Sony ICF C1IPMK2 Speaker System and Clock Radio with iPod Dock Black
Sony ICF C1IPMK2 Speaker System and Clock Radio with iPod Dock Black
The ICF-C1IPMK2BLACK speaker dock/clock radio combines auto time set and automatic daylight savings time adjustment along with a dual alarm and the added bonus of being able to dock your iPod music player or iPhone and listen to your favorite tunes through its speakers.
User Ratings and Reviews
3 Stars Good tuner, good sound, note quite iPhone 3G compatible
A good-sounding radio, but with some rather sad glitches. As others have said, the display is WAAAAY too bright, with only a 3-step dimmer, which at its dimmest still lights the whole room. I’m planning on putting a dark filter in front.
On plugging in my iPhone3G, the iPhone volunteered to go into Airplane mode and shut down its wireless- which it would not do if the Sony was truly iPhone3G compatible. You can then choose not to go into Airplane mode; sadly I did this, and the iPhone then remembers NOT to go to Airplane mode ever in this dock- which means I have to remember to do it myself, or put up with the terrible FM interference whenever the phone checks in with the wireless tower. (Just having WiFi on is OK, and doesn’t cause interference, and the iPhone allows this- with a few keystrokes….).
I suspect the “iPhone compatibility” it claims must refer to the earlier 2G iPhone, because it’s not true for the 3G.
Another irritation is that it automatically switches to iPhone input when the iPhone is inserted- even if you’re currently listening to the radio (at least you can switch back!). And conversely, when you switch the Sony to iPhone input, it irritatingly forces the iPhone to iPod mode- from whatever iPhone application you were trying to listen to…
And yet another niggle- common among Sony devices- is preset sleep times of 90, 60, 30 or 15 minutes- no way (I’ve found) to choose any other value… Also no gently reducing (or increasing) volume options- however, the two alarms can be set for different volume levels.
The earlier review mentioning it being “unstable” is correct- well, rocking would be a more accurate description; Sony put 6 rubber feet on the unit, and the middle row project below the others, so it rocks on them. Fixed, in my case, by removing the middle 2 rubber feet, leaving it stable on 4.
Sound quality is great, tuner is solid (well, I have to hold the FM aerial wire up for best results), and the buttons on top- invisible I’m lying down- are surprisingly intuitive. Note they’re just plain buttons, despite their scroll-wheel like appearance.
So, not all it really could be, but a nice tone to it…
2 Stars Five Minute Snooze?
The main reason I got this clock radio was to charge my iPhone and eliminate another dongle next to my night stand. Awakening to my choice of music was a a bonus. But here’s the problem. Instead of a straight ahead on/off switch to set the alarm, there are software switches, which after a month of use I could never quite get the hang of. I woke up late to work no less than four times in that span of time!
And then there’s the five minute snooze time. What’s the deal with that? Five minutes does not equal a snooze to me. I need the full nine minutes. In the end, this is going on eBay and I went back to my old trusty clock radio.
3 Stars Great features and price, but way too bright
This clock radio dock seemed perfect; the sound quality was good, it had every feature you could ask for (including iPhone compatibility), and the price was about 33% less than the comparable iHome product. I was in love… until I turned off the lights for the first time. Even on its dimmest setting, this thing lit up the room so much that I could read book covers on the other side of the room. I wanted a clock radio, not a night light! It’s baffling that Sony could get everything else right but mess up the one thing that’s always on: the display. I’m afraid this is going back to the store tomorrow.
4 Stars Everything I Expected, button layout could be better
i got this for my iPhone 3g, and i think it was really my best option without spending 4 times as much for the Bose. it does everything i want it to do, minimal distortion at the higher volumes for a clock radio. I can set what i want to listen to when i wake up and set a sleep timer to listen to something at a diffrent sound level while going to sleep. The display is alittle bright and dosent have a dimmer, and for best quality you really have to turn your iphone on airplane mode, otherwise every time you get an e-mail pushed, text, phone call, whatever; it gets some interferance/distortion being so close(less than an inch) from the speaker. But its really a pretty minor complaint..
And obviously if your going to use just a ipod none of that would affect you.
If your a deep sleeper i might not recomend this product, as the alarm automaticly shuts off after 3 minutes and i havn’t found a way to adjust it. But im Happy with it..
4 Stars Good value & pretty good product - with some problems
I got an ipod nano 3rd gen. as a gift a few weeks ago, and was wanting to find a good clock radio/dock at a good price. Well, this IS a good value for the price, if you don’t have the problems I had (&still have) with it. First though, It’s got great sound — I’ve heard more expensive speaker systems that don’t deliver nearly the sound quality of this one. I like the little adjustable back brace for the ipod, I don’t have to worry with getting it into the dock right. It seems to charge the ipod fairly rapidly, although I do leave it on the dock overnight anyway. I love the remote. Even though I’m not sitting that far away from it when using it, it’s still nice to be able to point and click. The remote gives you full access to all the ipod functions, and is easy to figure out how to use (even for someone like me who isn’t very electronics friendly.
The big downside — this thing is very particular about the order you do things to set the alarm. I’ve had this thing for 2 or 3 weeks and I still set another clock as a back up, ’cause half the time the alarm doesn’t go off on this thing. The ipod has to be on the dock before you set the alarm, and you have to go through steps in a particular order or the alarm won’t go off at all.
Value for the price, ignoring the alarm problems, I’d give it an A. Sound quality I’d give it an A+, as this unit really delivers. But sony really needs to re-think how you set the alarm and make that a little more workable for those of us that aren’t electronics genuises!
