Marcus Hanke
[PuristSPro Moderator]
11295
Without electronic amplification, or a huge case ...
... working as a resonator, it is a physical fact that alarm watches cannot get a loud and melodic sound from their innards. Having said that, there are watches that are better at waking up sleeping people, while others are better at pleasing people with a nice sound.
The first category is - without much discussion - led by the infamous "Cricket", made by Revue Thommen and Vulcain. If you do not wake up from the noise these watches make, you have a medical problem. However, the noise will make your toes bend, and that is often not a good start into the morning.
In the other category you will find Jaeger Le Coultre's Memovox. This one is nice to hear, but not too loud. Its major problem, imho,is the short duration of the alarm sound, together with the change in tone when the spring tension is gradually reduced - "dying swan syndrome".
In my opinion, the Sonata has the most pleasing sound, and due to the fact that it has the incredible endurance of about a minute, many not-so-deadlike-sleepers will find it sufficiently persistent to wake them up.
Regards,
Marcus
