Sony ICF-CD543RM Kitchen CD Clock Radio (Silver)
From Sony
Sony has the perfect addition to your kitchen - the ICF-CD543RM CD/AM/FM/TV Band/Weather Band Kitchen Clock Radio. Featuring an Under Cabinet Interior Design Style, a Space-Saving Slim Look, a Built-in Dynamic Bass Reflex Sound System, CD-R/RW Playback, and a 4 Band Digital Synthesized Tuner (AM/FM/TV/Weather), this Radio rocks! Use the 25 Random Memory Presets, CD Play Modes (Shuffle-Repeat/Repeat-1/Repeat All), and Easy Set Kitchen Timer to make cooking to music simple and fun. In addition, the Magnetic Multi-Function Remote Control can be used as a refrigerator magnet so you will always know exactly where to find it. Listen in the kitchen with the ICF-CD543RM.
- Amazon Sales Rank: #19861 in Consumer Electronics
- Color: Silver
- Brand: Sony
- Model: ICFCD543RMS
- Dimensions: 4.00" h x 15.00" w x 17.00" l, 7.00 pounds
Sony has the perfect addition to your kitchen -- the ICF-CD543RM Kitchen CD Clock Radio. If you love listening to music, but just don't have the room for a stereo in your kitchen, then this device was built for you. The ICF-CD543RM features Sony's under-cabinet, interior design style. The space-saving slim look with silver accents houses a remarkably powerful little music system. The built-in dynamic bass reflex sound system delivers rich bass tones. The CD player will play all your standard audio CDs and CD-R/RW burned discs. With the four-band digital synthesized tuner, you can pick up AM/FM, TV, and weather broadcasts with crisp, clear reception.
Aside from the space-saving design, Sony has added special features with the cook in mind. Spice up your listening with differing CD play modes, like shuffle and repeat. You might as well toss out that old wind-up timer because this CD clock radio has a built-in, easy-set kitchen timer to make cooking to music fun and practical. And the magnetic multi-function remote control can be used as a refrigerator magnet so you'll always know exactly were to find it!
What's in the Box
CF-CD543RM kitchen CD clock radio and magnetic multi-function remote control.
Great sound, features, design...just a little pricey
I tried other radios in the kitchen, but none could compare to the sound of this unit. FM reception's pretty good too. The "kitchen friendly" controls are easy to clean. Mounting is done by drilling three holes, for which it has a paper template, and it has adjustable spacers to accommodate cabinets with recessed bottoms. It's about 11-1/2 inches deep and just an inch or two wider.
I don't seem to get any weather band channels, and the TV channels I get are very quiet so I have to remember to turn the sound down before switching to FM or CD. The timer's a nice feature for the kitchen but seconds can't be set and it takes a lot of turning to get to longer bake times, like an hour or more. The magnetic remote's also nice but you have to be able to see the sensor and stay within about 45 degrees for it to work.
Overall I'm very happy with it. The sound is great and makes spending all day around the kitchen less lonely, plus it doesn't take up any counter space. I do feel like I paid a small premium for the name Sony though.
Looks good, but avoid unless you want a paperweight
We went through 5 (yes, five) of these within a year. The CD mechanism was very poor and would eventually stop playing CDs. Luckily Target exchanged it every time for us. I kept exchanging it out of spite until Target got an updated model, the Sony ICF-CD553RM Under Cabinet Kitchen CD Clock Radio (Silver), which I paid 20 bucks more for and have not had a problem with it at all.
Maybe it was just a bad run, but it seems from other reviews that Sony quality control was sleeping when these went out the door.
Definitely spend the extra $ and find the upgraded Sony ICF-CD553RM - it's slightly bigger, but it works and the sound is better, too.
Christmas Gift
I live in an urban area with generally good radio signals. The radio reception for this system is very poor. The AM antenna is internal and the power cord acts as the FM antenna. The reception is horrible. The unit does not accept an external antenna, so options are limited. All other features of the system work well but the radio is unusable.
