Homedics SS-5000 Sound Spa Premier AM/FM Atomic Clock Radio
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Product Reviews of Homedics SS-5000 Sound Spa Premier AM/FM Atomic Clock Radio
Product Review: All in one item
Summary: 5 Stars
Love the fact that it's a sound machine and clock radio in the same piece. The clock is atomic so it resets itself automatically (a real plus in areas where power goes out regularly).Product Review: Almost Perfect
Summary: 4 Stars
I bought this clock as a very belated x-mas gift to myself after reading the reviews here. After about a month of use, I think this is the best clock radio I've had. I love that I can wake up to nice nature sounds rather than the shocking buzz buzz buzz other alarm clocks have. The radio has great reception (which is a big shock since my radio reception and cell phone reception in my apt really sucks). I can pick up more stations on it than with my cd player/radio and it's super clear. I like it so much I listen to the radio much more now than I did before.
I really love that I no longer have to turn on the tv to find out what the weather is in the morning. The temperature gauge is pretty accurate. I just have to glance at it to know how much I need to bundle myself up (It's pretty cold in IL right now) and whether my dog needs her coat :) before I take her out at 6:00 am.
I use the projection function occasionally and to me it's not bright at all and definitely not so bright I can't sleep with it on. Maybe it depends on where you are projecting it? Maybe I'm just not that sensitive to it. If you can sleep with the light from a tv, the little light coming from this clock shouldn't bother you at all. I have mine on my ceiling since I can't use it on my wall (too much junk in the way). Generally I just use the backlight since I'm still used to looking at the clock face when I wake up in the morning and not the wall, ceiling, or wherever else you want to project the time. Even the backlight doesn't bother me at night - I don't notice it all. Only once it seemed to me to be too bright to look at in the morning but my eyes were really tired/irritated anyway.
The only glitch I found is with the atomic clock function. No matter how many times I think I've shut it off, the darn thing pops back on again. The first day, my time switched two hours back even though I had manually set the time. I resolved it by making sure the standard time was central instead of pacific (it is set at pacific time when you get it). That way regardless of whether the atomic function is on or not the time doesn't change. At least it hasn't so far. As to what will happen when DST is in effect next month, I don't know. I may need to update my review if something weird happens.
Still, it's a great little clock/radio/sound spa. Everyone tries to steal it after I show them all the features. I like it so much I wrote a review on the Homedics site, too.
ETA: I still have the clock but wanted to update some things I've noticed. Although I only occasionally used the projection feature, parts of the digits don't light up anymore when I turn it on. The clock did switch correctly last year for DST but not this year when we went off. However, that's because I've moved and I can't get a signal where the clock is now. I had to change it manually. Otherwise, the time has never gone off by minutes or hours. I wouldn't change my rating - but I can see how a lot of people wouldn't like it esp. if bought for the projection feature.
Product Review: Almost Perfect
Summary: 4 Stars
I like everything about this clock except the projection. It's on the back of the clock so if I want to project anywhere but straight up or behind the clock, I have to turn it so it's face is away from me. The sounds and radio are fine. Not my taste. What I like is the dual alarm, and the large display - numbers are 1" black against light blue that remains on. You can choose high or low backlight, or off. I like the indoor/outdoor thermometer, and the atomic time.
I'm taking the clock back because I'm paying for a lot of extras I'm not interested in. The projection is particularly dissatisfying.
Product Review: Atomic time feature very frustrating
Summary: 2 Stars
The atomic feature on this clock is very frustrating. And, no, it is not because of the time zone. The clock will be off by weird amounts. 43 minutes, 22 minutes, etc....I have tried to turn off the atomic feature, but to no avail.
Right now I am searching for a new alarm clock because I have had it with this one. I would rather reset the clock if I lose power rather than have sporadic time problems.
Too bad, because I really like the nature sounds. No noticeable loops.
Product Review: BAD product!
Summary: 1 Stars
I bought this clock in April of 2007 and was thrilled with it at first. The display was easy to see, it had outdoor temp. and seemed like a great product. However, over a period of about 3 months it began having various problems.
Those that think this thing is too bright to sleep with--don't worry in a few months the display fades to a faint yellow and you can hardly see it. The 1st one displayed the temperature most of the time, but it was always about 10 degrees different from the time & temp on the phone here (I never knew which was right!) When I could no longer tell what time it was I contacted Homemedics and they sent me another unit. That one's display was really bright when I first got it, but that only lasted about 2 months! Now it's invisible. The outdoor temp. only came on a few random times.
The thing that bothers me most is that Homemedics won't stand behind their product. The warranty only covered me getting one more unit that failed sooner than the first one. They couldn't do any more for me they said. I certainly can't recommend this clock, and will try a different company.