Sony ICFC717PJ Nature Sounds Clock Radio, Silver

After reading all of the reviews, I decided to buy this above all of the others out there. Sony has always make a decent product, and I'm replacing a 20 year old one at that.It is a small alarm clock. Has two cords coming out of it (three if you hook up the am antenna). Doesn't take up much space on my nightstand. It projects the time (and an icon for any alarms that are turned on)on the ceiling. I consider myself an average guy, and the 10 hour auto off is not a problem, as it is on when I need it, at night if I stir in my sleep. If it didn't have the auto off, then there would be tons of dissatisfied folks complaining the light stops working after being turn on for two years straight. I keep the clock in what I consider a normal spot, with the clock facing slight towards the bed, and I prefer to swivel the projector on the ceiling, but I can shoot it across the room. The orientation of the image can be rotated using the button on the back, and it has a focus knob.It has two alarms, can be set for beep, nature sounds, or one of 5 of your preset radio stations. The feature I like is that you can set the volume level as well, meaning I can listen to my music at a decent level, and it will wake me to a louder one, which I do. As far as the nature sounds go, I tried them, after a while you can hear the loop it makes. The stream is not a great one to sleep to, as I woke up needing to use the bathroom when I use it.The display is blue, manually controlled with bright, dim, or off. when it's off the projector still works. The radio reception is great, picks up all of my stations with no problem, sound is not bad at all. Displays the time temp, and the active alarm(s).I personnally think this a great little radio clock, works well, and I like the design.

I read the whining reviews. Wrong. The sound is excellent. It's not a sound system. The instructions are extensive... but well written. It was pretty instinctive for me. The settings are easy. I have a costly radio alarm in place, but I can't read the time from bed. This projection is a masterpiece. I almost want to buy another for someone else, or as back up to last me the rest of my life. (Old guy talk'n). But we can probably assume that Sony will always have a perfect clock radio for us. I use this with my Sirius XM satellite radio by the way. 88.1 FM. Easy... perfect. This replaces my 20 year old Sony shortwave/FM/AM radio which still works great... except I can't read that clock either. (It's me, not the radios). I will now use the old radio as battery unit for XM in the back yard. I have another refuse-to-die Sony in just the perfect place in the kitchen to catch the XM signal on FM. That radio served me for over twenty years on the road. Still sounds good and looks good. Sony is fine. Note I have the new Sony 4K TV, for sale at Amazon. It is way more than you can imagine, with regular full HD. 4K material is beyond description. Just say'n. Also note that the Amazon Prime Service is incredible. (Excellent).

Pros:- Fairly easy to set up- Has a weekday and weekend setting- Projection display on ceiling/wall is a nice feature and works well- Various sounds it makes are nice but not a selling point- Snooze button is large and easy to find- Automatic time setup works wellCons:- Projection of time only stays on for about 10 hours then goes off automatically so you have to remember to turn it on if you want it on for the night- Unless I missed it, the ONLY way to turn the alarm off (instead of "snoozing" it) is to fumble around for the button on the top (which is in a row of many other buttons the EXACT same size) to shut it off - VERY annoying- Display is either VERY bright, somewhat bright, or off. I found neither brightness setting low enough for sleeping so had to shut it off at night. So unless I turn on the projection time, I can't see what time it is at night- It is long and short and doesn't fit well on my nightstandOverall:- It works well and is easy to use- Its shortcomings did not outweigh its advantages for me so I kept it- If you can live with its Cons, it's a nice alarm

I am so sorry that I bought this clock. It has disappointed me on almost every level.The design of the clock is fine. It's compact, sleek, and looks nice on my night table. That's where the positives end.The blue background of the clock readout makes it almost impossible to read. I have to be within 12 inches or so to read the time or temperature. There's no way to read it from the other side of the bed, never mind the other side of the room. The light from the clock is way too bright. It's like having a light on in the room at night.The projection readout is good. It's easy to read on the ceiling, and the blinking of the colon doesn't bother me. I don't like that it turns off after ten hours. What's the reason for this? My husband and I sleep on different schedules, and if the early sleeper turns it on, it goes off before the late sleeper wakes up.The sound of the radio is horrible. It's tinny and sounds cheap. Also, the volume does not go high enough.I'd never purchase this item again, and I wouldn't recommend it.