of sound, and four for value because despite the issues, it does what it says it will do.Update: I've had this clock radio since 9/19, so just over six months. Last night, after going to bed after 1 am, I awakened hours later and looked at the time - the clock read 12:54 am. I checked my phone, and the actual time was 5:57 am. (By the way, the clock loses a minute every month or so.) This morning I unplugged and re-plugged it as it is supposed to set itself when you do this. It did not work. Additionally, the read January 1, 2017 - probably before it was manufactured. Saved radio stations were also lost. I have lowered my rating from four stars to one because a clock radio that malfunctions after six months is not worth owning.