GPX Dual AM/FM/CD Alarm Clock Radio (D714) Review

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(More customer reviews)I received this item as a present. It's alarm clock features work fine, allowing for two alarms, and has a battery backup (don't know how long it lasts, though - the manual doesn't say). I particularly like the red display - it doesn't hurt night-vision or light up the room, like green/blue displays do (something I find very frustrating). The buttons are in fairly good positions, with the Snooze button a different texture from the rest, an important thing for half-asleep morning fingers. The time button is set on the opposite side from the hour/minute buttons, so there's little chance of accidentally resetting the time (something I've done many times with other clocks).
However, the Snooze timer is hardwired for 6 minutes, which is way too short. The sound quality is terrible, *very* tinny, and there're no jacks for connecting it to other, better speakers (I don't know if any other clocks come with such functionality, but it would be awesome if they did).
But the worst part for me is the way the alarm works in relation to the CD player. This appears to be a failing in every CD-alarm model I've read about so far, so it's unfortunately not unique to this one: The alarm only ever plays the *first* track of the CD. Using program mode means nothing when it comes to the alarm - all it allows you to do is change which track it considers the first one. So for someone who hits snooze at least three times (my boyfriend hits his at least seven or eight), having the exact same track play, from exactly the same point, each time the alarm goes off gets VERY annoying. I desperately tried to get the program mode to save the "random" setting for when the alarm went off, but no luck - it doesn't do that. Also, if you hit snooze, when the alarm next goes off it does not resume at the point in the song where you left off, it simply starts the song over again. How many times can you listen to the same opening notes of a song before going insane?
Manufacturers of such alarms have completely missed the point of having a CD-alarm: It's not to play the CD all the way through like a regular stereo, it's to have the choice of various sounds/music to *wake up to* in the morning! If that choice is taken away, it completely nullifies the benefits of a CD-alarm.
In terms of a general alarm clock, it works fine. The speakers are horrible, but that's okay - they're just there to wake me up. If only the CD-alarm allowed for random tracks and it had good Snooze functionality, I'd actually be satisified because it would do it's job - especially since I can't take waking up to the innane morning radio chatter much longer!

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