Both treble and base offer settings from -5 to +5. The “EQ” button is a very useful button that lets you control treble, base, balance, and stereo. I found myself frequently trying to adjust volume by pressing the “+” and “-” button, which when you have just woken up is an easy mistake to make, and has the unfortunate effect of changing the channel when all you wanted to do was turn the volume way down so you don’t wake the kids up! One thing I had trouble getting used to is that the lefthand pivoting square, which controls volume, has speaker icons on it – should be pretty obvious – while the righthand square has “+” and “-” icons on it, which are for selecting the radio station or controlling balance and other sound characteristics. Volume is easily adjusted using the large, pivoting square volume button on the left. For an alarm clock, the iHome clock radio comes with excellent sound control. There is also an AM antenna and an audio input port, in the unlikely event you want to listen to an AM radio station or connect the iHome clock radio to an external audio device such as a CD player.Īudio controls: All audio controls are located on the top of the unit, along with alarm clock selection buttons and the snooze / brightness button, as shown to the right. The unit comes with a 4 foot FM antenna which gives it better reception, as long as you have a place for the wire to dangle. We haven’t used the iPod feature much – we like to wake up to the news – and the FM reception is excellent. There is a Play/Pause button directly on the iHome clock radio so you can control your iPod from the unit. Jazz, pop, rock, classical music all sound great on the iHome clock radio on my old clock radio I couldn’t stand listening to music at all!Īudio inputs:The iHome clock radio ip90 comes with an iPod/iPhone dock that lets you wake up to your choice of music, along with the required iPod adapters to accommodate the full range of iPod base sizes. The sound is so good that I find I am much more inclined to turn on the radio to listen to music while changing for an evening out, or getting ready for bed. Its twin stereo speakers project sound from the front of the unit – unlike cheap clock radios which tend to project their faint, high-pitched sound upwards. The iHome clock radio has excellent clarity and a much stronger base than you’ll find in a cheaper radio. Sound: While the sound may not quite rival a Bose, sound quality is an order of magnitude better than clock radios from a decade ago, or than that Walmart $20 special. Let’s review the highlights of the iHome clock radio: sound, audio inputs and controls, clock control and display. The ease of programming and quality of sound are both far superior to the dinosaur we recently retired, and although the $99 price tag made it significantly more expensive than its predecessor (or than the cheapest clock radios now on the market), the improved features and reduced power consumption make it more than worth the investment. My only regret in buying it is that I waited so long. Over a 20 year period, I’ll pay about $9 in electricity costs to run it. My iHome clock radio, an iP90, consumes a tiny fraction of that amount – 0.4 watts, to be precise, or less than 10 watt hours a day. A 15 watt clock radio such as the one we just replaced could cost $315 over a 20 year lifetime. Over 20 years, that’s $100 – which is more than most clock radios cost. At 12 cents a kilowatt hour, that 5 watt clock radio costs you $5 a year to operate – a bargain, you think. After all, a typical clock radio probably draws only 5, 10 or 15 watts, right? Maybe 20 when the radio itsel is on? The trouble is that the 5, 10, or 15 watts are a continuous draw every hour of every day. I doubt many people worry about how much electricity a clock radio uses. I’ve been pleasantly surprised by this little wonder, not only because of its easy setup and superior sound, but because, as it turns out, it is extremely energy efficient. I recently bought an iHome clock radio to replace a cheap 20-year-old alarm clock that went on the fritz. This little charmer sounds great and uses almost no electricity!
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