Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)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.
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Boston Acoustics HSOLOMDNT Horizon Solo AM/FM Radio With Auxiliary Input (Midnight)
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