Review: Ihome Zn9 Clock Radio/Audio System

Vendor: Ihome

Price: $99.99

In this review I'll be taking a look at Ihome's new Radio/Audio system for zune. At the moment it's the only product of it's kind for zune, being the only zune alarm clock on the market, and one of the few Zune audio systems. Overall testing this product out was an enjoyably experience, with just a few annoyances. Enjoy!

Meet the new ZN9, the world’s first clock radio for Zune. The ZN9 features several innovative solutions, including wake and sleep to your Zune™ music or AM/FM radio presets, a 7-5-2 feature for separate weekday and weekend alarm times, and an extra large, backlit LCD display with dimmer.
With our Reson8 speaker chambers, you’ll be able to enjoy stereo sound around the clock. The new ZN9… treat yourself and your Zune right.

• Wake or sleep to Zune, AM/FM Radio or buzzer
• Charges Zune while docked
• Auto-Set Clock sets itself
• Programmable Snooze
• High-fidelity stereo drivers in specially designed Reson8® speaker chambers deliver astounding clarity, depth, and power
• Gradual Wake and Gradual Sleep increase/decrease Alarm/Sleep volume so as not to startle the user
• Clean contemporary design complements the look of the Zune
• Dual alarm with AM/FM presets
• 7-5-2 feature for separate weekday and weekend alarm times

Design

Well, we'll start off this review with the design of the device itself. The front of the ZN9 has a 3.75" wide by nearly 1" tall backlit LCD display, surrounded by a metal mesh lining over the speakers. The top/back/bottom are covered in a black matte finish, while both the sides feature a more glossy black . The actual dimensions of the unit itself are 10.2" W x 3.1" H x 6.4" D. The general shape of this player resembles a smaller version of an Xbox 360, specifically due to the slight inward curve of the top and bottom portions. The pictures below show the front, back, side, and bottom view.

Most major controls on this unit are located on the top of the device, with a few squeezed into the back as well. On top of the device is where the preset buttons, radio/line in button, volume wheel, alarm reset/power button, sleep button, snooze/dimmer button, alarm 1/2 buttons, play/pause button, set wheel, and EQ are all located. The back contains the FM antenna slot, AC adaptor jack, line out jack, clock adjust button, time zone button, DST switch, AM loop antenna socket, and line-in jack.

Controls

On the top of the ZN9, centered are the 8 functional buttons, which include 1-6 presets, the equalizer button, Alarms 1&2 sleep, and radio. To the right you have the setting wheel, with the play/pause button centered within. This wheel is used to set different functions, and scroll through options, such as when setting alarms or choosing radio stations. On the left is the volume wheel, with the alarm reset/power button. Below the buttons is the snooze/dimmer, and above we have the dock itself. As you can see room is left for the ability to slide this back and fourth and center your zune based on the model you have. 

What's Included

Bundled inside the Ihome box we have a power adapter, radio antenna,  dock adapters for each of the zune models(4/8,30,80), manuals, and of course the ZN9 itself.

Interestingly enough though, the ZN9 remote is not included with this unit. On the contrary, all that's included is a slip of paper advertising the "special offer from ihome". This is for the $19.99 ZN9 remote , which has the following features:

• Play or pause Zune
• Access next and previous song
• Scan current track backwards and forwards
• Snooze function & alarm reset in alarm mode
• Control volume level

Now, seeing as this is built with the purpose of functioning as an alarm clock, I can see how the remote was left out. I do believe though , some sort of remote should have been packaged with the unit for the convenience of consumers who plan to use this as not only an alarm clock but as an audio system.

Features

Alarm:

The most important feature of course with this product is the alarm feature. The ZN9 features two separate alarms, each of which can be programmed for 7, 5, or 2 days a week. You can also set your ZN9 alarms to wake you up to either the radio, a built in buzzer, or the zune itself. For setting the zune to function, you are required to have your zune set to the song you want. When the alarm starts up in the morning it will initiate the "play" function of the zune and the song begins. There is also a nice and gradual about 10-15 second increase as the music begins to play. If your zune happens to not be correctly set for this to take place, or the zune is not even docked, the ZN9 recognizes this and resorts to the buzzer alarm. Snooze time can also be set to the range of 1 to 29 minutes. The alarms are quite easy to use, simple to disable/enable, and incase of a power failure will still go off(in buzzer form) due to the backup battery's in the device. 

Sleep:

Sleep is a handy little function allowing you to fall asleep to either the radio or your zune device. The range can be set to 120, 90, 60, 30, or 15 minutes and the music will gradually lower in volume until it's silent.

Radio:

The radio includes both FM and AM radio along with 6 programmable presets.

EQ:

The EQ in this device features treble, bass, 3D effect, and balance. It's convenient having the simple EQ function, and nice to see since unfortunately the zune itself does not have one built in.

Interesting Notes

There are a few extra things to notice with this device. To begin with, my zune has a tendency to attempt to wireless sync while docked. Although this does end up being fairly helpful, it did annoy me to begin with. If the zune is left idle on the dock, and the wireless is on, it will attempt to connect with the computer.(at least mine does!)

The other problem is with power. Sometimes when the power source is unplugged/plugged in, the unit resets itself to default settings. The back-up battery's are put in to prevent this, so I'm not sure if it's a malfunction with my specific unit or not. I have emailed Ihome about this problem, and am still awaiting a response. I'll update this review when that comes in.

Conclusion

This is quite sleek looking, and easy to use alarm clock. It also contains some nice features, such as the Radio, Sleep function, Dual Alarm, and EQ. Getting the hang of using this device is very simple as well, and changing settings is fast and easy. The sound quality is great for an alarm clock, and the EQ is helpful. However,the sound quality can't quite compare to most Zune Stereo systems if that happens to be the reason your purchasing this product. $99.99 is a good price for the ZN9, but It  should have shipped with some sort of remote. For anyone looking for an alarm clock, and wants the added feature of docking/playing your zune with it, I highly advise this product. Not only is it the only Zune Alarm clock your going to find on the market at the time being, but it can also be used as some decent speakers for listening to your zune.

Anything I didn't cover that your wondering about? Feel free to post a comment and ask.