This Sony night stand alarm clock has three features that differentiate it from its competitors. First, the headphone jack permits private listening and offers the potential to connect to better quality amplified 2.1 speakers for better audio reproduction. Second, its digital tuner helps pull in and hold stations whose signal would be otherwise marginal for a portable radio-type analog tuner. Finally, the Sony attention to design gives peace of mind about the switch and button layout, quality, and long-term reliability.

I purchased this radio for use in my office setting, which requires that be able to keep the volume low and that I pull weak signals from a high-interference environment. In particular, the classical radio station in Washington DC is a lesser public-radio broadcast that doesn't push itself through very strongly. The ICF-CD853V has no trouble with this station (although my previous Sony Dream Machine analog tuner did). I've also found that connecting a set of Altec Lansing VS4221 2.1 amplified speakers makes this little radio sound pretty full in my office. The headphone jack makes this possible. Most comparable units do not permit the external speaker option.

The CD player is of the standard variety. The buttons are easy and intuitive to understand. The CD "whirring" is perceptible, but not too distracting with slightly louder sound volumes, although it does interfere with very quiet musical passages.

On the down side, there is no battery backup. So if you're in an area with frequent power failures or intermittent power, you will lose your pre-sets and clock settings. Also, the enclosed stereo speakers sound very thin at the mid-to-low ranges and, of course, in the bass ranges. The base boost switch doesn't help here very much.

The alarm features appear to be very versatile, especially if you require multiple sources (CD, radio, buzzer) in any combination to wake up. I don't use the alarm(s) at work, naturally.

Overall, this unit would serve most uses quite well.