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Message: [QUOTE="Rickideemus, post: 104685, member: 12677"]NAXA NRC-172 -- First ImpressionsThe NAXA NRC-172 digital clock radio arrived in the mail Tuesday, so I've had two days to slog through all the functions.- When I first plugged it in, I noticed the power cord hung at an odd angle out the back. I pulled it out/in several times to make sure connection was secure. Next day, as I put the NRC-172 through its paces, the radio and/or the display would blank out any time I moved it suddenly. I twisted the cord around 180 degrees, and since then it has remained stable. I'm cautiously optimistic that a piece of electrical tape will keep it that way.- The cord plugs into your AC outlet with a very small "brick" so it may be necessary to rearrange plugs.- The power cord is almost exactly the same length as on my Sony "Dream Machine" clock radio -- a little over 3' long.- It's not quite so cool as it looks in the pictures. It's almost a perfect sphere, with front and bottom lopped off.- The alarm is about twice as loud as the Dream Machine's. It's  possible I might sleep through it, but I'd  have to be nearly comatose. It's not one of those alarms that slowly ramps up in volume, so if you crave a "humane" awakening, this won't be your cup of tea.- If the alarm was any louder, I'm sure it would quicky wipe out the tiny speakers.- The buttons have good tactile feedback and click to confirm your key press.- The instructions are terse, but grammatically correct. All the functions work roughly as stated in the little leaflet -- but not exactly -- and they left out a few details.- If you have trouble programming digital thingamajigs, this may not be the clock radio for you. I guess they did the best they could under the following constraints:| - Buttons only (they're cheaper), no knobs.| - No need to press two buttons at once, as this can be difficult while laying in bed, especially since you have to hold the clock in place to push on the frontside.| - They weren't going to put twenty buttons on the front (or even ten) to access the twenty presets.|- Only one small four digit display to show all the digital information.- Most buttons have different functions, depending on what "mode" the machine is in -- clock mode, AUX mode, alarm mode, radio mode, AM/FM submodes...- In following the instructions, you need to watch the page numbers closely. Otherwise you will skip from page 6 to page 9, and page 9 assumes you know everything in 7 and 8.- The display is bright and clear. The dimmer button is nice for those delicate souls who can't sleep under a full moon. At least the dimmer is dedicated to that single function.- I verified that the battery backup keeps the time plus all alarm and radio presets, but the display blanks out when AC is removed and no alarm will sound. This is minimally acceptable for me (I get relatively few power outages), yet it's more than many clock radios over $50 will do.- Reception on the radio is acceptable -- slightly better than the Dream Machine on FM (perhaps due to the separate FM antenna), slightly worse on AM.- Tone is tinny, which you have to expect with two small speakers. The Dream Machine rates a little higher here, with one slightly larger speaker (possibly 2.5" compared to 2 x 2" on the NAXA). I have not yet tried to determine if stereo comes out of the NAXA. There's no such claim in the manual.- The SLEEP timer can be set in decrements of 10 from 90 minutes to 10 minutes. There are two alarms, so I could go to sleep to radio music and wake to music on alarm 1, then let the alarm hit me five or six minutes later.If I have any more hardware problems in the next few weeks, or if I decide I can't stand all the buttons, I'll update. If the NAXA continues to work for several months, I feel I got good value for my twelve bucks. In fact, $20 would be a steal. But remember, several Amazon reviewers had worse hardware problems than I've had to this point.For many people, a better option might be two totally different machines -- one radio clock and one alarm clock. I feel they tone down the beepers on clock radios to spare the speakers, then claim it's a noble attempt at "humane" awakening.As of 5/23/2013, price for the NRC-172 on Adorama.com is still $11.99 with free shipping within the U.S.Rick[/QUOTE]

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