
I thought I'd do a review for your blog of the Sangean CL-100 clock radio, especially since I found the recent bargain price of about $33 on Amazon via a tip on your blog. There's two pictures attached, mentioned in my review.

I didn't really need a new clock radio, my trusty RCA RP3721 has been serving me well for over 20 years. The sound and performance aren't the greatest, but I have many other radios for that. The RCA wakes me up reliably, and has several good features that are easy to use. But for the bargain price of $33 including shipping, I figured I'd take a shot on the Sangean.
In four words, I Don't Like It. I read all the reviews, but even though things were mentioned, nothing prepared me for the boneheaded flaws in this potentially useful radio.
Out of the box, the Sangean suprised me that the unit was quite a bit smaller than I expected. Not a problem, since that means a smaller footprint on my night table. In fact, it has the exact same footprint as my Sangean DAR-101 Mp3 recorder (see picture). That's where the good news ends.
First of all, the radio is useless as a clock radio. The display is small, not very bright (about as bright as the person who designed this radio I guess), and worst of all, is fixed at about a 45 degree angle from the radio. In other words, virtually impossible to see from my bedside (see comparison pic with my RCA, taken from my pillow, i.e. what I can see lying down).
Plus the shiny plastic display cover makes it virtually impossible to read from any angle in daylight. The Sangean MP3 recorder has an adjustable angle display, and can go to 90 degrees (see other picture).
OK, but how does it perform?. Not very well. For one thing, there is an annoying 2 or 3 second delay whenever the station is changed via preset. The sound is OK, but the sensitivity and selectivity are below average. I wasn't looking for a star performer in a clock radio, but I did hope for a little better than my RCA. No such luck.
I'm not quite sure what I am going to do with this radio since it's obviously not going to be my new bedside radio. There is an old analog JC Penney clock radio in the guest room. But if I replaced it with the Sangean I'm sure I'd have to teach any guests how to use it. So, for now, it's in the little used back room of the basement, connected to an old portable CD Player (so at least I'm making use of the Aux-In feature). It was still a great price, so I really don't regret buying it, but it could have been so much better.
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