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Moon on a stick please...
I'm trying to ditch digital screen devices from the bedroom entirely for the purposes of getting better sleep. I normally use my phone but I'm going to leave it downstairs, so I need an alarm clock.
I'd ideally like one I can still listen to music/podcasts on without connecting my phone, so a USB or memory card input would be good. And not terrible sound quality. It also needs a sleep timer to switch off music etc, and a clock light that dims to either off or almost off as I'm quite sensitive to light.
Would be good if it wasn't fugly too - plain is fine. And not too expensive.
Does such a thing exist? Been looking on Amazon/eBay etc but nothing jumping out at me so far.
I'm on a similar search. The dimming display is the big issue for me as Mrs Owg is very sensitive to lights at night. So far the Ruark R1 seems to be winning, but it fails utterly on your 'not too expensive' requirement.
Hmm, bit of a strange suggestion perhaps; but I was given a Google home mini speaker for Christmas and it appears to satisfy a number of your requirements. Plays music via Spotify etc, or TuneIn radio, or music on my phone. Plays podcasts. You can set an alarm. No visible clock, but you can ask it the time (weather and many other things). Sound quality decent for its size IMHO.
The new Sony version of Google Home does all the Google mini things as above apparently..but also has a time display. No idea what it's like as I've never seen one in the flesh..
Depends how you want to wake up. We all (us and the kids) have the alarm clocks that turn on a light slowly over 30 minutes. Ours has a radio or alarm and the kids alarm only at the set time. Works well as you naturally wake up before the alarm as the room gets lighter. Had them years. Would assume more newer ones have Bluetooth etc.
I've got the Ruark R1 (pre streaming version) and it's excellent. If you want for sound quality from a small single speaker setup then I don't expect there is anything better on the market.
DAB, 2 alarms that you can pick weekday v weekend etc.
Not cheap though.
I use a Sonos Play 1..... great alarm clock.
It doesnt do the smart things your looking for but I had the same problem with an over bright screen and ended up with a bog standard john lewis bedside alarm clock. Screen goes very feint but still readable.
Cheers everyone. Having Spotify/TuneIn built in might work but bluetooth is no good as then I'd need my phone. Kinda like the look of an echo spot or whatever but maybe getting too far towards a smart device again.
Basic one without the music stuff is definitely an option and might be all my budget allows.
That Ruark 1 looks great - need a cheap Chinese rip-off!
We have a Roberts stream 93i which fits your description, there is a 94i out now too with Bluetooth as well.
2 alarms, dab+, usb and phono inputs, good sound and is quite a compact unit. When it is not in use, the touch screen display dims a lot to almost not be visible showing only the time, but can be seen if that makes sense. Well worth a look.
Edit: also has Spotify built in.
So, I've ignored all your advice, and taken a punt on the one I linked to. 😛
I was annoyed that Amazon put the price up by nearly a fiver in the meantime though so I ended up getting it from Aliexpress for £18 (slight discount through the app). Here's the link if there are any other scumbags out there.
Seems to get reasonable reviews on Amazon and apparently the light does go dim/off when it's powered by the battery. One day I'll splash out on something like the Roberts probably - had one of their radios before and was impressed with the sound.
Thanks anyway peeps - will report back once I've got it
Thought I'd report back on that clock/speaker I bought - it's actually pretty decent. Amazing for the money. It's clearly a budget product but it generally all works as it should and no major issues.
I've loaded up a memory card with ambient music and stick it on with a sleep timer when I go to bed. The clock goes off completely after a bit (before sleep timer goes off) and if you wake up and want to know the time you just tap on the top. This does turn the light on but you can quickly turn it off again.
It's working well for me so far. There's a little bit of hum when playing from the memory card but it's kinda white noise which helps mask my tinnitus anyway. Only really noticeable at very low volumes like you have last thing at night. Sound quality is nowhere near my minirig but surprisingly good. Bluetooth pairing works as it should.
Worth a try for £20 anyway - I'm glad to have my phone downstairs at night. If I wake up I might read for a bit but I'm not tempted to mess on my phone. I seem to get back to sleep quicker even just knowing it's not there!
+1 to an Echo Spot. Small and discreet and just works.
Looking at some of the 1 & 2 star reviews on Amazon for the Spot it seems like it's not fully supported in the UK yet (and has issues with some WiFi routers)? Tempted, although not at it's current price.