Sonic Alert SB1000ss Sonic Boom Loud Vibrating Alarm Clock with Built In Receiver
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Customer Reviews of Sonic Alert SB1000ss Sonic Boom Loud Vibrating Alarm Clock with Built In Receiver
Customer Review: So alarming you will love to hate it.
Summary: 5 Stars
So alarming you will love to hate it.
I have had the sonic boom clock for many years as I am hearing impaired. I switch the side button on at night and off in the morning.
Yes there is an off button on the clock but it IS too close to the other buttons-and the only way I use it is if I actually lift my head up from the pillow and look for it. Maybe that would not be so bad for some people to do. It Does get you up.
This clock works by having the vibrating circle inside your pillow. And it comes with a plug in lamp feature. PLUS it makes such an annoying sound that if you can hear without your hearing aids you want to jump right up and smash it. Also a good thing cause it gets you started in the morning.
You can also hit the snooze button which is easy to find.
And if you use it long enough you can just use the keypad by touch, which I have done. Even in the dark.
I am only upset that they no longer make this unit in black, since I am sending one to my cousin who also is hearing impaired and whose wife is sick and tired of waking him up.
One caution- Smile- if you put the vibrator in your pillow and it touches the headboard; expect the whole bed to vibrate. Something which my husband can't stand.
I am so sorry to read that the person who was going to give his unit to goodwill. It would have been so much more useful to donate it to a Deaf and Hearing Center or find a group meeting for the Hearing Loss Association of America and give it to them.
There are so many hearing impaired and deaf people who cannot afford to buy one of these.
Customer Review: Worth it for the features beyond the basic alarm clock.
Summary: 5 Stars
My father has tinnitus (constant loud ringing in the ears) and hearing loss. This device has been useful not only as an alarm clock, but has function as the hub for various signaling devices. First off, the most important feature is the ability to select the frequency of the sounding device. My father cannot hear upper frequencies, so your typical electronic alarm is inaudible to him. This device can also be triggered by other devices besides wake-up time. For example, Sonic Alert sells a door bell module which will wirelessly make the alarm clock signal. I have also placed a Sonic Alert "baby monitor" close to the smoke detector. The noise of the detector which, again is high pitched and hard for him to hear, easily triggers the baby monitor which in turn wirelessly signals the alarm clock. I recently purchased a driveway monitor for my Dad as well (different manufacturer). Again, the hi-pitched chime was totally inaudible to him, but by installing it near the baby monitor, it caused that to ring the alarm clock.
Finally, you can purchase additional "Sonic Alert" remote horns which also feature an adjustable frequency output and put these in other locations in the house. Thus these horns, as well as this alarm clock, can be triggered by the Sonic Alert door bell module or baby monitor.
UPDATE: One thing I did not anticipate is that the baby monitor will also false alarm for loud sounds like thunder. So I've had the problem where my father will disable the alarm when this happens but forget to turn it back on.
Customer Review: OK while it lasted
Summary: 3 Stars
Good product, but could have been much better.
Pros:
1) This unit is loud. Plus, you can adjust the pitch of the alarm.
2) The bed shaker attachment is ... vigorous
3) The lamp flasher feature works as advertised
Cons:
1) There is an "off" button inconveniently near the snooze button. It's really easy to accidentally cancel the alarm when you groggily try to hit "snooze". I docked a star for the extremely poor design, from a human factors perspective.
2) Mine would frequently just not go off. I can't be sure that that wasn't due to #1. Also, I don't wake up "crisply" ... there's a period of semi-lucidity, where I'll lie (e.g. to my wife ... "I'm off of work today, I can sleep in!"), etc. It wouldn't surprise me to find out that I just turned it off ;)
3) The big one ... it suddenly died after about 2 and a half years. It just went off in the middle of the night one night, giving a sickly sounding rendition of its normal alarm sound, with a rapid clicking of the relay that controls the integrated AC outlet (that is used to power a lamp).
So, while it worked, it was satisfactory. It's lifespan seems to be an issue ... my experience seems very similar to that reported by others. So, to replace my deceased unit, I'll look for something better, but may very well end up buying another one of these.
Customer Review: Cheap innards
Summary: 1 Stars
With much hope I purchased this from a local audiologist 3 years ago, paying a bit of a premium because I needed it then. As a hard of hearing person, waking up on time is a challenge. In this household there was a change of routine with a job loss, and gradual awakening due to another's movement and noise became a thing of the past. Like many others reporting, this clock worked just past the warranty period, and then the clock innards died. Having paid nearly $80. with tax, I was not about to buy another.
Agree with the complaints about the confusing, difficult setting of controls. Not user friendly although looking at it, one would think the opposite.
I also didn't like the shaker, in that instead of waking me gradually, it startled me so badly, that most times I awoke, mad and grumpy at the world. Would take another hour to calm down from this.
When I spoke with others at my local Hearing Loss Assoc of America chapter, they seemed to have alarms which were no longer made/available, including one which is still available in Japan, but not in the US.
Do not waste your money on this brand, until they insist upon better quality from their suppliers & assemblers.
Have just been made aware of the ILUV brand, so will be trying that.
Customer Review: Amazing for heavy sleepers!
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought this particular model for my son in college. He's always been a heavy sleeper and always had his family around to get him up in the morning. After hearing from his room mate that he was still sleeping through alarms, I looked for something more effective, although louder didn't seem to be better. It was the "shaking" that sold us on this alarm and that it also had the flashing lamp module built-in. My son said there is no way you can sleep through the vibrations, whether between the mattress or under the pillow. And being in New England, the frequent dreary and dark early mornings make it even more difficult to get moving, so the flashing lamp is a good idea. This is also advantageous in an apartment building where having a louder alarm is not appreciated by the neighbors, but the "Bed Shaker" is effective and quieter. But, if you do need the alarm it is loud and the alarm noise is variable from high pitch or low pitch according to what works best for waking the sleeper.
It will not help if the sleeper keeps using the 'snooze' button, but that's more of a conditioning than a sleep problem. Worth the investment.