I have had the siesta for a year.
It wakes me up!!!
Never had a problem. Its easy to use, reliable, adaptable, and has a dimmer so it doesn't illuminate the whole room at night.
As for the sound, I mainly use it set to radio 4 but on the occasional time I have listened to music on it, the sound is quite pleasant.
As for the Chronos 2, I Dunno. Go listen. Available in all curry's, comet, John Lewis ect.