Home > Consumer Reviews > iSymphony CR8CD Portable Clock Radio Music System and CD Player with Built-in Universal Dock for iPod (Black)
iSymphony CR8CD Portable Clock Radio Music System and CD Player with Built-in Universal Dock for iPod (Black)
See it at Amazon.com for $49.99Average Customer Rating
(3.5 out of 5)
Amazon Customer Reviews
Most Helpful First | Newest First | + Share54 of 55 people found the following review helpful:
Ok for the value
(3 out of 5) by D. Harrold on Oct 13, 2008 (Seattle, WA)Great price, I was looking for a small economic stereo to replace my current large one with two large speakers since I moved into a teensy tiny apartment and needed to make as much use of my limited space. Plus I wanted a built in ipod deck too- no more cords everywhere. This fit my wallet and apartment perfectly. The sound quality isn't the best for a big space where you'd have the volume up, but for a small space its just right. It is a little staticy during the silence between songs on the ipod mode, but you don't hear it when the music is playing. Over all I'm satisfied wih it, it's just what I needed and expected when I ordered it.
34 of 34 people found the following review helpful:
All I was expecting and more.
(5 out of 5) by Pauletta Bunyon on Jan 8, 2009 (Grants Pass, OR, USA)I bought and returned 2 other C/Rs w/CD player before I found this one. Since it's totally digital, the time is always displayed, yet at the same time I can know which station I'm listening to on the radio, which channel and minutes I'm listening to on a CD, everything is visible. Because there are so many functions and sub-functions, there aren't enough buttons on the machine itself, so a remote control is necessary. That's all right. It gives me everything I want. And the sound quality is quite adequate for the audio books I listen to.
19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
Some good, some bad
(3 out of 5) by StudioPeg on Mar 9, 2009 (Boston, MA)I wanted an ipod/CD clock radio to replace my old CD-only clock radio and after doing some research, I purchased the iSymphony CR8CD. There's some very good things to note, and some bad.
The good: I don't have to convert all my CDs to digital files since this is also a CD player. I love the gradual wake up feature where it starts out soft and gets lounder in increments instead of jolting me awake. I also like how you can set the volume of the alarm separate from the general volume. Sound quality is pretty good also, and the remote is handy and performs every function.
The bad: Unfortunately I can't use this for what I bought it for... I wanted to use the sleep function to listen to nature sounds to fall asleep to, but there is a buzz when listening to the ipod on a low volume level. It's like listening to crickets under a buzzing neon sign. So it's useless for trying to fall asleep to something playing softly on the ipod. The CD player does not do this -- only the iPod player does.
In addition, the display is like an airport beacon in the middle of the night. I had to purchase some colored plastic folders at an office supply store, cut them, and tape them over the display (also cutting out a hole for the remote beam) so the brightness of the display would be toned down.
It also doesn't not have a daylight savings button like my old clock radio. Not a biggie, but it was a handy feature.
It just seems impossible to find a clock radio with it all... the ability to listen to soft music without a buzz, a choice of brightness settings, good sound quality, a lots of features.
This model isn't bad and I'll be keeping it because I do like the good parts enough to overlook the bad. Perhaps I'll try again in another 5 years.
The good: I don't have to convert all my CDs to digital files since this is also a CD player. I love the gradual wake up feature where it starts out soft and gets lounder in increments instead of jolting me awake. I also like how you can set the volume of the alarm separate from the general volume. Sound quality is pretty good also, and the remote is handy and performs every function.
The bad: Unfortunately I can't use this for what I bought it for... I wanted to use the sleep function to listen to nature sounds to fall asleep to, but there is a buzz when listening to the ipod on a low volume level. It's like listening to crickets under a buzzing neon sign. So it's useless for trying to fall asleep to something playing softly on the ipod. The CD player does not do this -- only the iPod player does.
In addition, the display is like an airport beacon in the middle of the night. I had to purchase some colored plastic folders at an office supply store, cut them, and tape them over the display (also cutting out a hole for the remote beam) so the brightness of the display would be toned down.
It also doesn't not have a daylight savings button like my old clock radio. Not a biggie, but it was a handy feature.
It just seems impossible to find a clock radio with it all... the ability to listen to soft music without a buzz, a choice of brightness settings, good sound quality, a lots of features.
This model isn't bad and I'll be keeping it because I do like the good parts enough to overlook the bad. Perhaps I'll try again in another 5 years.
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
Great clock radio!
(5 out of 5) by L. A. Zurawicki on Dec 29, 2008 (Castleton-on-Hudson, New York United States)This is an awesome product! My 17 year old daughter wanted a new clock radio with a CD player AND I-pod docking station...wow, this has BOTH! She is thrilled and the clock has a large digital screen to boot! I recommend this highly for those finicky teenagers and the price is right. Let's keep those teenagers happy and WE'LL be happy too!
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
All-in-one unit.
(5 out of 5) by T. Trinh on Feb 20, 2009 (Boston, MA USA)I was looking for an economical iPod dock / CD player / AM/FM radio for my bedroom or kitchen. This is it.
The iPod dock is everything you'd expect ... charges your iPod, navigates folders with the remote, etc. The CD player plays CD's, CD-R/RW's, and MP3 CD's. The AM/FM radio is great, as well ... picks up stations much better than other radios I've had.
However, if you're looking for a unit that has tremendous sound, this isn't it. It has two 1.5 W speakers (about the same as basic non-gaming PC speakers) ... better than a typical clock-radio, but you won't be bothering neighbors with these. The unit does have a headphone-out jack that you can connect to your discarded PC speakers, and have your cake and eat it, too.
Also, the unit has two alarms. The first alarm can be set to wake to your iPod, CD, or radio. It allows you to set the volume level you want to wake to, but it does not let you pick a specific song (it's whatever was playing when that function was turned off). The second alarm is buzzer-only.
All in all, a great unit.
The iPod dock is everything you'd expect ... charges your iPod, navigates folders with the remote, etc. The CD player plays CD's, CD-R/RW's, and MP3 CD's. The AM/FM radio is great, as well ... picks up stations much better than other radios I've had.
However, if you're looking for a unit that has tremendous sound, this isn't it. It has two 1.5 W speakers (about the same as basic non-gaming PC speakers) ... better than a typical clock-radio, but you won't be bothering neighbors with these. The unit does have a headphone-out jack that you can connect to your discarded PC speakers, and have your cake and eat it, too.
Also, the unit has two alarms. The first alarm can be set to wake to your iPod, CD, or radio. It allows you to set the volume level you want to wake to, but it does not let you pick a specific song (it's whatever was playing when that function was turned off). The second alarm is buzzer-only.
All in all, a great unit.