Home > Consumer Reviews > C. Crane Sonido Radio

When my nearly 20 year old Sony Dream Machine cube style alarm clock radio finally gave out I decided to go in search of the best night stand alarm clock radio money could buy. The requirements were design style, sound quality, reception, ease of use, and a back light that goes completely off so that I can sleep at night. After a good deal of research I zeroed in on the Tivoli SongBook ($159) and the Sangean Sonido ($99). After trying both, here's what I've found:

The Tivoli SongBook has very attractive, modern styling (I prefer the black model), exceptional sound quality (like having a $1,000 Bose next to my bed), terrific reception (I don't even need to extend the antenna to get my favorite radio station clearly), very easy to set/update the clock and alarm times, and a back light which thankfully goes completely off. I decided to give the Sonido a try because of the SongBooks negatives - the alarm must be turned on everyday buy pushing down and holding the alarm button for a few seconds (easy to do, but I fear the day that I forget), no alarm snooze (I just turn the volume down), and the display, with or without it's beautiful blue back light turned on, is small and difficult to read, even from only a foot or so away while lying in bed.

The Sangean Sonido looks nice, though not quite as attractive a design as the SongBook (the shinny silver buttons have got to go!), cost's $59 less than the SongBook, has a more readable screen than the SongBook (with back light that goes completely off), has an alarm snooze, and has an alarm that stays on from day to day. While I haven't made my final decision yet on which to keep, I'm leaning toward the SongBook given the Sonido's shortcomings - to get my favorite station clearly I must extend the antenna directly upwards creating an unsightly mess, while much better than a Sony Dream Machine the speaker audio quality is only about half as good as the SongBooks (I think this is what really spoiled it for me, though in the end it might be good enough), and even though the display is nicer when the radio alarm sounds the display shows the radio station number, not the time!

Both the Sonido and the SongBook have their own pluses and minuses, either one being a very good choice. Hope this review helps you decide.

Update: In the end I decided to go with the Sonido. I exchanged my first unit and the replacement had much better audio quality (though still not as good as the SongBook). The reception remains less than stellar, but while using the SongBook I was late for a meeting because of it's lack of full alarm function features, so it had to go.

I waited for this with great anticipation after reading the positive reviews. It is much larger and heftier in person that I thought it would be - especially with the large D sized batteries (It is replacing a Kaito portable that is about 1/8 the size of the Sonido.) I even went so far as to make a paper mock up of it before purchasing it to get a feel for its size. Unfortunately, the paper model was not able to replicate the heft. Of course, its size and weight make it feel like a high quality device and contributes to the great FM sound (more on that later).

I like to carry the radio when I walk the dog, so maybe this is a bit too big. I also use it around the house all the time, so it is less of an issue in that situation. I listen almost exclusively to sports radio (mostly Red Sox). In fact, I am a sports radio addict. Games or talk, I can't get enough. The AM reception is good, but I daresay that it is not better than my Kaito. The sound and reception on FM is great. But, since I listen to AM 90% of the time, this is not as critical for me. In AM, the voices sound a bit muddy and muffled. Sounds a bit like you have placed thick plastic wrap over the speaker grille. I wish there was a bass and treble control to sharpen up the voices a bit more. Bummer.

A couple of other things: The radio really ought to have a handle given its size and heft. If not a handle, then at least a rubber grip around the natural holding place. Also, I would like to see a lock button to prevent inadvertent changes to the stations or settings (especially since you often press buttons when moving the unit).

So, sorry to disappoint everyone. It just didn't measure up for my purposes. I will see how I feel about things in about a month and append to this review.

Appended to previous on 2/6:

So this radio is starting to grow on me. Since the Pats lost, I have been using the Sonido to listen to the primary updates on NPR. This thing is GREAT at getting in FM. Also, unlike just about all other portable digital radios, there is a display button that changes from station number to time and it stays on the time until you decided to change it back to the call numbers. Really handy since I don't carry a watch.

Update: My ferrite bar cracked in half after this fell from three feet off the window sill (I opened the unit to confirm). Bummer. Now the reception for AM is lousy. Boo hoo.

This radio is the best in it's class! I looked at alot of radios online and also at Radio Shack and they all seemed cheeply built; but very expensive. I finnally had it narrowed down to a price range of $140.
After seeing this radio on Ccraine; I liked it because of the fact that it had a au input for connecting a mp3 player and such. It has weather, TV, FM and Am also. I wanted a small radio to take out in the baot with me; so that I could listen to music and also get the weather. The price was not bad and the system looked like it was sturdy in the pic. I ended up finding it cheaper on Amazon.com and I have always been a great fan of Amazon.com. I ordered it and was worried because it took two weeks just to finnaly ship the thing. It noted that on the site; so that was no big deal. I received the radio very quick after they finnaly got around to shipping it. I love this radio. The first thing that I like is the volume knob. It is on the side and eazy to get to; plus it is coated with rubber and you can get a good grip on it while turning. the other things that was great was of courese the au for plugging in my Mp3 player. Now I can have hours of interrupped music at my fingertips. The weather alert is also great. I can use it as a alarm clock while camping and it fits into the tent just great. The radio has a sleep feature that makes it nice to fall asleep to some music. The best thing is the sound. It is awesome. Only one little speaker and it sounds very rich and the volume is planty loud enough for most. I washed my truck today while listening to my new radio. I put batteries in it and the weight makes it stable where ever it sits. Little chance of it falling over in the boat.
I end up putting it on my bed stand for the alarm feather and it goes everywhere I go. Very nicely build and a great finsh. You can't go wrong with this radio if your looking for someing to take on the raod or camping.

We live in a hilly area where reception on any radio seems to be poor. The reception on this radio is better than any other one I have purchased. I am very happy with it. The only thing I wish it had was a auto off after 90,45 or 15 minutes. I would definitely recommend it.

I searched far and wide and listened to several other radios before purchasing this one. There are many radios which are less expensive but they seem to all have a "tinny" sound. The Sangean Sonido has a really good sound and is very easy to use. I was in the market for a battery powered radio to use during power outages and this one fills the bill. For the price, I am very satisfied. Recommended. Good value.