Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)I bought the Duo-i because I needed something for my bedroom that served three purposes: a radio for general listening, a quality iPod player, and a set of good-sounding, external speakers for my 19" TV.
Positives:
The radio produces surprisingly booming lows for its size, and exceptionally detailed high end. The clarity of the speakers is stunning. The radio can easily fill a room with sound. Besides an iPod dock on the top, the radio offers two auxiliary inputs for flexibility. I use the rear aux RCA inputs for my bedroom TV, and the front aux 1/8" input will come in handy if I ever want to run my other MP3 players through the radio. The automatically-dimming display is a novel touch, too.
The BIIIIIG negative:
The radio has booming lows and very clear high end, but there's not enough in between. Apparently, Boston Acoustics tried too hard to give this radio a big sound, and, in the process, forgot that a radio this size should still have a good midrange presence. The radio seems to lack terribly in the 600Hz-3kHz range. Not only does this "reshape" the music, but it renders the AM radio worthless -- talk shows sound boomy and unintelligible, even with the bass all the way down and the treble all the way up. This wouldn't have been a problem, except Boston Acoustics did not provide a midrange EQ level control, and this radio needs one in the worst way.
In fact, in order to get acceptable sound when running my TV's audio through the Duo-i, I have to leave my TV's cheesy, little, internal speakers turned on. They compensate by providing some of the desired mid frequencies that the Duo-i lacks.
Because the low end is too loud relative to the rest of the frequencies, I experimented by loosely plugging the rear bass ports with my fingers. The bass response suddenly tightened up and became more natural-sounding. So my radio's bass ports are now loosely corked. (I even wrote to Boston Acoustics and suggested they begin shipping their radios with a couple different sets of "port corks" for discerning listeners.)
Summary:
If you typically listen to your stereo with a smiley-faced graphic EQ, you'll love this radio. But, if you prefer a flatter frequency response and/or listen to AM radio, the Duo-i is not the radio for you.
Please note that I am a recording engineer by trade, so I am going to be more critical of audio quality than most.
Click Here to see more reviews about: Boston Acoustics Duo-I Plus iPhone/iPod Dock AM/FM Stereo Radio and Clock Functions (Gloss White)
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