The Receptor on Steroids...you may have to do a little Final QC

Excellent sound, user friendly | Boston Acoustics Horizon Duo-I Clock Radio w/ iPod Dock (Midnight)

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	• Boston Acoustics Horizon Duo-I Clock Radio w/ iPod Dock (Midnight) Boston Acoustics Boston Acoustics average customer review:based on 5 reviews view larger image
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Not quite high performance as the marketing claims

Pros:
- Easy to use. Good user interface.
- iPod composite video output . Support latest generation of iPods.

Cons:
- Odd look, works better on the smaller Horizon Solo than the Duo-i.
- Bass is very boomy.
- Tuner performance below its sans-ipod cheaper product Horizon Solo.
- Poor video output quality even by composite standard.
- Cannot navigate iPod menus using remote.

The Receptor on Steroids...you may have to do a little Final QC

I owned the BA Receptor (or "Recepter") and loved it---the rich deep bass, the sensitive tuner, the easy alarm settings...and hated it: no earphone jack, no Remote, no pushbutton presets and, worst of all--no STEREO.

While the new BA Solo addresses some of these deficiencies, the Solo is still only monophonoic...nice sounding to be sure, but missing that fullness that only Stereo brings. Also the Solo still uses a dial as a preset station selector and not dedicated preset buttons, which I prefer.

The Receptor--and the Solo, I'm told--are very sensitive receivers...which is a mono tuner's saving grace...noise is always much lower on a mono FM signal. They work great with the supplied 3 foot-long pigtail wire supplied. They don't need much of a signal to pull in stations. NOT SO with FM stereo radios--you need a stronger signal from a good antenna for best results. With my sample, THE DUO WOULD NOT LOCK INTO STEREO MODE WITH THE SUPPLIED ANTENNA! And since there is no "Stereo" indicator or LED to confirm it, you can't be *sure* the Duo is really getting stereo, unless you plug in heaphones and CHECK by ear. Another indication the Duo has an insensitive (or improperly set) Stereo detector is the fact that THE SEEK FUNCTION DOES NOT STOP on any stations while using the supplied antenna. It just keeps scanning. Now, I'm using the Duo on the top floor of a 2-story house where my myriad other radios need no help in getting FM stereo...I dont even need to extend the telescoping antenna on my Sangean PR-D5 to get stereo, for example. So something is definitely wrong with the Duo...it's design is flawed, or the FM Stereo section is improperly aligned. Once I connected a powered pair of rabbit ears, the Duo came alive--like a Receptor on Steroids-- and gave gorgeous room filling 2-channel sound. SO YOU MUST USE AN EXTERNAL FM ANTENNA to get this baby to bloom! Then you will be in audio Nirvana.

--Ipod sound is INCREDIBLE. May be one of the best-sounding ipod-docking units available for the price. It even has a VIDEO OUT jack.

--Did not notice the "5-minute Loss" problem or the low level last station problem reported for the BA Solo.

--It is very immune to PC interference. I put it right next to my monitor.

Other quirks:
--It loses the 5 AM presets when unplugged, but not the 10 FM presets! Wha??
--Blue backlight can be seen to "flash" slightly light & dark for a few seconds after power is turned off. Just weird.
--AM reception is also variable, sensitivity-wise. This is the only radio I have that picks up noise with KFI (local 50KWatter) but can still get KGO 810 in San Francisco OK. Again, like the FM SEEK function, the AM SEEK function doesn't stop on many stations.

My advice: spend the extra $50-$70 for the Duo-i model (now selling for about $150-160). With its ipod-docking capability it is much more than just a clock radio. It is a hi-fi component in its own right.

UPDATE: BA contacted me and arranged to take the Duo back & replace it. They sent me a 2nd Duo sample. Very quick response! Good to see a company respond to consumer feedback so quicky.
The Good News: The 1st sample definitely had reception problems. The replacement "seeks" fine and gets all the FM stations of interest in STEREO with the supplied pigtail FM antenna. No need for an external antenna unless you want the most distant stations.
-AM reception is more sensitive now, but I am not able to compare to a Solo. 1150 has no bleedthough from 1070 KNX, like the Sangean. It is very AM-directional, which can be good (for DXing) or bad (not all stations you want will come in strong with the radio fixed in one position on your table). Nightime AM DXing is to yet to be checked.
The Bad News: Still loses the 5 AM presets, but not FM, when AC is interrupted. This must be a design issue. But I can live with this, as power is rarely lost in my house. And it won't affect the alarm operation.
-Still "smells." Hope it dissipates with time.

Otherwise, I'd say it now matches or surpasses the sound and performance of the Solo, since they essentially use the same tuner, according to BA. And the ipod playback capability and remote control and preset buttons and stereo sound are just icing on the cake! My favorite radio now.

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Excellent sound, user friendly

Wow. I listened to this device in a local electronics store and had to have one. The sound is excellent. The bass is very strong. I enjoy my classic rock and had to set the bass to a -1 setting! I believe where you locate it really makes a difference. The ipod interface works smoothly, the controls are very easy to use and the sound is great.

The only negatives I have so far? The FM reception is absolutely nill unless you hook up the external antenna provided. Even then it takes some good locating of the antenna to get the proper reception. With all the stations in my area (So Cal) I thought there would be no concern with reception. And the clock seems to gain about 2 minutes a month, a slight annoyance.

All in all an excellent product, just one listen will convince you!

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Let's Hope Three Is a Charm

I love this unit's sound. Some may find the bass "boomy," but it's adjustable and responds well to the EQ settings in the iPod itself, so no real problems there. I found the receiver more than adequate; it allowed me to pull and hold stations I didn't know were available on my mid-Pennsylvania dial. I also love the multiple-setting dimmer and the light sensor. My big, BIG complaints have more to do with build quality than anything else. So far, in the span of a month and a half, I've gone through two units. The first one's alarm clock/snooze bar went haywire. Everytime I touched it, it would cycle up to its maximum snooze time of 60 minutes, and if you're a heavy sleeper like me, this can be quite an inconvenience. The second replacement unit's volume control and remote didn't work when my iPod was docked, so now it's going back. Hopefully, the third will work just fine. If not, as much as I like the Duo i and Boston Acoustics, I'm throwing in the towel and buying something else...maybe the Bose...maybe something else. Anyone have any recommendations?

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The versatile Horizon Duo-i offers big-system sound that fits virtually anywhere. With dual alarms and Boston's wrap-around Snooze Bar, Duo-i also makes a great bedside radio and you can be sure of waking up to the music that gets you going. The unique shape of Horizon Duo-i is one key to its exceptional performance. Left and right full-range speakers are isolated from each other in separate acoustic chambers for rich, distinct stereo sound. Another key is proprietary BassTrac audio processing for clean bass at all listening levels. Line and stereo headphone outputs High contrast display automatically adjusts to ambient light 10 FM and 5 AM station presets Dual independent alarm clock with sleep timer 360-degree Snooze bar (touch-sensitive outer rim) Time and settings are saved (no battery required) Dimensions - Height 5.5 x Width 12.875 x Depth 8 (140x327x203mm)

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