Sony ICF-C763 Dream Machine AM/FM Clock Radio with Digital Tuner

Comment: I purchased one of these when it was initially debuted by Sony maybe around 5 years ago? It's been a while. Primary duty is in the bathroom which is around the corner from the computer desk, so the radio is in use many hours of they day serving one or the other location.

No problems with durability (survived a couple of drops) or humidity (being in a steamy bathroom). Transformer is on the wall plug so the power cord is a very thin wire and daily is clamped by the closed bathroom door while the radio sits outside the bathroom on a small table while we listen to it around the corner at the desk.

Display is good, bright & legible. Controls are intuitive and simple. Softball-like appearance is unique and space conscious.

The only detractor for this radio is the small rear-facing speaker. Realistically, where else is Sony going to put the speaker on such a small thing? But sound does project the wrong direction and the speaker is a touch small. The quality of the audio is fine -- our morning shows and news programs are easily understood and music is good without being tinny (obviously not Hi-Fi).

Comment: Top sticker peels off and radio has problems with reception (the antenna is the power cord I believe, which makes it amazingly hard to adjust).

Comment: We enjoyed the appearance and size of this clock, it is smaller than it appears in the photos and easily sits in the palm of your hand.

The lightly glowing top flips up and illuminates the buttons on top to access to set functions & such which is nice. There are 2 alarms although we found it took a couple more clicks to set them than we had hoped for since we get up at different times every day. The whole top is the "snooze" button, so you can just reach out and whack it without trying to press a specific button when it goes off. I don't recall if it had battery backup or not, but I don't think so.

The killer for me was the radio reception which was not good enough to pick up my favorite station which most other radios have no trouble with, despite the digital tuner. I like to wake up to the radio, not a harsh buzzer.

Comment: Great clock, cool blue light, lid pops up to reveal neat blue LED night-light. Only complaint is: it is hard to see the time during the day unless its on brightest setting, but then at night it is too bright. Also the price is a little high for an alarm clock radio with no CD player. One reviewer said radio reception not good but I found it to be excellent!! Stations come in perfect. Volume and sound quality is excellent for a radio this size. Dual alarm settings: alarm A-radio only; alarm B-buzzer or chioce of 4 preset classical melodies only. I love the cool retro design and blue lights. Amazon had cheapest price anywhere- 5$ cheaper than my local Sony store. Recieved packaging with slight damage but product was ok. Recieved it within 4 days of ordering.

Comment: This radio is groovy and round with a nice white-on-black LCD display. But the digital tuner is average, there are no separate weekday / weekend alarms and no battery backup. Why does it cost four times as much as other clock radios? Why did I buy it? At least with the flip-top lid closed there's no annoying field of little buttons to accidently poke at night...