Sangean RCR-5 Digital AM/FM Clock Radio Review

This is a terrific clock radio despite a couple of drawbacks for insomniac listening (knocking 1 star off the rating). Features I require in a clock radio (beyond the obvious) are: earphone jack (my husband isn't interested in listening along with me ;), sleep timer, digital tuning (having to fiddle with station drift would only serve to wake me up more); preset stations (again, the less fiddling in the middle of the night, the better); and dimable display (I keep it just bright enough to read the display at night--this is pretty dim, doesn't disturb sleep). This radio has all that and more; I also like the small size of the radio and amber light of the display.

That said, here's what I dislike: when you press and hold the power-on button to use the sleep timer, the display becomes painfully bright, "only" about 15 seconds, but I find it extremely annoying. I'm working on developing a feel for how long to hold the button down without having to look at the display so I can just keep my eyes closed.

The other thing I dislike: the nap timer button is right next to the power-on/sleep timer button, making it very easy to accidentally hit the nap timer button without realizing it while feeling around for the power button, thus treating yourself and any sleep partner to the alarm a little while later. Ugh. Did that twice, then built a little "A-frame" of card stock & taped it over the nap timer button so I don't hit it by accident again. Note the power/sleep timer button *is* dimly (nicely) illuminated, so the nap timer button can be avoided if you don't mind opening your eyes, lifting your head up to see the power button, and focusing your attention on hitting nothing but the power button.

It's too bad the battery backup isn't good for more than a few minutes; hopefully this won't prove to be a significant problem. I didn't find setting the clock, alarms, or digital presets difficult, though I did need to use the manual to figure it out.


Buy it here now!