HoMedics SS-4000 Sound Spa Classic Deluxe Clock Radio & Sound Machine with Time Projection
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Customer Reviews of HoMedics SS-4000 Sound Spa Classic Deluxe Clock Radio & Sound Machine with Time Projection
Customer Review: Great White Noise Producer And The Ultimate Lazy Man's Snooze Button
Summary: 4 Stars
The HoMedics SS-4000 Sound Spa Classic Deluxe Clock Radio and Sound Machine is a handy little device to have around. It features a pretty good radio and six natural sound settings. The nature settings are Ocean, Summer Night, Rain, Rainforest, Thunder, and Waterfall. Of these settings, Ocean and Rainforest are my personal favorites. Rain and Waterfall are pretty good as well. Since I live in Louisiana, I only have to open my window at night to hear the real Summer Night setting. Thunder falls short due to the fact that it really doesn't sound much like thunder. It's more like a constant roar.
The clock is very easy to set up and use. Like another reviewer, I found no need to use the instructions to set up the time, alarm, projection focus and placement or any of the sound settings. I did double check myself by reading the instructions after I set up the clock, but I had everything covered.
The time projector is great for folks like myself who don't even want to turn over in the morning. When the alarm goes off, all you need to do in order to see the time is swing your left or right arm (depending on the location of your clock in relation to the bed) to the snooze button, press it and look up. The projector will display the time for five seconds on the ceiling. That's long enough for you to decide whether or not to get up. You also have the option of keeping the projector on at all times. It gives off a nice warm blue glow in a darkened room.
A sleep timer is also provided on the clock. If you need some soothing sounds to block out reality in order to get to sleep, this feature is really nice.
The only shortcomings I find with this clock radio are that the radio reception is iffy at times (but then again, most clock radios are) and the alarm isn't very loud even though I have the volume cranked up. I need a very loud alarm to wake me in the morning. The buzzer on this clock just doesn't wake me very well. You can also choose the radio or nature sounds to wake up to, but I need an annoying and loud sound to get me going.
Overall, this is an excellent purchase for folks who need white noise in the background in order to get to sleep, do a little work, or just to relax. It's also pretty handy in getting and keeping the kids asleep at night. If you need a loud buzzer to wake to in the morning like I do, you might want a different clock. However, I think the positives outweigh the negatives with this clock radio. I like it and recommend it.
Customer Review: Nice radio but with some flaws...
Summary: 3 Stars
This radio is a mixed bag. A few key points:
1. The OVERHEAD PROJECTION works well and is surprisingly crisp and focused. The time is probably about 2' across on our 9' ceilings. It is a little TOO bright however to be on constantly but there is a switch setting that turns off the overhead. You can hit Snooze for a few second display.
2. Most of the SOUNDS are pretty realistic. Rain and Ocean are probably our favorites - very realistic sounding. Summer Night and Rainforest both sound good as well, but they sound kind of the same to us. Both are forests, both peaceful animal sounds...you get the idea. Thunderstorm is lacking...it sounds like they re-recorded a thunderstorm that was being broadcast over an old AM radio. Waterfall to me is a waste but if you like a steady, constant roar then this might be to your liking.
3. The radio DESIGN looks nice, but it isn't very user-friendly. The buttons for the settings are in an arc above the time display. Fine, but the spacing is a little tight and order is questionable: HOUR - TIMER - RADIO - POWER - AL SET - AL MODE - MINUTE.
Notice...there is no button for TIME SET. So on a few occasions, while half-awake, I have gone to turn on the sound timer and accidently hit either the hour or radio button instead. I either change the time (no TIME SET button, remember?) or turn on the blaring radio...neither one is very soothing. I either have to reset the time or frantically pound on the clock to hit the Power button!
4. The last comment, I used to have a Timex Nature Sounds alarm clock and the two features that are lacking here is dual-alarm function (wake to sounds first, then to the alarm clock...very nice way to wake up) and Sleep Timer volume levels, so sleep sounds can be at a different volume than the alarm. Both of these would be welcome additions.
Overall, the HoMedics SS-4000 has better sounds than the Timex but this radio could be better.
Customer Review: Good concept but very cheaply made.
Summary: 3 Stars
My whole life I can count on one hand how many times I have received a new product that was broken out of the box. This was one of them! The speaker would crackle in and out, and sometimes shut off. Tapping on it would sometimes bring it back to life, so I figured there must be a loose connection to the speaker.
I took it all apart to see if I could fix it, and was surprised at the cheap build quality. there was lots of tangled wires and it looked like someone had a field day with a hot glue gun. I was able to get to the speaker by removing the main circuit board. I fired up my soldering gun and reconnected the wires directly to the speaker. It works fine now, and I'm sort of proud of myself for fixing it but nobody should have to go through that for an item around $30.
My opinions:
The projection is kind of cool but definitely too bright to keep turned on all the time as others have said. I like how it comes on for a few seconds when you hit the snooze button though, even if you have the projection turned off.
The green LCD readout is nice and crisp, and there is a backlight button on the back which turns on or off extra brightness of the numbers. I keep it off, numbers are way too bright with it on.
One major gripe is that there is no digital tuning of the radio, just a tiny dial on the side which has numbers on it that are really hard to see (worthless).
The natural sounds loop fairly quickly and not great quality, but not bad for an alarm clock with a tiny speaker. It's kind of nice to wake up to something other than a radio or buzzer.
I'm going to keep it. I think it's a decent item for under $30, but not worth more than that.
Customer Review: Many Complaints are Unfounded
Summary: 4 Stars
Just received this. So far, I'm very satisfied. After reading these customer reviews, I wasn't so sure I would be.
First, I think a lot of the complaints are due to people wanting something other than a nature sound alarm clock. For that purpose, it seems to be great. But if you're really looking for a radio alarm clock or just a sound machine, etc, etc--there are likely many other choices available to you.
Secondly, some of the functional complaints I've read here are just plain wrong.
My favorite is the guy who dis-assembled the projector to "fix the upside down numbers". The fact is, the projector is designed to rotate. The manual says 350 degrees of rotation which I can verify it seems to do just fine. It also has a focus feature which also seems to work just fine. And...for those who think it is too bright--this feature does turn off.
Another big complaint seems to be the brightness of the front display. I wonder how many of those folks realize there are two settings. The dim setting is fine for me and is a lot dimmer than various other alarms I've had.
Lastly, people have noted that there is no way to tell what radio station you are tuned to. Well, on mine anyway, there are AM/FM frequency numbers imprinted on the tuning knob itself.
I can agree that the construction does not seem to be overly rugged. But for someone without kids or pets--or for someone who is just generally "easy on things", I think it will be fine.
I can't comment yet on the reliability or life. Those reports did concern me somewhat. But, then again, for a $30 item, if it lasts even a year--not a huge deal to me.
Customer Review: HoMedics SS-4000 Awesome for the price!!
Summary: 5 Stars
Our Homedics SS-4000 Sound Spa Classic was just delivered yesterday and we set it up and used it last night. We are quite impressed with the product and did not notice any of the negative features cited in other reviews on this site.
Truly, the cost for this item was about $26...how much can you really complain? The overhead display of the time is a GREAT feature...my wife loves it as she does not have to look over me to see the time on the clock. I can even see the time displayed on the ceiling without my glasses. One reviewer mentioned the ceiling display was 'upsidedown' however when you are lying in bed with the clock on the nightstand next to you, the display on the ceiling is correct...I think this is how most individuals will place their alarm clock. We both wonder why we did not think of this ceiling display idea first! What a great idea.
Setting the alarm was easy and the snooze feature works well (used it twice this AM). We used the 'buzzer' setting for the alarm and it woke us with no difficulties. As pointed out in other reviews, you do have to be sure NOT to turn down the volume of the clock too much as the buzzer will become quite...DUH!!
The nature/relaxing sound features are nice and are calming enough...no complaints at all regarding these. I cannot really comment on the radio but the stronger channels on AM did come in fine without any problem...we did not get this item for its music/radio features so I really do not care too much about this aspect of the device.
For what we want from an alarm clock this is an awesome product---moreso because of the price. No complaints thus far.