Boston Acoustics Horizon Duo-i

Let me start off by saying that this unit does NOT "support" the iPhone. The company clearly states that they have a new "iPhone supported" unit coming out this year. We plugged in an iPhone and got a… message on the phone that said 'this unit is not supported'. So, I selected 'ipod' on the dial and started up the iPod feature on the phone and the music part worked. But, there is no way to remotely control it, so really all you are doing is playing the audio through the port and have to control it by using the screen on the iPhone itself. So, yes, it is not 'supported', and in no way works as well as the iPod does with this. But, if you have one, you can use it for now until the next version comes out. I found a couple glitches with the audio cutting out during play and notifications on the iPhone. Noticed that the unit gets warm when plugged in and not on. This clearly tells me that the unit's standby power is hardly less than when the unit is on, and only somewhat less than when the unit is playing audio. The sound quality is great, and only slightly muddy. Some fiddling with the unit's EQ (bass and treble controls) got it sounding pretty good. And it can get pretty loud too! I would not rate the controls as being 'intuitive' by any means. But most radios (and clock radio especially) are not intuitive in the bit. A short reading of the manual fixed that and we were set up in no time.

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Great sound but unit has a couple problems. There are a lot of things to like about the unit, especially the small size to sound quality ratio. It's better sound than Bose which is much more expensive. It… has a few small problems. 1) It gets very hot but the company assured me in an email that it is not unsafe, and 2) it has a low level hum even when powered off, enough of a hum that is annoying to listen to when laying in bed when the unit is off. The only way to get rid of the hum is to unplug the unit.

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I was looking to buy the Duo-i to use as an alarm clock with my iPhone. After trying it out at a local retailer I can confirm that the sound is fantastic, the build quality top notch and controls are very… intuitive. Honestly this is a beautiful piece of audio hardware. Unfortunately it doesn't work with the iPhone. Upon docking my iPhone the sound was perfect for ~10 seconds then quickly becomes static-y and distorted. I made numerous attempts, making sure the iPhone was securely docked, both with airplane mode on and off. When I had no luck with my phone, we tried the salesman's iPhone and it exhibited the same poor behavior. Needless to say I didn't purchase the Duo-i. Looks like Boston Acoustics is about to release a new model (Duo-i Plus) that is "Works with iPhone" certified.

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This is a very impressive ipod dock and radio combination. The controls are very intuitive and give you a lot of flexibility (you can adjust the bass and the treble!). The sound is quite excellent… considering it eminates from such a small package. I am using this devise as the main stereo system for my entire house. And yes, I can turn up the volume if needed. What sold me on this over ipod docks like the Bose was the fact that it comes with a radio. It is well constructed and I am very pleased with it overall.

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I just received my H Duo-I tonight, and I'm beyond impressed. I'll update this review after a few months, but felt compelled to rate this incredible product right now. I'm not getting into technical… details, because many have done that already. I will, however, tell you why I chose the Boston device over the others. 1) SOUND: I took my iPod Nano with me to several chain retail stores when shopping for my alarm clock/iPod system, plugged it in those systems, listened to several songs in various genres to test them out. I highly recommend doing this; it gives you a sense of how (crappy) the others compare to this system. I'd say the Altec Lansing M402SR Moondance Glow Speaker System with Clock Radio, Snooze Remote, and iPod Dock (Black) was the only device remotely close at this price point --and by "remotely," I mean it was barely in the same galaxy. The Lansing had a tinnier sound. The Boston has a rich, full sound and is very customizable. I tune mine to 0 bass and 0 treble (range is -5 to 5), which is perfect (has some serious kick at these settings, trust me!). 2) AESTHETICS: The Lansing, which I'll use for comparison again, wasn't nearly as nice-looking. I loved having the choice of a white finish, which is what I purchased. And I can still get another grill color (the array is pretty extensive; see BA's site) for around $15, if I wish. The blue-background, white-character display looks better than the drab black-background, orange-character display, in my opinion. It's less 'geeky,' softer, more sophisticated. The knobs look old-school, but trust me, it's worth the aesthetic sacrifice. Personally, I think it adds a bit of retro to the room, and retro happens to be considered the new 'modern.' ;-) My home is designed 'modernly,' so it fits in perfectly. The device is relatively large, but EASILY fits on a nightstand with a lamp. For the record, I have room for a book on the nightstand. 3) FUNCTIONALITY: The controls on the Lansing were more difficult to navigate than the Boston. They're more separated, disjointed, maybe? Back to the big retro knobs: They serve a functional purpose that you'll appreciate. Simply put, they make navigation intuitive; you'll learn how to navigate the device in ten or less minutes. The left knob does pretty much everything: just turn it and navigate, and then push to select. You'll get used to it very quickly. The remote is limited in functionality, but if you use it just to flip through songs and from iPod to FM/AM radio, then it's sufficient. The remote has a pretty good range, too, from 10 feet at least when pointing right at the device. The snooze functionality (10 minute increments) for the alarm is fantastic, just be very careful not to tap the snooze bar (which is very sensitive and wraps around the entire system's perimeter) twice quickly in succession. This will increase the amount of snooze time. Also, if you turn a knob while in snooze mode, it appears to shut snooze off entirely. The intent is to tap once to snooze, tap again (not immediately in succession!) within the snooze duration to see how much time is left, or increase the snooze duration by tapping at least twice quickly in succession. I've tested it and I think I'll be fine, but I'm setting my phone alarm just to make sure (just like I would with any new alarm clock, to be honest). I'd love to see the artist/track name on the display, but I can live without it. Maybe in a future version you can see this information, and even flip through artists and albums instead of merely tracks. 4) SMELL, HEAT, ETC.: There was a faint, very faint, plasticky smell to my unit. It reminds me vaguely of chlorine and is only noticeable up close. Did I mention the smell is VERY FAINT? ;-) There is a warm --not hot-- spot in the center of the device, like touching the forehead of someone with the flu. Others have mentioned this heat, and it's true, it does exist, like anything else that emits power. Note that I've had the device playing for around 3 hours straight, and I can still hold it on the palm of a hand without burning --not even close to burning, per se, more of a warm feeling. I don't expect it to damage my nightstand, but I'll revisit this in a few months in my update. I'm not a Boston Acoustics sales tool. See some of my other reviews and you'll see that I'm a relatively normal human being. 10/7/2009 UPDATE: I've had this puppy playing for about 5 hours now, and the heat on the bottom is definitely noticeable --certainly above 'warm'. I've had the bass tuned to the minimum -5 level. It's still able to be held in my palm for a considerable duration without pain, but it's definitely tending toward the hot side of 'warm.' I still don't think it's nearly enough to ever damage the surface of my nightstand, but we'll see...

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