ihome iH9SR iH9 Dual Alarm Clock Radio for iPod with iPod Navigation Remote and AM/FM Presets, Silver

The ihome alarm clock has some nice features, not the least of which is the ability to plug in your ipod and listen or wake to music. The clock looks good too. However, there are a couple of negatives, which may or may not be major depending on your situation:

1) If you choose to wake to the alarm buzzer rather than music, you will find that the buzzer sound is very quiet even at the loudest settings. If you're a heavy sleeper, this might be an issue.
2) A bigger problem for me is that my Tivo remote works on a similar frequency to the ihome remote. When I change the channel on the Tivo, my alarm turns on or off, depending on how it was set before. Other Tivo controls, affect other functions on the clock. For me, this means the ihome radio is not usable in my bedroom with the Tivo.

I'm impressed with this clock radio / iPod dock. This device shares a room with a Bose Wave Radio. $90 David versus the $300 Goliath. David wins on the critical counts, sound, radio reception, and cost. The iHome iH9SR is way better than I ever expected.

This is a complete rebuild (I think they threw out the horrible plans from the iH8) of the previous model. The controls are smoother, the display better, the sound infintely better (stereo to start with), and the heft is wonderful. I just spent 2 weeks with an iH8 in a hotel, it was good. The iH9 blows that older model away.

Honestly, I've read the other reviews of this unit, and I frankly don't understand them at all. The sound is clear. The clock is perfectly visible, the dimmer works exactly as reported in the owners manual. The AM and FM reception is way better than anything I own (including that Bose Wave connected to a roof antenna). The sound is clear and very tunable to your taste. iPod integration is wonderful. I love the two alarms with play list, radio, buzzer, or iPod; and 2, 5, or 7 day settings. The unit includes every battery you will ever need (two double A's in the base, and the remote battery). Even the remote - you almost have to close your eyes and not think to use it correctly. The remote is actually a nice size, not credit card thin, but not TV big - just thick enough, just large enough to be usable.

My only complaint? The wall wart is big and it is heavy. But if they made it smaller, the amp would be less powerful and the sound would suffer. So it's essential.

Oh packaging - this is hilarious. I think the company must own stock in 3M scotch tape. I've never seen so much tape in one box in my life. And the little iPod inserts (you know those nasty little plastic inserts for different iPods), come in two separate bags, and then each is individually wrapped in a bag. Kind of a waste.

The box says it big and bold - this unit will not charge or control a Series 3 iPod. Dec. 15 update: It will not control or charge the Third Generation iPod Nano, and it does not include an adapter for the iPod Touch (just got this from the www.ihomeaudio.com website). And after 6 months with this dock, we still love it. Would gladly buy it again.

Bottom line - I love this baby, great price, great sound, great iPod dock.

A big step up from the last model. Just be careful when buying, since it's easy to get messed up with the two versions of the same item. There is one iHome that plays third generation, and one that plays second generation. So, if you get the second generation iHome, you will be unable to play the third generation iPods.

Pros

+ 6 radio presets
+ comes with remote
+ easy alarm functions; you can set an alarm up so that all you ever have to do is hit the power button when it goes off
+ charges iPod so you don't have to go through the hassle of plugging it into the computer
+ remote can control iHome from across the room
+ crystal clear radio reception
+ remote has practically every button you could ever want
+ louder volume settings
+ easy to set and use
+ can dock almost every kind of iPod with add on attachments
+ better display; numbers are easier to read and the light had just the right amount of brightness
+ more dimmer settings
+ can play cd's
+ AM and FM radio
+ can play the shuffle
+ seems to charge faster than before, if only by a little bit

Cons

- the softest volume setting is quite loud
- HUGE AC adaptor which gets sort of hot
- remote gets kind of confusing the way it's laid out
- still can't charge the shuffle

All in all, the pros outweigh the cons. It's THE best iHome yet. And the silver color looks amazing.