Customer Reviews

Boston Acoustics HDUOMIST Horizon Duo Speaker System (Mist)

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I already own two Boston Acoustic Horizon Solos, which I bought on Amazon for about $85. One is in the bedroom and the other is in the workout room. My friend urged me to get the two-speaker Duo, so I finally capitulated and use it in the kitchen. My review will be based on my comparison between the $85 Solo and the $115 Duo.

Speaker Sound: The Duo wins. While I love the Solo's full high-fidelity sound, the Duo speakers really fill the kitchen with ease.

AM Reception: I'd have to give a slight nod to the Duo. In the kitchen I had to rotate the Solo to fine-tune 570AM. I don't have to touch the Duo. This is fortunate because the size and shape of it make it impractical for rotating the radio to maximize AM reception from its internal ferrite antenna.

FM Reception: The Solo wins. Probably they get equal FM, but the stereo speakers on the Duo highlight background static more easily. This is only a problem once in a while when I listen to 89.3 KPCC. I'd still give the Duo an A minus grade on FM.

Remote: The Duo has one and the Solo does not.

Ease of use: The remote on the Duo allows you to bypass the toggle mode switch on the radio. Some people don't like changing the mode by hand. But on the Solo you toggle your presets, whether they're AM or FM, in the same preset mode, so you don't really miss the remote.

Conclusion: These are both great radios for their price point. For a bedside radio, I'd go with the Solo because it takes up less space and you can rotate it easier to optimize AM reception. The Solo is loud enough for big rooms as well and its speaker isn't as prone to static as much as the Duo's. So on balance I think most people will be better served getting the $85 Solo, which I give an A grade. The $115 Duo gets an A minus because of occasional FM static on weak stations.

UPDATE: JULY 14, 2009:

I own two Duos, one bought in September of 2008 and one bought in March of 2009. Both had to be returned because the AM stopped working. This may be due to the intense heat generated by these radios even when the radios are turned off. The replacement radios (I had to pay $20 for shipping) generate the same heat and I fear their AM will fizzle out as well. This is a real shame. While this is the best sounding radio I've ever owned, its heat and AM problem compels me to tell consumers to stay away from the Duo.

In contrast, the smaller version, the BA Horizon Solo is great. I own two and in the last year and a half I've had no problems. Get the cheaper Solo. Great mono speaker sound and better reliability than the Duo.

I hesitated to order this radio because of the one negative rating available at the time. I received the radio today, and I am delighted with it. Since it is new, perhaps the other reviewer just happened to receive a "lemon".

I am a professional musician, accustomed to very high quality sound equipment in recording studios where I have worked. I also have a sound system at home which cost thousands of dollars.

I expected a clock radio which would function in that capacity, and which my wife and I could hear for news and weather, etc. Instead, I received a very fine sounding radio which we will enjoy for hours when we can sleep in. It is not better than our sound system, but it is enjoyable to hear with the expensive system as a comparison.

It pulls in very distant FM stations very clearly with only the included antenna, it has just enough features to make operation convenient, it produces a balanced tone throughout the frequency range, the bass is really spectacular in such a small appliance, and the remote works perfectly. I would grade Boston Acoustics A+ for this effort!

I've had this product for two days, and I've had a super out-of-box experience so far. Great build quality, and just the right amount of features, solidly presented. Knob control is great and menu is intuitive.

FM reception is excellent- 4-foot whip antenna is included (I'm on the second floor--BUT there's a set of high-tension cables 100 feet away from the building, which often causes signal interference). Display dims or brightens automatically by default, but this is also controllable from the menu manually if you like.

And the SOUND is AMAZING for such a small unit! Bass is rich and assertive, and treble is detailed and crystalline (both can be adjusted +5 to -5 on the menu). Even the alarm does well- tone, radio, or both- and the gradual step-up in volume wakes one in a civilized manner. Snooze period is adjustable, and the ENTIRE FRONT GRILL EDGE is the snoozebar! Groggy can't miss that-- Unit will apparently hold presets in case of power outage for 24 hours or so without batteries- flash memory?

Get a good 1/8" male/male audio patch cable (not included) to plug in your external tune source through AUX A jack, in bottom front of the unit next to the 1/8" headphone out- the back also has an AUX B input with two RCA stereo female jacks as an alternative.

AND a REMOTE, that controls all from a distance- and even has a MAGNET on the back of it so you can securely store it on a metal surface. This runs on one CR2025 Li watch battery (included).

The iPod port integral version of the Duo runs about $50 more, but I've discovered that the iPod port is also available as an add-on for the basic Duo for around $40. So that's upgradable too!

BA engineers really thought about the design here, about how people have struggled with crappy clock-radios every morning. It's like sleeping on a terrible cheap mattress, really--why torture yourself?

A one-year warranty. Be sure you purchase from an Authorized Boston dealer though- I understand there may be warranty issues if you don't.

In my opinion, for the relatively low cost and complete feature set, this product whips the behind of Bose, and even Cambridge/Tivoli. FINALLY I have found the bedside audio clock I've always wanted! GREAT product, Boston Acoustics!

Boston Acoustics Horizon Duo High Performance AM/FM Clock Radio (Midnight)
I like everything about this radio except the FM tuner , the heat it makes, and the odor. It pulls in distant stations well but with static. This is a common problem easily improved by changing from stereo to mono but this radio does not have that option! It makes a lot of heat when off, indicating it is not Energy Star compliant. Tech support says they cannot tell me how many watts it uses when off or on. And it has a strong chemical odor they say is excess adhesive.

I had the older BA Receptor radio and just loved it. I bought this one for my mother as a Mom's day gift, and the sound was superior, it also has a great capacity to pull in FM stations. However, i was saddened that it was a more complicated to use. With the old one, one button controlled volume, and one controlled tuning/presets. That's it; easy as pie. The new one while offering more makes it more difficult to move between presets. I also do not like the sleep function on this one as well.

BUT, the sound and reception is great, especially for the price. I wonder why there is no CD version available for these?

I was so excited about this radio and loved it for the first 3 months. Then the problems started. I had to send the unit for repairs in Iowa 3 times. Apparently a man who owns a storage unit business repairs them in his back room. It was returned dirty each time and with something else not working. The Boston Accoustics rep in New Jersey are RUDE beyond compare. The last time it was returnd the alarm would not automatically shut off as it was supposed to and I would come home from work with it still playing. The "helpful" company representative instructed me to turn the alarm off to resolve the problem. Made me feel so happy I had spent over $100 dollars for such a dependable product. The "back up" feature that works in a power failure but doesn't require a battery failed me this morning and I was several hours late for work. All the wonderful feature sound great and I hope they work for you, but I will never buy another product from this company again. Letters and calls to the company were ignored.

Considering Boston Acoustics reputation I had high expectations, but this unit had a bad case of transformer hum. I sent it back for an exchange and the replacement hummed even louder that the original. Also, the reception was far from perfect. I finally sent it back for a refund but in the process incurred two shipping charges.

Fantastic product. I am a retired Musician/Public School Music teacher witha lot of high end audio and electronic equipment. For a table radio this can't be beat. The sound quality is excellent and placing the volumn high to reach other rooms does not change that. I think this is far better sounding than the BOSE I almost purchased. A visiting friend was so impressed with this product, that he ordered one the next day!

I purchased this for my bedroom for use on a shelf with a cd player and an iPod. I've lived with it for 2 months now and had the chance to use it quite a bit. The build quality seems quite good and it has all of the essential features you could want in a mini stereo system, including a neat little remote. The controls are fairly easy to use and the design is uncluttered. One minor quibble is that the top is slanted, so stacking anything on top of it can be a problem if you're tight on space.

The snooze function on the clock is very cool, though I think they could have made setting the alarm functions more intuitive.

For it's size, this is definitely one of the best sounding speaker systems I've ever heard. The bass is full and dynamic. The high frequencies are smooth and easy on the ears. It's about the size of an average boombox, only better sounding. I've owned many different small speaker systems and this definitely beats any of them. In my application though, the built-in bass & treble controls are a much needed feature, as the bass is a bit overdone with the default settings.

It has 2 aux inputs (one on the front & one on the back) and a record out which gives it great flexibility. Right now I'm using one of the inputs for an external tuner, which brings me to the one major flaw of this unit. The tuner reception is not so good. I also own the Tivoli Model One Radio, which pulls in both AM & FM stations very well. In comparison, using the same stock antenna that came with both of these units, the Boston is significantly less sensitive on FM, and terrible on AM.

After tweaking with the antenna for a while, I was able to get the FM reception acceptable on most local stations, though some are still a bit noisy. On the AM side however, this thing is pathetic. Even the strongest stations in my area sound weak. Compared with the Tivoli, the AM side is almost deaf. I tried an external AM antenna, which helped, but not alot. I would say if good AM reception is important, look elsewhere or use a small external tuner like the Sony SRF-M37v.

I've noticed that the unit gets very warm on the back, even when it's turned off. So it should probably be placed where it can breathe. So far this hasn't caused me any problems.

Overall I give the Boston 4 stars because the audio quality is hard to beat for something this size, and it does most functions well.

After being very happy with my Boston Acoustics Receptor Radio, I confidently ordered this Horizon Duo. The sound is everything one would expect from BA: powerful, clear, and well-balanced---far better than one should be able to expect from such a reasonably priced unit.

The radio reception, on the other hand, is dismal. I can only pull in one station, poorly, in an area where my Receptor Radio pulls in dozens quite clearly. Fiddling with the antenna helps a little, but mostly allows it to go from no reception to poor reception.

I may have received a lemon, but reviews here and elsewhere suggest that at least a few others have had similar experiences.