Sound Rise II, SFQ-16: Bedside Alarm Clock Radio & Bluetooth Speaker, with Large Display Screen, FM Radio, Fast USB Charging, and Nature Sound

I'm not a technophile by any stretch, but once I saw a preview of the revised Sound Rise, I had to have it. The radio fulfills all expectations and is unexpectedly lovely to see and use. What distinguishes this clock radio from competing products? In the first place, many tabletop radios (think Tivoli) seem purpose-built to entice fans of Mad Men's mid-century modern aesthetic, which these days seems impossible to avoid. Within our culture, radio exists in a nostalgic opposition to television and the internet, so any clock radio has a halo of vintage appeal. Radio is an old medium, audio companies suggest, so radios should look old.What looks good on Don Draper, however, does not necessarily work for an alarm clock with many modern features. Several other radios have analogue dials for tuners and alarms, which look great but are annoying to use. Do you want to risk waking up late because you sleepily wound your slender alarm dial? Of course you don't. The Sound Rise is above all easy to use, and it performs its duties as a radio, alarm and speaker brilliantly. The accompanying owner's manual is almost unnecessary; you'll master the device's controls within two minutes of plugging it in.Because of this ease, the Rise's unadorned simplicity is lovely to behold. The wood-and-taupe model looks particularly striking, the dense grain contrasting nicely with the muted fabric that shields the speaker. The display is large and clear, the buttons have a satisfying heft and, although the Rise is lighter than I expected, it feels well built. What could be better than an object that doesn't pretend to be more complex than it is?In a pinch, the Rise could deputize as a ghetto blaster and be heard above the din of a crowded room, but this is obviously not its life purpose. This is a radio to clean your house with. The bass is resonant but doesn't obscure the warm midrange, though the treble sometimes lacks punch. Overall, the sound is clean and bright, an enormous improvement if, like me, you listen to music primarily on a laptop.The Rise's feature set contains almost everything you want and very little you don't, a virtue that might be unique in the world of music players. It has two alarms that slowly crest in volume to ease your morning anguish. Adjustable snooze and nap timers, but not too many. Bluetooth pairing and line-in for when you worry about your phone's charge. USB charging if you're really worried and want to do something about it. The screen dims, which should be a federal mandate in all alarm clock radios but somehow isn't. It's small enough to fit on almost any nightstand. And best of all, it didn't cost so much that I become wracked with guilt every time I look at it, which is several times a day (thinking of you again, Tivoli).What's not to like? I wish it had an AM tuner, even though I never listen to AM radio. It just seems like something that should be included. I think that's it. It's a really great clock radio, and if you're using your phone as an alarm or thinking of buying a clock radio, you should buy this one.

I bought 5 clock radios this year, from cheap to very expensive. None of my previous purchases have been an icon for truth in advertising, that is to say, they didn't work as advertised. If they had good sound, the clock didn't work. If the clock worked, the radio sounded like crap.All had unacceptable shortcomings. I was about to give up on the idea of buying a decent clock radio when I decided to try the Soundfreaq Sound Rise II. I can happily that it works exactly as advertised. The sound quality is pretty good for a speaker of that size. The clock is perfectly reliable and the alarm offer several choices of wake up sounds. The bluetooth connected instantly to my phone and has been completely dependable, every time. The unit has a number of bells and whistles. (Sleep timer, nature sounds, USB charging, large display screen with dimmable settings, and more). Unlike other radios the set up is relatively easy and the instructions are better than any others that I have used.I consider this radio an excellent product, particularly in comparison the all the other radios that recently purchased and returned. I have found no equal even in the $200 models.Update: After using this clock radio for several weeks I can enthusiastically say this is a great radio. It does everything well, it's easy to operate, sounds good, all with good operating instructions. You can't beat it.

Really fantastic, modern alarm clock. The design looks great, I have a wood bed frame with shelves that it sits on and it looks right at home. It is also very light weight which is nice.The display is great. It is easy on the eyes and the various dimmable settings are perfect. If you turn the screen off it does come on when the alarm sounds but goes off again from there. If you are a terrible waker upper like me you want that back on in the morning. Otherwise you can see the display across the room but it can be dim enough for light sleepers too.Great sound. It is not going to compete with Bose...but it is an alarm clock so why would it. Happy with the radio and bluetooth quality.Yes, the bluetooth alarm option works! It will play whatever was most recently playing but it absolutely wakes up your phone and reconnects. If for any reason this does not work (phone battery dies, you accidentally set it to airplane mode, etc) it will simply default to the regular alarm so you still get up. The regular alarm sound is very standard. I find I have to turn the volume all the way to max but it does get very loud when all the way up.Nice long power cord if that is important.Seemingly good back up battery. I have only had it a few weeks but it certainly has stayed powered as I moved it from one shelf to another a couple of times.Here is my one real issue, the buttons are difficult to deal with in the morning. It has not stopped me from enjoying this and I am certainly not returning it but it is difficult to feel around for Alarm 1 vs. Alarm 2. It actually makes it harder for me to keep hitting the snooze button so it has worked in my favor reasonably well. A little bump on each button so you can feel it without having to see would be perfect. Again, a small complaint, but throwing out the info.I wouldn't let this stop you from purchasing it though. You can easily add a little piece of tape or something to help with this, I have certainly not found anything else as nice as this during all my searching.