- Box Content - ICF-C1iP clock radio/speaker dock with attached FM wire antenna, power supply adapter, and installed battery, AM loop antenna
- Power requirements - 120 VAC, 60Hz (Clock backup requires 3 VDC battery)
- Output power - 3 W +3 W (at 10% harmonic distortion)
- Frequency range - FM 87.5-108MHz and AM 530-1710Hz
- Sound enhancer - MegaXpand, Bass Reflex Speaker System
UPDATE: Sony has updated this clock radio with a new model the ICF-C1PMK2 which has even better AM reception, a brighter display, and official iPhone compatibility.
Several weeks ago, I upgraded to a new 160GB iPod Classic. At the same time, I bought an XtremeMac Luna clock radio, which had good reviews. Unfortunately, I found that the Luna is incompatible with the new iPods it cannot wake them from deep sleep to play the alarm in the morning. A call to XtremeMac got nothing more than a note that my issue had been forwarded to their technical team.
Without any reviews, I took a chance, and ordered the Sony ICF-C1iP iPod clock radio, and am I glad I did! The Sony is fully compatible with my iPod Classic, and Sony includes instructions for using the iPhone as well. And, the sound quality and radio performance is remarkably better than the Luna or other iPod clock radios I've tested.
Sony has done a great job with the ICF-C1iP. It is an upright design, with most of the unit behind the iPod, in a slanted design with controls at the top. The iPod dock accepts universal adapters, but they aren't really needed as Sony has an adjustable supporting plate behind the iPod.
Unlike the Luna, which attempts to duplicate the iPod menus on its display, the Sony ICF-C1iP includes a remote control that lets you completely control the iPod menus as if you were manipulating the scroll wheel. Quite impressive.
Sound quality is very good for a clock radio with full bass and even midtones. Sony includes a simulated mode they call "Mega XPand" that in my experience made the music sound muddied and under-sampled. Your mileage my vary.
The blue-backlit clock is located in the iPod dock area, and 3 brightness levels are available. In my experience, even the lowest setting is a bit too bright, but not enough to disturb me at night. I wish that the display were slightly larger, although the high contrast lets me see the time without my glasses from a reasonable distance.
And, unlike most iPod clock radios, the radio reception is outstanding with an external AM antenna provided. The unit has dual alarms, which can be set to iPod (you can even select a wakeup volume), Radio, or Buzzer.
On the downside, the battery backup for the buzzer alarm and clock is a small expensive lithium battery. And, if your relying on just the buzzer to wake you up it's not very loud. You also have to be careful when changing the alarms to make sure that you don't accidentally turn the alarm off. But all of these are minor issues. However, these are all very minor issues that don't detract from the unit overall.
All in all, in my experience, this is the best iPod clock radio you can buy.
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I have been using the Sony ICF-C1iP iPod Dock w/clock for about two months now. I bought it for my office, so that I could listen to the radio and also play songs from my iPod Touch. As far as looks go, this Sony is quite attractive. The buttons, located on top of the unit, are large and arranged well. The clock is a nice backlit blue, and is quite pleasing to the eye. The iPod dock, itself, is well made and offers an adjustable back support, so that every iPod model will be held in place firmly. Overall, the style, design and features of this unit are 5-star all the way.
Now for the weakness, which is arguably the most important feature of any music playing device. The sound quality of this Sony iPod dock is very average; barely. There is just no low end (bass). Don't get me wrong, the music doesn't sound tinny or distorted, when played at reasonable volume levels, but it just doesn't have the full-bodied sound that I desire. I wasn't expecting Bose SoundDock quality from this item, but I assumed that it would sound much better than it does. Highs are fairly crisp, and the midrange is very pronounced, but notes and sounds cut off quite sharply below that. I cannot find the rated frequency response of this model but I'm sure the numbers are fairly unimpressive. The stereo soundfield is also extremely narrow, even with the included "MEGA Xpand" feature turned on.
The included remote control is nice, and it controls nearly every function of this device. However, all clock and alarm related features must be controlled from the dock itself. The unit is fairly large, considering that it is advertised as a clock radio. I don't know as though I would want this thing sitting on my nightstand. But I didn't buy it to be used as a clock radio, so I am not rating it as such. Overall I am fairly pleased with this device, as a means to play some low volume music in my office. However, for anyone that is looking to play loud music, and/or is expecting solid bass frequencies in your music, then I would definately look past this Sony ICF-C1iP dock. It does suit my needs here at the office quite adequately, and that is why I decided to keep it, but I certainly would not buy this unit for use at home. I paid just over $100.00 for mine (with tax), and for that kind of money I would exect much better sound. If it were only $50 or $60, I would give it 4 stars, but for the money that Sony demands for it I cannot rate it any higher than 3 stars.
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My father bought this clock radio for me as a gift because he knows i love my ipod. I have tried several different clock radios now that would enable me to wake up to something other than a radio or buzzer like a CD or ipod. None of them have worked very well for various reasons.
As soon as I plugged in the Sony alarm clock, the time and date were already set for me to Eastern Daylight Time. I hardly had to read the instructions because set up was so easy and user friendly. The most impressive was the ability to fully control the ipod from the remote control WITHOUT having to buy a special attachment from the Apple store so that the ipod will recognize a remote.
In addition, I thought I would have to set not only the alarm on the Sony, but also set the ipod itself to go off at 7am. Instead, I found that the Sony "wakes up" the ipod to go off for 7am, so I did not have to set up the ipod alarm at all.
I love my new clock radio. The only drawback is that you have to place the ipod in the dock the entire night, which means that your battery is constantly charging the entire night. From my understanding, this leads to early burnout of the battery. I wish there were a way to turn off the battery charger, but still have all the other functionality.
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Best iPod Alarm Clock period.
Amazingly easy to set up, has 2 seperate alarms, and, unlike the iHome this is replacing, you can set the wake up volume. As an added bonus you can even set each alarm at a different volume!
I can't tell you how many times I've jumped out of bed due to the lack of volume control on the iHome (OK, so the iHome's volume is "progressive" it starts out too loud and works its way up to insane within about 5 seconds).
I just got this clock/radio/alarm yesterday and thought I would give some initial impressions. It has good sound for a clock radio and charges and plays the IPOD in addition to playing the radio which has five presets and offers an optional alarm buzzer or music wakeup.
For 2" speakers it has great sound. It is slightly large length wise as it barely fits on my nightstand. Sony could easily have made it 2 to 3" less wide but left dead room at each end of the radio for expansion in a new series later with larger speakers or is engaging in creative packaging meant to impress beyond the actual size of the speakers sort of like the large chip bags which are only half full. However, it does not provide sound even close to some of the Panasonic Micro Stereo PM series which have a music port for an Ipod or any MP3 player which however is substantially larger and will not fit on a nightstand like this Sony Ipod Clock Dock but will do very well filling up a medium size living room with quality sound.
Yes, the backlight display is a bit bright on its lowest setting and dimly lights the bedroom up at night. Sony also loves to show you a flashing colon between the clock numbers to show you it is working I guess which only anoys you if you look at it. Duh, it wouldn't be on if it wasn't working so enough of the flashing second colon already!
It also lacks a bass and treble control, although the overall sound quality for the size of the speakers is pleasing and bests most clock radios. The sound volume is adequate for a bedroom or kitchen, but will not be near loud enough for a livingroom stereo.
Overall I like the unit and its sound is decently good for 2" speakers. I wish they had either put in 2 1/2 inch speakers to match the larger case, or made it more night stand friendly buy cutting the length down about 2 to 3" which could have easily been done with all the dead space on each end. If they had done that, installed a bass and treble control, and had a darker option for the dimmer, it would have been perfect.
All the same, I recommend it as a Ipod Clock radio although it takes up alot of space unnecessarily on my night stand as the case is large, especially for the speakers it houses. I recon you could get a scrap piece of window tint and cut to fit the slightly bright display for a darker bedroom at night.
If you want a clock radio, be careful if choosing the Altec Lansing IM600 which although more portable and not quit as wide as the Sony, as Altec appears to be engaging in a little creative advertising when they say it can be used as an alarm clock as it seems not to have a clock at all, except for using the Ipod as one.
