Consider what's packed into this compact, attractive cube. There's a Digital Synthesized Tuner with AM/FM/TV and Weather Band Reception. Sony's revolutionary design provides... more
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A review by rdobbie on Sony ICF C113L July 13th, 2002
Author's product rating:
Radio Quality
Good
Sound & Volume
Good
Range of Features
Diverse
Durability
Excellent
Value for Money
Poor
Advantages:
Looks the part
Disadvantages:
A confusing mass of buttons, display not visible from all angles, doesn't display time when alarm goes off (read op to see what I mean)
Recommend to potential buyers:
no
Full review
I have to confess that I didn't actually need another clock radio when I bought this, but I was won over by the ultra-cool and sexy looks of this model.
My last clock radio was the classic 1980's wedge shaped Sony ICF-C220L (a present for my 10th birthday from my grandparents), which had done its job and looked good at the time when set against grey/red diagonal stripe wallpaper and black ash furniture, but somehow the time had come to move on from this grotesque throwback from Thatcher's Britain.
So last Christmas I purchased my Sony ICF-C113 from Comet at the Argos-trouncing price of £34.99.
It's a very stylish silver cube in a matt finish which measures a mere 12cm in every direction, taking up the smallest of spaces on your bedside table.
Now, what sets it apart from the cheapo £6.99 bits of tat? Let me see...
Well there's a switch that lets you change the display backlight from orange to green. It's only an aesthetic thing but quite nice if you fancy a change now and then. There's also a switch which changes the brightness of the display between high and low. Fun to fiddle with, but not much use in the grand scheme of things.
The radio gives decent enough sound quality on all the local and national FM stations, and the digital PLL tuning means you can programme five of your favourite stations into the machine. This is quite a boon if you wish to flick between channels when lying in bed, but paradoxically you can only be woken up by the station you have programmed onto preset channel 1. So if you wanted a bit of variety in the mornings, this would mean manually retuning your chosen radio station onto preset channel 1, which rather defeats the whole idea don't you think? Naturally the radio also picks up medium wave and long wave frequencies which I haven't used but I have no doubt they sound fine.
The buzzer alarm (or the "P45 avoidance warning" as I call it) is loud and shrill, guaranteed to penetrate your dreams and fill you with the joyous thought of another day at work.
There is one particular function which I have to admit is a real godsend - the Daylight Saving Time button. Whenever the clocks go back or forward, one simple click will realign the time instead of having to do that finger-numbing cycle through 23 hours.
A clever built-in power backup remembers the correct time and the preset radio stations if you suffer a power cut or unplug the machine for whatever reason.
But I'm not going to heap praise upon Sony for packing all these electronic functions onto this product. Features like digital radio tuning have been commonplace on cheap hi-fi's and car stereos for years, yet in the clock radio sector they are marketed as luxury extras. And this bit of kit isn't cheap - it costs five times the price of the cheapest clock radios, and I bet it only cost Sony tuppence to drag this model into the 21st century.
I have identified something of a designer's faux-pas on this machine which can lead to early morning heart failure. Confused? Let me explain...
When the radio comes on, let's say at 7.30am, for some bizarre reason the LCD display shows the frequency of the radio station instead of the time. The frequency of my chosen station is 103.4 FM (that's Century FM for all you northerners). So you suddenly open your eyes to see the display saying "1034" when it should be saying "0730" which leads to a cry of "oh sh*t" as you leap across the bedroom trying to think of an excuse to tell your boss.
After replaying this cycle of panic followed by overwhelming relief for several days on the trot, you get into the habit of turning the radio off in order to see what time it is, and then turning the radio back on if you actually want to listen to it. Was this product designed on a National Lottery grant or something?
I just can't see why the designers at Sony thought we needed a daily reminder of the frequency of our favourite radio station. When you're waking up in the morning there's only one thing you need to see on the display - and that's the time.
Another example of bad design on this model is that you can only read the time when your head is positioned at eye level with the display. This is because it uses a backlit Liquid Crystal Display (like a digital watch) instead of the Light Emitting Diode displays which are usually used on clock radios. In practice this means that your bedside table must be at exactly the same height as your head on the pillow, or else you won't be able to read the display on this crazy little beast.
But the big problem I have with this machine is the bewildering array of 14 silver buttons on the top. Printed on and around these buttons is a mass of text in tiny grey lettering, much of which is in garbled acronym form and makes little sense to the human operator.
You need to spend a good half an hour studying the manual before you feel even remotely confident with this clock radio. Even then, you never feel totally fluent with the confusing sprawl of buttons, and need to keep the manual by the bedside in order to periodically remind yourself of the function of each cryptically labelled button. The only well designed button is the snooze bar which is thoughtfully positioned along the front and can't be missed by an arm that reaches out to request another ten minutes' sleep.
This machine isn't user friendly. It's like having to learn an entire operating system. Machines like this should be logical and self explanatory. I can't help suspecting that the over-technical styling was a misguided attempt to give the product added appeal. But when you're bleary-eyed in the morning and find yourself taking random stabs at the many buttons (which you can't see without sitting up because they're horizontally mounted) it can be irritating to say the least.
I'm disappointed to say that the sleek Sony styling is about the only saving grace I can find in favour of this model. Strangely the clock radio market sector is virtually untouched by design trends, so the modern styling of this product is successful in making it leap out at you from the shelf in Comet.
After having tried to live with this machine for six months, it's become obvious to me that Sony didn't "people test" this model - they just cobbled together a load of buttons onto a silver box and hoped for the best. Sorry Sony, but I like more thought to go into my electrical products.
Trust me - I'm not being unduly harsh here - this clock radio is a pain to live with. It gets a big thumbs down from me.
Advantages: Very compact, stylish, cube shaped clock radio. Easy to use, dual alarm - radio or buzzer. Touch button to alter to British Summer Time. Disadvantages: Definitely the price!!!
...The Model
Sony FM/MW/LW PLL Synthesized Clock Radio - ICF C113L Dream Machine
Features - at a glance
=
FM/MW/LW PLL (phrase locked loop) digital tuner
Dual alarm
5 random pre-sets
Summer time adjustment button
Snooze/adjustable sleep timer
Date display/auto calendar
Brightness control
Built-in power back up system
Size (W)12, (H)12, (D)13cm
Cost
=
£39.99
Purchased from
Argos
Catalogue Number
... ...and unpacked the box, it came with fully comprehensive instructions, that were very easy to follow. Features
=
Date button to display the year, month and date
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First of all you will need to set the clock, and also the date and month, which the instructions explain how to do this.
D.S.T. (Daylight Saving Time) - Summer time calculation (one-hour skip function)
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...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Advantages: Compact, easy to set up, good radio reception, two alarms Disadvantages: A few bugs with the alarm. Display can be difficult to see
SONY ICF-C113 DREAM MACHINE CLOCK RADIO
I treated myself to this clock about 4 years back and it wasn't cheap (I paid over £40 for it). I have always really liked it, especially compared to the cheaper ones I had before.
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Here's the good and the bad. I've made a few complaints here, but really they are fairly minor niggles for me. But you might find them totally irrelevant, or more of ... ...absolutely awful. But with this Sony clock, no problem! There might be a ton of dust and grime in there, but four years on the silver colour means you can't see it! Fantastic!
VALUE FOR MONEY (3.5/5)
Apparently you can buy this model for about £35 now. I think it's still a bit expensive so I wouldn't say that it's exceptional value for money. If it was £5-10 less, I’d be fairly pleased. ...
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Advantages: Doesn't take up much room and looks good. Disadvantages: Not cheap at £40
This alarm clock radio is very nice looking and takes up a lot less room than those wide ones. It has all the features you'd expect and a few added extras.
It's basically a silver cube, with a choice of backlight for the display. You can have either green or amber, bright ot dull. I personally find that the bright option lights up my whole bedroom, so I stick to dull green!
It's relatively easy to use once you've got used to it and has all the ... ...both and what I like best is the massive snooze button!
You can preset 5 different radio stations and the sound quality is good. The fact that is has a 30 minutes memory, means that if you have a power cut or you just want to unplug it for a minute, you haven't got to reset all the data. It also has a British summertime button which you press when the clocks go backwards or forwards.
Overall, looks nice and has all the necessary features plus some ...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Advantages: Neat looks, good sound and lots of features Disadvantages: Alarm only on preset 1, buttons confusing
At nearly £40, this is an expensive way to wake up in the morning.
However, it is small and looks cool with its silver finish and backlight that can be yellowish or reddish, depending on your mood.
The time is clear to see, as is the alarm on light.
Sound is good from such a small unit. Many cheaper clock radios in the past were terrible in terms of sound quality and would drift off-station over a period of time so that you woke up to load hiss ... ...week. Not a problem with the Sony.
Against this machine is the large array of confusing buttons on top of it. Some have more than one function and, since you don't change the settings every night, you forget what you have to do. One good feature is that you can take the time backwards as well as forwards - no more having to go round again if you miss the time by going a minute too far!
It has 5 radio presets, though will only function the alarm ...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Features: Daylight saving time adjustment, date display, battery backup, dream bar
Built-in display
Built-in Display: LCD
Display Illumination: Yes
Display Dimmer: Yes
Speaker system
Speaker(s): 1 x speaker - built-in - 0.5 Watt
Driver Details: Speaker : 1 x full-range driver - 66mm
Manufacturer's product description
Consider what's packed into this compact, attractive cube. There's a Digital Synthesized Tuner with AM/FM/TV and Weather Band Reception. Sony's revolutionary design provides accurate, drift-free tuning and access to radio talk and music shows, plus audio from TV channels 2-13, and up-to-the-minute weather from your local Weather Band broadcasts. There are five Random Memory presets for your favorite AM and FM radio stations and One-Push Easy Preset. Tuning, a remarkable DST button that shifts the time back or forward one hour to conform to seasonal changes in time. The Dual Alarm permits two separate wake-up settings, the Dream Bar shuts off alarm to allow a few extra minutes for snoozing before it turns the alarm on again, and the Sleep Timer shuts off the radio automatically after a pre-set length of time. Backlit LCD Display allows the display to be seen easily even at night. There's a lot of enjoyment and usefulness packed into this little cube.
Radio
Type: Radio tuner - digital radio tuner - AM/FM/TV/Weather
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