Fits my needs
Pros:
Sleek style, digital volume control, selectable wake-up source and volume, battery back-up
Cons:
Hard-to-find alarm reset button, so-so FM reception
The Bottom Line:
The ICF-CD7000 fit my needs and has lots of nice features for the price. Still happy with it after almost 2 months of use.
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Overall Rating:
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Author's Review
I was looking to replace my AM-FM clock radio for three reasons: 1) I disliked waking up to DJ chatter, 2) I didn't like that the wake-up volume was the same as the listening volume, and 3) the volume was hard to adjust using the volume dial. The Sony ICF-CD7000 AM/FM/CD Clock Radio solved all three problems. I like waking up to a CD (I can select which track to wake up to) and having a pre-set wake-up volume. The volume adjustment has many discrete levels making it easy to select just the right volume.
PROS:
* The unit has sleek styling and is available in black or white.
* It has dual alarms that can be independently set-up (time, wake-up source, and wake-up volume). You can wake up to the CD (selectable track), radio, or a buzzer. The display clearly shows which alarm is enabled and it is easy to turn the alarm on/off. I use one alarm (Alarm A) for weekdays and the other (Alarm B) for weekends. One feature that it doesn't have but I would have liked is to be able to configure the days of the week for each alarm so that I don't have to turn off Alarm A and turn on Alarm B every Fridays and vice versa every Sunday.
* The display has three brightness levels (high backlight, low backlight, and off (no backlight)). The Since my nightstand is close to the bed, I like the dim setting (no backlight) and use it all the time.
* The snooze button is easy to locate and sets the snooze time based upon the number of times you press it (10 minutes per press up to 60 minutes). Thus, if you hit it three times in a row when the alarm goes off, it will wake you again 30 minutes later.
* The clock has a replaceable lithium battery that keeps the clock operating during a power failure. There is a battery low indicator on the display to let you know when the battery needs to be replaced.
* The clock has automatic time setting (time set at factory) but can be adjusted manually (for setting the time zone or changing the time).
* The clock is automatically set to adjust for daylight savings but that can be disabled.
* The CD player is compatible with CD-Rs and CD-RWs.
* The CD player has several play modes: normal, repeat single track, repeat all tracks, shuffle, and shuffle repeat (all tracks played repeatedly in random order).
* The radio has 10 FM presets and 5 AM presets.
* The unit has a built in audio cable with a stereo mini-plug for connecting an auxiliary input (such as an MP3 player). The cable can be stored in a recess in the bottom of the unit when not used. You cannot select the auxiliary input as the alarm source. It does not charge the auxiliary input device.
* The unit has a Sleep timer for falling asleep to CD, radio, or auxiliary input (MP3). The selectable durations are 15, 30, 60, or 90 minutes.
* The unit has a NAP timer that sounds the buzzer after a preset duration (10, 20, 30, 60, 90, or 120 minutes).
CONS:
* The alarm reset button is difficult to find. To keep from waking up my husband, I hit the snooze bar to stop the music and then locate the alarm reset button.
* The FM radio reception (even with the external FM wire antenna) is OK but not great. A ferrite bar antenna for AM reception is built into the unit. I rarely listen to AM stations so I can't comment on the AM radio reception.
