Timex Clock Radio: JVC RAP51 Portable FM Clock Radio with iPod Dock Audio System Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Having recently changed my main bedroom stereo to a unit that met almost all of my needs, I still needed a way to play my Sansa Fuze, as the new system lacked an aux input.With hardly any space left for additional equipment, my buying choices were whittled down to something that could do double-duty...which meant replacing my alarm clock with one that had speakers and an audio input for mp3 players.While it doesn't qualify as a true clock because you can't see the dispay when the unit is off, I don't require seeing the clock at all times.However, pressing the snooze bar while the unit is off does light up the clock for five seconds.

After comparing several models from two different large-scale electronics dealers, the JVC RA-P51 came home with me.It was disappointing that every single contender in this price range had such poor sound quality, but what can you expect when the speakers are all so small and corners have to be cut to get in all the features while keeping the price down.

This portable audio system had the best sound, and narrowly beat out the Altec Lansing Moondance Home M302, which was too muddy sounding for my tastes.So while my rating is relative to similar products, and in no way does this unit come close to more expensive and larger systems, it's definitely not bad for a clock radio with a small footprint (The approximate product dimensions are: 12-1/4" wide, 3-7/16" high and 3-11/16" deep).Here's the lowdown on the good and the not-so-good.

Pros
1) Lightweight and portable, with both an AC adapter or batteries for power choices.While the buttons are plastic, they have a solid feel and are generally well laid out.The snooze bar could be bigger, but you should be able to find it if you're planning to use that function.I like that they included a DOWN button for setting the clock and/or alarm...if you accidentally go past the time, you don't have to go all the way around to correct it.

2) Setting the clock is easy, and I like that it displays the day of the week as well as the month and date.The display is bright and easy to read when turned on.You can turn off the backlight for falling asleep to music at night.

3) The radio sounds surprisingly good.I wasn't expecting to receive the number of stations I did considering the relatively short(but unfortunately permanently attached) wire antenna.If using this as a portable speaker dock to share tunes with others, you'll have to deal with that antenna (you could always tape it down or tie it).

4) Relatively good sound quality.Like I've mentioned, you're going to miss out on some of the music with a small unit like this...there isn't enough depth to this model or others like it to give you any bass response, and it doesn't catch all of the higher frequencies, either.But it still manages to have somewhat of a natural and warm tonal character, as long as you don't use the SURROUND effect(more on that later).

Cons
1) While setting the clock is easy, setting up the alarm(s) isn't quite as intuitive(in other words, instruction sheet required).And you HAVE to use the alarm buzzer to wake you up if you use the sleep timer to fall asleep to an iPod, the radio, or music from the aux input.If you don't use the sleep timer, then you CAN wake up to an iPod or the radio, but NOT to anything connected to the aux input.

2) No remote control.Without number buttons, you don't have instant access to a preset radio station.And setting up your presets is a tedious process...because this unit automatically stops at every strong station and moves through the stations very slowly, expect to spend over a half an hour just to set them.

3) SURROUND effect is disappointing.Turning this on is supposed to allow you to "enjoy music with spatial and deep sound", according to JVC.All it really does is destroy the sound...while it does give you an impression of better separation and widening, it adds a tremendous amount of higher frequencies and distortion, colors the music drastically, increases the background noise, and makes vocals difficult to hear.

While I don't currently own an iPod, I inquired about whether or not this model is compatible with the latest generations of iPods.The salesman said it was, but the instruction sheet doesn't list them all in its iPod compatibility chart.My unit was made in November of 2009, so I suppose he could be right, but I wouldn't take that as gospel.If you have a newer iPod, research further or buy at your own risk.It played a fourth generation Nano fine at the store.The manual suggests that you may have to turn off the equalizer of the iPod in order to avoid sound distortion.Control functions for an iPod include playback/pause, switching iPod to sleep mode, next song/fast forward, and previous song/fast rewind.Your iPod will be charged when the unit power is on and the AC adapter is connected, but not when operated on batteries.

I bought this because it fits on the back of my nightstand, the price isn't outrageous, and the sound quality is better than most in its class.While far from perfect, I would definitely say it's worth considering.

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Product Description:
Portable Audio System

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