For the true watch aficionado one of life's pleasures comes from hearing the hourly time signal and taking confident comfort in knowing that the watch is keeping perfect time. Unfortunately, the Waveceptor's barely audible beep is a big disappointment. Likewise, forget about hearing the alarm or the timer unless you are in a very quiet location wearing short sleeves. If you are outdoors, or driving, or someone is speaking you can forget about catching the time signal or an alarm. A representative at the Casio repair service admitted to me that they have received other complaints on this matter. But it gets worse! They told me that they had received a mandate to lower the volume on their watches. Nevertheless, I sent the watch back to Casio for inspection and a possible repair. Bottom line: they said everything was normal, just live with it. To add insult to injury, this already quiet Waveceptor actually includes a Mute feature to silence button operations. That takes the prize for the most comical unnecessary feature ever introduced!  This watch also shows world time for 28 different cities, in case that has any bearing on your life. Even though I live 1,600 miles from the time signal I've never missed a nightly synchronization cycle while the watch was sitting at the proper angle on my dresser top.  Overall, if accuracy means everything to you, the Casio Waveceptor series is for you.