Sound Rise II, SFQ-16: Bedside Alarm Clock Radio & Bluetooth Speaker, …

Elegance in design and function
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.

Sound is not very good
I’ve been desperately looking for a replacement for my Cambridge Audio bedside clock radio unit (think Bose Wave radio but better). Sadly, there seems to be nothing even close these days. I bought this one because it had many positive reviews including several about its sound quality. Maybe my standards are too high, but I would have to rank the sound quality of this unit amongst the poorest. It is really no better than the $20 ‘tin can’ sounding units but at 5x the price.The other functions may be fine, I cringe at the thought of waking up to the nasally thin sound of this radio, so didn’t really test its other features.

El mejor despertador que he tenido. Vale la pena gastar más que otros más baratos, y tener uno que vaya perfecto, en sonido y calidad de acabado.

I was looking for a replacement bedside alarm/radio/clock when I found my Ipod 4 which I was using with a Kitsound dock wouldn’t download any apps from the AppStore anymore, so listening to podcasts started to become impossible.I decided to go for an alarm clock with bluetooth so that I could connect my new Samsung S5 to it for podcasts and digital radio but I also looked at other things such as wireless charging, having a FM radio etc etc.The Soundfreaq Soundrise came out on top. I didn’t really want a DAB radio built in and I wanted to have more than just a bluetooth dock by my bed. This alarm clock is brilliant and ticks all the right boxes.PROS-It has a large, very clear display in a light greenish white colour. You can also dim it using a button on the back so if you can change that depending on your preference, or even turn it off all together.-The USB charging socket on the back is perfect. I have a wireless charger for my phone, so I use this extra socket for my tablet or FitBit etc. It charges really quickly and is incredibly useful especially with a shorter USB cable.-The sound quality for a mono speaker system is lovely, really mellow with a deep enough bass level and nice crisp trebles for podcasts and audio books. It’s not the best for music clarity but it’s perfectly passable as a bedside device. There is an equaliser function so you can alter the sound quality slightly too.-The bluetooth setup was a breeze and I have experienced no drop outs or failures.-The inclusion of two alarms is a great idea, you can have one for weekdays and one for weekends or whatever you want. The alarm tone is fine though I tend to use my phone for alarms. If you connect your phone via bluetooth and fall asleep it will still be connected in the morning and you might get blasted with your alarm from two speakers which stops you going back to sleep I suppose!-The design of the speaker is really nice, it has a felty material around the base and the rest is constructed from wood-printed plastic. It’s not hugely heavy but has a nice upright shape with the buttons mainly located in the top surface in two rows which are easy to feel in the dark. I usually put my phone on top of the speaker as it has a little dip that suits it perfectly.-Connectivity is great too, not only USB and bluetooth, but an AUX 3.5mm input too so you can connect other devices.-The packaging is lovely and it seems Soundfreaq are a company who care about producing a great all-round product.-The FM radio is very good, with a small aerial cable to plug in when you set it all up. I’m not a fan of DAB as I don’t believe FM signals should be switched off so I steer clear of contributing to that endgame. I found the tuner to be responsive and accurate and the aerial is long enough for you to get a clear signal if you need to adjust it.CONS-Although I like the design of the Soundrise speaker, I wish it had been made of real wood or veneer perhaps, plus while the buttons are crisp and tactile, they are made of a dull brown plastic which isn’t as nice as the fake wood print finish. I am sure it would put the price up but real wooden buttons would have finished the whole thing off perfectly.-The speaker is quite light. I have it on my bedside table so it’s ok most of the time but I have knocked it alot and it will move around quite easily, that doesn’t affect how well it works, I just thought it was worth noting as I did expect it to be alot heavier.-You can only have one bluetooth device connected at a time. I only noticed this as my friend wanted to connect to play music from her phone while my phone was already connected but not playing anything. I don’t know if this is standard but it means you can only have one device ready to go at a time, rather than devices pushing each other off as needed.-The levels between devices can be quite different. So if I listen to the radio I only need the volume at 10, but if I listen to podcasts via bluetooth I may need it as high as 16, and the AUX input is the quietest of all. Not a huge problem but just a shock if you switch between and have to rush to change the volumes at 2am!Overall I’ve really got alot of use out of my Soundrise speaker clock and I love the way it looks. It was well-priced and is one of the only devices in its class which did everything I wanted it to.