Great sound, good alarm clock,
2/6/2010
Reviewer:
Ryan
(New York)
Had it for a few weeks now. The LCD display at the lowest setting isn't as dim as I'd prefer and may bother some people (my bed is above the alarm clock so I don't see it so it doesn't bother me). It would've been helpful if the dim setting 0 would turn off the display like in a competitor's iPod alarm radio clock.
The sound is superb for the size - deep bass (try to keep it near a corner) and clear highs for the strong signal radio stations (I go up to setting 40 of 50 and it's pretty loud w/o distortion - I heard some slight distortion in the high 40s, but there's no point in listening at it that loud).
I love how the alarm fades in over about 15 seconds so that I don't wake up scared.
The only gripe I have is that the alarm only stays on for an hour and then shuts itself off. I spoke to support and they say that this is a energy saving feature and cannot be changed. This may be helpful for some who forget to turn off the alarm, but for those who are very deep sleepers (esp deep nappers like me after work), you oversleep more than intended - however this likely affects only a very small population, but I thought I'd let you know for anyone who is like me. Also, some of the Duo's come with the iPod dock included which makes it into the Duo-i essentially (it's not built-in, but same functionality to my knowledge). I bought mine for Newegg for the same price as the MSRP as the Solo, which was great.
The remote is basic and lacks a snooze button, which may be a good or bad thing depending how you look at it.
Overall, I'm quite satisfied with the sound. The alarm function is fine minus the energy saver requirement that probably only affects me - otherwise it's function as an alarm clock is fine. The LCD brightness at the lowest setting may bother those who are sensitive to light while trying to go to sleep.
Improvements that could be made: option to turn off LCD screen, an option to disable or at least set how many hours to stop an alarm after it's been on, options to sleep to one station and wake up to another and variations in this with different sources (esp iPod - ie. listen to one playlist going to sleep and awake to another playlist or song).
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I wanted an alarm clock w/sound - not a heater & night light,
9/26/2009
Reviewer:
Jason
(California)
Ok, you get this beautiful item and think wow, nicely made...
Then the first night comes, and the backlight lights up the room. After playing with interface, you eventually give up after getting it to dim slightly. So you cover the front with a pillow and figure "let's deal with this in the morning."
Morning comes and you pillow is HOT - like cause a fire hot. Next you read the manual, look online, etc...nope the light doesn't go any less than this always!
I fully regret making this purchase.
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Love it!,
4/6/2009
Reviewer:
Mario Boisvert
(Montreal)
Got my duo 2 weeks ago for my MP3 players.
It's just amazing! Sound quality is much better than standard speakers they sell for ipods. It has great AM FM reception.
Easy to setup. I tried more expensive units and they just don't compare.
My duo is the best!
Mario
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Beat my expectations,
2/19/2009
Reviewer:
Pete
(Lovelaand Oh)
Added the Ipod Dock and the sound is outstanding.
I listen to AM/FM, and my XM radio and Ipod touch through the duo radio.
Really enjoying the radio..>!
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Great Little Radio,
2/6/2009
Reviewer:
Brooke
(Ottawa)
Bought this for myself as a Christmas present. I'd been looking for a dual-alarm clock with decent sound for a long time and had finally given up and bought an LCD picture clock when I came across this at my local hi-fi store. I bought it, returned the other clock and haven't looked back.
First impressions were good; the Duo is attractive, well-built and heavy. Be warned - the Duo is not small so if bedside table space is an issue the Solo might be a better choice. The controls are logical, the FM tuner is strong and the sound is rich and full for its size and price. The bass can be a little boomy, but that can be mitigated to some degree with the bass and treble controls. The display is awesome - it's bright in daylight but dims automatically when you turn off the light. The wrap-around snooze bar and remote are both handy features too.
Gripes are few. I've twice managed to accidentally get into hospitality mode and limited the volume. The manual doesn't include any information on the hospitality mode so I had to look online to restore full volume capability. Also, with my MP3 player hooked up the sound was surprisingly not nearly as full or loud as the FM tuner, which is disappointing since the MP3 player should have a considerably better signal to noise ratio. Other than that, this is a great little radio.
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My second one,
1/15/2009
Reviewer:
Frank von Furstenrecht
(Fresno, CA)
I purchased a Receptor radio some time ago but lost it because my wife needed an alarm clock. I just got myself the Horizon Duo (without the iPod dock) and I absolutely love it. It is without doubt the best sounding radio around. I have always been a "nut" for the perfect sound and strive to obtain the best I can find. I don't have an endless pit of money so I try and select the best for a price that is easy to swallow. Boston Acoustics has always been a superior sound source - you cannot go wrong with any of their products. It's clear to see that quality is something they strive for, and you "the customer" benefits from it.
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Nice table radio,
1/9/2009
Good sound for size. Lots of features for a clock radio, and a remote, but has some drawbacks that make it undesirable on a night table: 60 hz hum and the auto dimmer doesn't get dim enough. Hey boston: allow us to turn off the backlighting on the dimmer like the old recepter radio! I have the ipod dock on a cable, which works well but doesn't display info on the radio face.
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Excellent Radio,
12/22/2008
Reviewer:
David Smith
(San Fran)
I actually own the smaller bother to the Duo and the radio is very well built. Excellent sound reproduction. Because of my experience with the smaller radio, I decided to purchase the Duo. I would recommend Boston radios to anyone.
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Terrific Table Radio,
12/5/2008
Reviewer:
Matt
(Minot, ND)
I have had the radio for several months. I have it in my kitchen and listen to morning news during the week and rock/pop at other times. Excellent tone,and easy to use. Nice looking radio, great reception, with a handy remote. Would highly recommend to others. I wish I would have opted for the model with the Ipod dock as I would have used this at times.
Perfect radio for kitchen, shop, garage, den, and otherwise.
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Hot- literally,
9/3/2008
A well made and good performer that has the habit of getting too warm. The top of the unit is consantly warm-- a bit too warm, even on standby. With no power brick, the entire power unit is house inside the main body producing much to much heat-- is this going to lead to premature failure?
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BA Service is TERRIBLE,
9/2/2008
Reviewer:
John
(Boston, MA)
I bought this unit(less than 4 months old), have had issues with it, need it repaired adn have been told that without the original reciept from the Factory Outlet it was purchased from I'd have to pay shipping both ways and for the repair itself. Tech support was polite, BUT totally useless and a RIP OFF. Don't buy Boston Accoustics
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Superb sound, superior construction quality,
8/27/2008
Reviewer:
Dave
(Houston, TX)
Having owned several "audiophile" systems both esoteric and mainstream, I am quite impressed with the rich feature set and insightful engineering employed in the production of this tabletop radio. Not just a nightstand radio, this little puppy far and away outshines other similar (although similar isn't really the right word) radios costing far more. I have read other reviews and disagree with the "difficult to use" controls lament. They ARE intuitive and with little effort, easily learned. It just may be that others are so used to having one knob for one option, the actual simplicity of this radio is overlooked. Like many modern electronic devices, there are going to be features that may not get used but once in order to set the desired operation. If you had to duplicate the options available using one control for each, you would end up with a box twice the size and burdened with a lot more confusion.
The sound? The wow factor is in the sound. Clean, tight bass, gentle sloping of the treble and never sounding shrill, makes this a truly easy to listen to radio. You’ll start complaining about the quality of the FM transmission from the radio station before you’ll be able to complain about the audio quality from this remarkable device.
Here’s a bonus. Have you ever tried to actually clean a nightstand radio that has a high impact plastic case? What a waste of time. With the Duo, smooth surfaces with just a small vent near the middle back of the unit makes cleaning simple. Ever bumped your alarm clock off the nightstand in the middle of the night, groped around, only to mess up the settings? Not likely with the Duo, since it is rather substantial and has rubber feet that do a good job of gripping on a smooth surface.
I just had a good laugh, I completely forgot about the remote control! Yes, a remote control, and somebody was thinking. It has all the basic controls needed without options that aren't normally used, and the remote is magnetized on the back. I simply stick it on the front grill off to the side.
Now I’ll just list some of the other things that I like about the Duo.
Not one, but two auxiliary inputs, a standard 1/8-inch jack on the front (for those of us without an iPod), and left/right RCA phono jacks in the back. Additionally there is an HRD-i input on the back (for those of you with iPods). There are plenty of tuner presets, two alarms with selectable audio/alarm type, a totally cool snooze bar, and more.
What a bargain. I would like extend a "job well done" to B.A.
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UI not configurable enough,
8/17/2008
Reviewer:
Diana Brewster
(Charlottesville VA)
Great sound and features, but user interface is not configurable enough. 1) 2 seconds on a configuration screen is too short for some baby-boomers -- display option should be configurable for length of time before selection, or have automatic selection disabled. 2) display dimming from 0 to 10 is negligible: display does not dim enough to be suitable for a bedroom night table. If I can find some plastic filter film to cover it, I might not need to return this radio.
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