| | |  | Musical Instruments | Home » » HOMEDICS SOUND MACHINE 6 SOUNDS AM/FM CLOCK RADIO | | | | | | | Description: | | Homedics SS-5500 SoundSpa Radiance. AM/FM Alarm Clock Radio with Time Projection, Light & Sound, Auto/Off Timer | | | Features: | |
• AM/FM Alarm Clock Radio wake or sleep to your own lamp.
• Transforms your own bedside lamp into rise & shine alarm
• Sunrise & sunset lamp function. You can also project the time on the ceiling!
• Wake to one of 6 natural sounds, lamp, radio or alarm. Includes a snooze/nap function
• Auto-off timer can be set to 15, 30, 45 or 60 minutes
| | | Product Details: | | | Product Length:
| 14.0 inches | | Product Width:
| 12.0 inches | | Product Height:
| 5.0 inches | | Product Weight:
| 2.65 pounds | | Package Length:
| 11.7 inches | | Package Width:
| 11.6 inches | | Package Height:
| 3.0 inches | | Package Weight:
| 2.25 pounds | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 16 reviews |
| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
Average Customer Review:
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1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
 Best set of features for the priceSep 27, 2009
I did a fair amount of research on these 'sunrise' alarm clocks. Found a great deal on this one and decided to take a leap of faith since it got very mixed reviews. After living with it for a few weeks I wholeheartedly recommend it, especially since it's half the price of anything else I found with these features. I love it's function of controlling your own lamp. So YOU get to pick the lamp and bulb to wake up to. I'm not sure what's so great about those orb-style ones, maybe they simulate a gradual increase of natural light better? I know you can buy 'natural light' bulbs for any lamp at probably a fraction of the cost of their replacement bulbs.
I have 2 main points about this thing. I was pretty excited to 'wake up gently' with the slow increase of light as opposed to a shocking sound where all you want to do is hit the snooze before you are conscious. This helps, but it's not a life-changing way of waking up I was hoping for. There have been a few mornings where I was comfortably awake 5 min before the sound alarm went off due to the light, but there have also been mornings where I perpetually hit the snooze. This was more due to me staying up too late. So I'm convinced this is an improved way to wake up, but it won't solve your problems if you don't manage the hours you give yourself to sleep!
The other point I have is about the negative reviews about the controls and buttons. I love the versatility of this thing. You can get it to do dang near anything! You can go to sleep with the 'sunset' option and listen to radio or nature sounds. You can wake up to light with or without sound and you have complete control over what sound and it's volume. I didn't read the manual prior to using it and was able to easily set it the first time and it behaved exactly as I expected. If you are the type of person who can't set your VCR clock, then maybe you need a simpler alarm clock with fewer buttons and therefore fewer options. But I love the versatility and have had NO trouble programming it! As far as 'fumbling in the dark' for the right button goes, yeah you'd have issues finding the right one since all the ones on the top are indistinguishable without directly looking at them. But the power and snooze buttons are right in front and very easy to hit in the dark, what more do you really need to mess with in the dark?
Yes, the display is a little bright, but I didn't think it was too bad. I've never had a projection of time on the ceiling before and really like that. The radio sounds good and has good reception with that separate antenna wire that's included.
Also, it is REALLY nice to be able to control your lap through the alarm clock. So now I can slide the lamp a little farther over and not have to reach to turn it off. No I'm not a lazy toad, it's just pleasant to not have to reach that lamp when I'm wound down for the day! This machine has a great set of features for the price and has worked flawlessly for me so far!
 TOO BRIGHT!!!!Aug 10, 2009
The major problem with this alarm clock that I just purchased is that it is too bright. So much so that even draping clothes in front of the alarm still does not mask the time display. I called Homedics and even the woman on the phone knows that it is too bright. She suggested using brake light tape and placing it over the face of the clock to dim the blue light. Sad that it is deficient in this area.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
 Nice idea and execution, not life changingJul 06, 2009
I hadn't heard of these types of alarm clocks until an Amazon gold box offered a different one a few months ago. The basic idea is to have a light start getting progessively stronger 15 or 30 minutes before you want to wake up. There are 2 main types of these units, one with a built-in light and ones like this one that work with your already existing light.
So far this one has worked pretty well. A couple of times the light did not go off, but this was most likely user error as by habit I turned the light off via the switch. Luckily this unit includes nature sounds and a radio and I personally choose light with nature sounds, so I have never not gotten waken. I would hesitate to use it just with the light.
Has it made a big difference? Am I brimming with more energy? No. It is not a bad way at all to wake up though. The nature sounds are high quality and perhaps in the winter when it is pitch black when I wake up it will have a more noticable effect.
Note that you only have two options for how long the light gets brigther, 15 or 30 minutes before your alarm set time. The sounds start playing 5 minutes before. So say you set the alarm clock for 6AM and 15 minutes. At 5:45 the light starts to turn on and gets brighter. At 5:55, the nature sounds/radio will start to play if you choose this option.
Among the many buttons on the unit you have 2 that control the light. Turn off and turn on. In order for the unit to wake you properly, you must turn the light it is connected to off via the alarm clock. The light needs to remain on the 'on' position. It should not start turning on until 15 or 30 minutes before the alarm time, or whenever you press the light on button on the unit. The unit does not keep track of the day of the week so no automatic off during the weekend. Small complaint. Overall decently priced unit to try out and see if 'light waking' makes a difference for you.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
Good, but some issuesJun 26, 2009
I like this product, and waking up to a sunrise is pretty cool. Some people seem to see this type of wake-up as a panacea; I don't think it is quite that great, but it is an improvement.
The alarm clock connects wirelessly to the lamp that it will turn on. I wasn't expecting that, but it is nice, because you can put the alarm clock across the room from the lamp if you want. It also means you need 2 plugs. The display is way too bright, and I don't understand why the designers would make the clock so bright and leave the buttons on top dark. They are impossible to see/use in the dark. In my case, I have 1 lamp in my room, which I used to have on a switch. I can't use it on a switch anymore because it is connected to the alarm clock, and can only be turned on/off via the buttons on the clock. I end up walking through my dark room to push the light button (hard to see in the dark).
I would strongly recommend planning out how you will use and place this alarm clock. I may end up rearranging the room to improve this issue, which is something I hadn't expected. Overall, this clock works well enough, is several times cheaper than similar options, and has a lot of extra options.
2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
Absolutly amazingMay 27, 2009
This has got to be one of the best purchases I have ever made. I wake up feeling much more refreshed than when I used a traditional alarm clock. I use a 150 watt Edison bulb so I am getting the closest to real light as possible I also use the rain forest setting to hear birds chirping. This is a wonderful combination as it fools my body into thinking that it is daylight outside. I suffer with ADD so waking up can be a bit of a challenge for me but this alarm clock did the trick for me. I cant promise that it will work for everyone but for me this product was absolutely amazing.
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