Customer Reviews

Boston Acoustics HSOLOMIST Horizon Solo Am/Fm Radio Wtih Auxiliary Input (Mist)

5 star:		(54)
4 star:		(28)
3 star:		(12)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(14)

 

 

I've had my Horizon Solo for a week now and can say that it's a huge leap better than its older brother the Recepter and the Tivoli Songbook and the Sangean WR-2, which I sold and replaced with my Horizon Solo.

Here is where the Horizon Solo shines:

1. Its AM/FM tuner is on steroids. Most of the time I don't even have to elevate the FM wire antenna to get hard-to-get Los Angeles stations such as 89.3, 88.9, and 103.1. The FM blows away the more expensive Tivoli Songbook and Sangean WR-2.
2. The AM tuner sounds like stereo with no background noise. This is truly amazing. The AM is far better than my very good Sangean WR-2.

3. The speakers are bigger and fuller than the already good-sounding Recepter and bear in mind the Horizon Solo is fifty dollars less.

4. The interface is easy to use. Like the Recepter, you use a rotary dial to tune up or down while scrolling through the 20 presets.

5. The radio is relatively small and leaves a small footprint on your bedside table.

6. Unlike the more expensive Recepter, the Horizon Solo has a headphone jack in the front.

7. The AC cord is two-prong and small in size, not one of those big fat wall-warts that take up half your available outlets.

8. Holding the bezel dial, you can't "twist" the radio into the horizontal or vertical position.

9. Marketed as a "custom" radio, the front grill can be removed and replaced with loud vibrant colors though truth be told I'm happy the with the dark "midnight" color.

Yes, I do notice a couple of bugs in my new model. Twice after turning off the radio, the radio was still on so I had to turn it off a second time. Also the time display is five minutes slow while listening to the radio and then when you turn the radio off the time is accurate again. I don't know if this is a bug particular to my radio or a general problem.

Bottom-line: As a radio enthusiast, I own over 50 radios and I will go out on a limb and say this is the best AM/FM clock radio I have ever purchased. In a market where clock radios usually have substandard reception or where the better radios cost $150-200, the Horizon Solo is the new champion on the block.

Update: Bought another Horizon Solo for my work office, an environment hampered by electronic interference and the Horizon Solo is doing very well, picking up Los Angeles stations 88.1, 103.1, 89.9 91.5 and other FM stations with outstanding clarity. My officemates are so impressed, they want to get one also.

Another Update: After 3 months, my second Solo got frozen on the 17 increment of volume control. After much experimentation, I discovered that the only way to "unfreeze" the volume is to unplug the unit for several minutes and then plug it in again. I hope I don't have to do this again or at least not often.

Nine months later it continues to be my favorite radio. The volume control can also be de-activitated by holding lowering volume to ZERO; then you hold the on button until the radio beeps; then you increase the volume to full blast or whatever limit you want. Then you turn off radio and turn on again. Boston Acoustics sent me these instructions after I contacted them. Since I've done this, the problem is gone.

The BA Horizon Solo is OK as an FM clock radio. The FM receiver has good sensitivity, and the speaker and rich sound quality are first rate. You can adjust both the bass and treble, which you couldn't do on the predecessor product (the BA Recepter).

I'm rating the BA Solo 2 stars as it's entirely deaf on AM (does not receive anything, including strong local AM stations) and has poor ergonomic design.

Regarding ergonomics, here is an excerpt from the user manual on how to use the Sleep function:
-------------
Sleep Function

You can set the Horizon Solo to play for up to 90 minutes. After the specified time the Solo shuts off. Select the source and set the volume level where you want it.
1 Use the Mode control to highlight the Sleep icon in the display.
2 Press the Mode control. The Sleep icon and "OFF" will flash in the display.
3 Turn the Mode control to set the number of minutes until the Solo turns off.
4 Press the Mode control. The brackets around the Sleep icon will flash a few times. The display will return to its previous state with the Sleep icon lit.
...
Notes:
* To cancel the Sleep delay before it has finished, follow steps 1 - 3. Turn the Mode control down until "Off" appears in the display. Then press the Mode control. Or press the Power/Volume control to turn off the Solo.
* Touch the metal rim around the Solo to display the remaining time of the Sleep delay.
-------

The Sleep function is a menu item instead of providing a dedicated "Sleep" button. They could have overloaded one of the existing control buttons to turn on the Sleep function. But on this radio the only way to turn on the Sleep function is through the menu.

If the menu screen were easy to read and navigate, this might be acceptable, but it isn't.

The radio has a small monochrome (blue with white letters) LCD screen, and when you turn the Menu knob with the radio on, you can navigate between the following:

- Presets/FM/AM/Aux
- Brightness/Info/Sleep/Bass/Treble
- Alarm 1/Time Set/Alarm 2

(The "Info" allows you to toggle between displaying the time or tuner frequency and mode.)

The menu has a sort-of "memory" function, i.e. it does not remember the last menu setting you last modified, but instead it starts from the current "mode" setting (the modes are the first 4 menu items, i.e. Presets/FM/AM/Aux).

To enable the Sleep function, you have to turn the Mode knob until the "Sleep" label is bracketed.

The other ergonomic issue is the lack of a "safeguard" switch to prevent accidental changing of the clock time or alarm settings. I have inadvertently changed the clock time, alarm settings, or alarm times -- either by accidentally selecting the clock time or alarm settings on the menu, or by unintentionally pressing either of the two alarm buttons on the front of the radio. They could have provided a "safeguard" switch that would have to be engaged in order to adjust the time or alarm settings, to prevent such accidental changes.

As another reviewer has mentioned, this radio runs hot some of the time, even when turned off! Something strange is going on with the power supply.

The brightness function seems flawed. It tries to adjust the brightness according to the brightness in the room. The adjustment you make affects the range of brightness that the display will range over. I have found that at night the lowest I can set it to is level 13 (the settings range from 1-20) in order to see the display reasonably well in the dark. So levels 1-12 are essentially useless (too low to be seen at night). Either my unit is defective or this is a flawed design.

This is an update to my review from Nov 2008 below.

Turns out that after the original problem with the firmware, the clock has started losing time again (over an hour a day). This time, the Canadian service center tells me it's a hardware problem and repair would cost over over 100$, which even they say is not worth it. Tried complaining to Boston Acoustics directly but the National Service Manager for Canada responded, basically saying "tough luck". Really upset at having paid 150$ (the price here in Canada) for what I thought was a high end alarm clock and having it fail twice in 3 years and now pretty much useless as an alarm clock. You may want to consider the Logitech Squeezebox Radio, which does need a bit of effort to set up but offers access to quality Internet radio.

---------------------------------------------

I already own a Tivoli Ipal which I greatly enjoy, but didn't like Tivoli's offering for clock radios. So I bought the Solo.

Pros:

.Unmatched sound and overall quality at this price.
.Gradually increasing alarm.
.Two alarm settings
.Numeric sound level control, especially useful to set the exact volume you like for waking up.
.Dial tuning through preset stations, the best way to quickly scroll through your favourite stations.
.AM/PM or 24hr format.

Cons: As reported by others:

.If you change any setting (station, volume), the radio alarm will not automatically shut off as you would expect after an hour.
.Menus a bit difficult to make out depending on lighting conditions or your eyesight.

Comments regarding other reviews:

I did have the problem whereby the clock would lose time when in radio alarm mode. Also, some flickering of the display because of excessive sensitivity of the light sensor.

These turned out to be a firmware problem. You need to return the unit to have it updated. I was told that firmware versions 3.0 and over correct the problem. To find out which one is installed, press the Alarm 1 button while plugging the unit. I was able to check this in the store before buying a second unit for the office.

Would have given it 5 stars but better quality control should have picked up these problems. And since they know about the problem, how come some defective units are still in the stores? At least here in Canada.

I've been using the Horizon Solo in a rather unremarkable hotel room for the last couple of months on an out-of-town assignment, so anything new and shiny might prompt me to leave a favorable review. But after buying and returning no less than 4 other clock radios, including a popular RCA model, an iHome, and two Sony's, this just wins it hands down. I would love to have bought the Boston Acoustics HDUOMIST Horizon Duo Speaker System (Mist) (white) or the Boston Acoustics HDUOIMDNT Horizon Duo-I System For Ipod(R) With Am/Fm Radio (Midnight) (black), but for portability the final choice really had to be smaller. Though not perfect as some reviews might have indicated, there's just too much to like, especially when compared to the alternatives:


Benefits:

* Terrific sound quality - even if mono, and perhaps a bit tubby, but you can adjust bass and treble settings.
* Beautiful display - very easy to read, even across a room. Auto-dimmer works very well.
* Build quality - rubber coated, nice weight to it.
* Audio input jack - great for iPod, computer or whatever device. 1/8" stereo jack (yes, the input jack retains left and right channels.
* Head phone jack on front - also stereo.


Demerits:

* No weekend alarm setting. You must go through a short menu with the left-hand knob to change alarm settings.
* Gradual wake-up reaches full, pre-set volume in just a few seconds. Perhaps it's just me, but I just assumed it might take a few minutes (or better yet, would be a user-adjustable period) for the radio alarm to reach full volume...are you listening BA??
* Full volume might not be quite loud enough for some. Without the radio reset performed (see BA website or certain Amazon reviews if you are having problems), my radio reaches a volume number of 50. If the input on the AUX is at a high level, the volume is very good, but if the input level somewhat low, the output on the radio's speaker might be a little disappointing if you cannot increase the input level any further (in fairness though, the sound is not distorted at high volume levels, so at least you're getting some quality sound).

It would be easy to put too much into the 'negative' points above. As noted already, no other radio even came close with the sound quality/looks/durability combination, and certainly not for the $100 incl S/H I paid. I am seriously considering a Duo for home. At the current price of $80+shipping on Amazon, I am also wondering about wiring a Y-cable and getting a second Solo to use with my existing one as left and right stereo, but with the ability to provide a few feet of separation, which might sound better than a Duo (in effect, use two Solos as separate, amplified speakers). I will update the review should I tackle that project. I haven't customized the grill color as I had thought I might, but that's also an interesting option, esp if you were to give one as a gift.

It's also worth noting the AM/FM radio was an important feature to me, moreso than iPod docking as I like to listen to local stations wherever I am. The reception is very good, although believe it or not, some of the el-cheapo, bad-sound-quality clock radios I checked out had about the same sensitivity. The difference, of course, was in all the other points mentioned above. If you'd prefer a CD player ala a Bose Wave Radio alternative, you might also want to check the Boston Acoustics Horizon Trio Clock Radio w/ CD Player (Midnight), although for more than $300, that might cater to a little different market segment.


UPDATE: Aug 17, 2009 I noticed earlier reviews said the radio gets hot -- mine doesn't. You can just slightly notice some warmth, but it's very mild. I ordered mine through Amazon, fulfilled by Target, and had to wait for delivery, which tells me it was ordered from the factory recently. Perhaps newer ones were redesigned to not get as warm? I also later bought a Horizon Duo -- wow, wonderful sound. I use it in the bedroom, and the Solo in the kitchen when I'm home. As I walk from bedroom to kitchen, the mono-speaker Solo sounds noticeably flat in comparison! Naturally, it has one less speaker, but if you can spare the space, I actually think the Duo (or Duo-i which has an iPod dock -- check your generation of iPod to ensure it's supported if buying) are a better choice for sound quality, and worth the difference in price. I will write a review for the Duo separately under that radio's listing, but I found the backlit display too bright, even when the auto-brightness circuit reduces it to minimum. It may help someone to read here that there is a workaround for display brightness:

- unplug power cord
- while pressing the Alarm 2 button, plug the power cord back in
- use the smaller, right knob to adjust the minimum or maximum display brightness (00 thru 255).
- press the smaller, right knob to program the default brightness.

Note this is not the same thing as the normal, auto-brightness-circuit, but rather, this adjustment actually changes the minimum or maximum brightness level down to, and including, zero. My Solo default brightness was 200, while the Duo was 98. I reduced the Duo way down to 9. Not sure what BA didn't put this in the owner's manual. I don't really consider this any kind of special hack or secret procedure -- it's simple and easy to do and I noticed a few other people had problems with the brightness, and assumed they couldn't do anything about it. If you find your radio's display too bright or dim, try it out.

Although the BA adjustments are a bit inconvenient as other reviews say (such as the need to always rotate-through menu options just to make a quick alarm-time change), I still think the radio's solid quality and sound outweigh any such objections for me. Both my Solo and Duo do not suffer any of the strange quirks that others have unfortunately experienced -- odor, weak sensitivity, 'hospitality mode' volume level, etc. Knock on wood, but I have had no such problem with either radio, and I would have to say that anyone experiencing them should probably consider their radio faulty (although I would think that any reception issue should be verified first with another good radio, should you have one nearby). Still 5/5.


UPDATE: SEPT 10, 2009
In another review, someone mentioned that it's too bad when the alarm goes off in radio mode, you do not see the time...only the radio station...once you've adjusted the volume or put the radio into sleep-mode. I thought the same thing, until I read the manual a bit more. If, after making whatever other alarm or radio settings you want, then go to the INFO setting and change it to TIME. Now, when the alarm goes off, you will always see the time, even after changing the volume. It's confusing...I can see why someone would be ticked off with this and not think there's anything more to it. But again, now that I've made this adjustment, the radio just gets better.

This clock radio rocks. It has an adjustable dimmer that is automatic, an alarm that slowly gets louder untill you wake up and a stereo headphone jack. The sound quality and the reception are better than the tivoli. Built solid.

I am not a radio expert, as I bought this to replace a standard, cheap, clock radio. However, this seems to be a very nice product that is very well designed. The first thing I noticed is that the radio is fairly heavy for its size - you aren't buying a lot of 'air' as on so many other products. The exterior of this isn't a typical hard plastic either, it seems to have a soft rubber material over a harder plastic (I assume this is for improved acoustics). There is a silver band around the perimeter which is touch sensitive and activates the snooze function. I also like that the controls are fairly simple and easy to use. You can adjust everything that you want to, without unnecessary complications.

For me, it is well worth the money. The sound is very good, even the AM sounds nice on this radio (none of the buzzy background noise frequently heard on AM).

If you'd like a little more information, there is a short youtube sales video on this, which I think was made by Boston Acoustics.

I bought the Horizon Solo radio and am shocked at the poor quality.

The AM radio reception is fair at best. It is slightly better than my $19 bedside alarm clock.

When you turn on the sleep timer it emits a buzzing sound that obscures any reception.

When the radio is turned on somehow the clock sets itself back 5 minutes. What?????

After noticing these bugs I have found posts on the from others with these same issues and others.

This radio has too many bugs and I am unhappily surprised that a fine company like Boston Acoustics has released a product like this. Shame!

Needless to say, it is being returned!

I don't write reviews on regular basis but this time I really want to. I've been a fan of BA for many years. I have some old BA equipment that still works as new for so many years that I honestly forgot when I bought it. But it looks like recently BA is following the path of self destruction that many reputable companies have chosen in the recent years.

First of all I want to state that the idea behind this product is great. And that's where all the positives end and the negatives start. Three months ago I purchased a BA Duo from a very reputable seller. Initially I was very excited about it. Two months later the unit died. How did I notice this? One morning it didn't wake me up and as result of it I was significantly late for work (the good thing is that my employer doesn't care about such little things but I do). When I woke up this morning the box was completely dead with black screen showing nothing. I returned the box. A month later after reading all the positive reviews about the Solo on Amazon, I decided to take the dive and order it hoping that it will be better than the crappy Duo (maybe I got a lemon Duo?). I just got the Solo today, hooked it up to the power and started configuring it - the interface is practically the same as in the Duo. Within the first 15 min of doing so, while I was about to finish setting my favorite stations list, all of the sudden the box died (the screen went black and no matter what I tried - pushing buttons, plugging and unplugging from the power - it never managed to show any sign of life). Now you tell me what I should conclude from my recent experience with BA. Thanks God Amazon has such a great return policy.

Here is the bottom line - I have no idea what exactly Far East garage BA had chosen to build its products in lately, but one thing is for sure - after the last 3 months I have arrived to the following pity conclusion - I will never ever buy another BA product again. The obvious nonexistent QA (and probably low quality parts used) is the reason I'm giving this product only 1 star. The great ideas are still here but the production choices this company is making lately are proving dreadful. And this is very unfair to the BA customers because they are still forced to pay premium prices for stuff that is not worth even a tenth of what the BA asking price is - I paid for this junk $98.92 on Amazon (just before the price suddenly dropped to the current $81.57) while my 10 years old Sony clock radio (that cost me less than 10 bucks) is still working just fine. It certainly does not have the sound quality and all the features of the much newer BA Solo/Duo/etc but if all you can get from BA is 15 min to 2 months of life, than tank you, I'll stick with the old stuff that costs close to nothing and it tends to actually work which in my book is more important when it comes to simple things in life like clock radios.

Why is it so hard to find a good bedside clock radio? I'm not looking for anything special, just decent sound and a few simple, ergonomically designed functions, such as digital tuning with presets, a display that's not too bright at night, simple controls that I don't have to fumble with in the dark, alarms that are intuitive to set and use, and a battery backup. Is that asking too much?

In the past couple of weeks, I've tried three different radios: the Sony ICFC705, the Sangean RCR3, and now the Boston Acoustics Solo. None of these radios really meets my simple requirements.

The Sony ICFC705 has some positive qualities, but it's display is so bright that you could almost use it as a night light, even at the lowest setting. The sound is tinny, and the top is covered with a lot of identical buttons that make it very had to use without looking. Unlike the BA Solo, it has a dedicated Sleep button, but good luck finding it in the dark. Not a good for a bedside radio.

The Sangean RCR3 is just too complicated to use. The poorly written manual has more than seven steps just to set a radio alarm. Although you can dim its display to an acceptable level, the display goes back to maximum brightness for several seconds whenever you touch any of the buttons. Do you wake up in the middle of the night and want to listen to the radio? Get ready for a blast of maximum brightness whenever you touch the Sangean's controls. Also, the Sangean doesn't have a battery backup.

The BA Solo is probably my favorite of the this group, but it's frustrating too. As many others have said, its display is slightly too bright, the menu-driven Sleep function is not user friendly, and, when using the Mode knob, it's easy to select the wrong function. Still, the Solo has good sound, a sensitive tuner, and easy to use presets, so I'll probably keep it, I'll eventually use it someplace else in the house, and continue the search for a decent bedside radio.

I really like waking up to a clock radio, but the sound quality and increasing static on the one I had were becoming more and more annoying. Until finding this radio, I had not been able to find one with a small footprint and decent sound. This is such an improvement I can't believe it. It doesn't take up much space; it has presets; and I like the way it looks - kind of retro - too. This radio has been criticized (e.g., by cnet) for not having an iPod dock and heaven knows what other do-dads, but if you're looking for a small clock radio with good sound that isn't too expensive and will let you start the day in a good mood, this is just the thing.