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From
TNPC issue #3.12...
High-End Clock Radios
by Al Gordon
June 8, 2000
A belated Christmas present finally arrived last week: the best
clock radio-CD around. And no, it's not the much-advertised Bose
Wave Radio, but the Model 88 CD from arch-rival Cambridge
SoundWorks.
It's a stretch to call it a computer-related product, although
both companies sell computer audio equipment and do say their
radios can be hooked up to a PC.
But it is kind of cool. And I like the idea of price competition
creeping into the clock radio-CD market. Make that the high-end
clock radio market. We aren't talking sub-$100 units here, but
pieces that go for as much as $500.
Dr. Amar Bose, patron of the eponymous company (sorry about that
folks, but I have been looking for a chance to work "eponymous"
into an article for months) and Henry Kloss, of Acoustic
Research, KLH, Advent, and now CSW fame are certified legends of
the hi-fi world. Both are based in Massachusetts and both are
famed for their "my way" approach to design. "Stubborn" is the
frequently used term.
There is one big difference, though: Bose's product lineup evokes
the old Clint Eastwood flick, "For a Few Dollars More," Kloss
goes for a few dollars less.
Bose is devoted to his "acoustic waveguide" design--at the risk
of shrieks of protest from the Bose HQ in Framingham, that
essentially means that there is a long tube folded up inside the
Wave radio to boost its bass response. Bose contends that this
approach allows a small radio to approach the sound reproduction
of a much larger system. But it has two problems: it's pricey--a
Bose Wave radio-only goes for $350 and the radio-CD for $500 (no
discounts offered anywhere). Also, it's non-adjustable, so if you
don't like the Bose view of bass response, tough.
Kloss' method for increasing bass is simply to put a subwoofer
inside the box. Not as elegant, but there is a knob for adjusting
bass up and down. Plus, Kloss provides a headphone jack whereas
Bose thinks headphones are an assault on his acoustics.
Not that Kloss has been all that user-friendly either. The
original Model 88 table radio introduced in 1998 was intended to
be purely just that: a radio to sit on a table. Period. The
Cambridge SoundWorks marketing people eventually noted that the
number of people wanting to gather around the family radio to
listen to fireside chats and "The Shadow" was a little limited. A
"control clock" unit--basically, a glorified remote control with
dual alarms--was introduced to make the 88 usable as a clock
radio. Finally, after a variety of production delays, the 88 CD
has appeared, with the clocks and alarms built in along with the
CD player.
The Model 88 theoretically sells for $250, but is usually on sale
for $200 and the control clock is $50; the 88 CD is $350--so they
under-price the comparable Bose's by $100 and $150 respectively.
http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/312/tr.cgi?hifi
Mind you, the whole concept of spending that much on a clock
radio boggles many people's minds. Sony, among others, have a
range of clock radios and radio-CDs for much, MUCH less money. If
your only need is to catch five minutes of weather and news in
the AM before heading into the shower, the high-end units are not
for you.
In part the object of the exercise is to allow the picky music-
lover to hear tunes that don't grate on the ear. The units also
have some cool features such as being able to program the volume
level when setting the alarm so you can play music softly to go
to sleep and have it loud enough to wake you up in the morning.
But an equal part is to have a unit that supplements your main
stereo system. The "room-filling sound" that Bose and CSW pitch
is a bit of a stretch, but not much of one. You can crank up the
volume and get respectable results--better than a lot of
speakers, boom boxes, and compact stereo systems in the
comparable price range. Think of it as a mini-system with a clock
built in. And a solution to the age-old "I want to hear
classical; no, I want to listen to jazz" debates in your
household.
You can reach Al Gordon at:
mailto:algordon@TheNakedPC.com
Copyright © 2000, PRIME Consulting Group, Inc. and Dan Butler.
All Rights Reserved.
The Naked PC is a trademark of PRIME Consulting Group, Inc.
ISSN: 1522-4422
You may reprint an article from TNPC as long as you show the
entire article and include the authors byline, excerpt and
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High-End Clock Radios
by Al Gordon
(This article originally appeared in The Naked PC
newsletter #3.12, subscribe at http://www.TheNakedPC.com)
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