The Honeymoon Is Over: Time to Critique the Boston Acoustics Horizon Solo

Several weeks ago, I was the new owner of a Boston Acoustics Horizon Solo radio, and I rhapsodized on this blog about its amazing sound and reception. I was so infatuated with the Horizon Solo that I sold my bedside clock radio, my beloved Sangean WR-2,  and replaced it with the Solo. In the ensuing weeks, as the infatuation settles, I am able to critique the radio based on my personal experience and the dozens of people who have contacted me through this blog. In my case, the first problem I identified is that the time slows down a few minutes when in radio mode and then when the radio is shut off the time returns to an accurate reading. I "fixed" this by setting my radio so that the station, not the time, is on display when the radio is turned on.

But a worse problem is evident: When I turn the knob in preset mode, the transitions between stations make distorted churgling sounds. Even worse, in the last 3 days when I'm turning the knob to the first preset, 89.3 FM, the churgling and distortion is so loud that the station is "blocked" for 30 seconds or so before it "recovers"; all I can hear is distortion and churgling. I can remedy this by moving the antenna, but still this is unsettling. Especially consider that my kitchen radio, my Boston Acoustics Recepter, transitions between stations in preset mode with silky silence. Has quality control suffered at Boston Acoustics? Several readers have complained of all sorts of bugs, AM distortion and buzzing; weird malfunctions in sleep and alarm mode. Joe Marshall, for example, had to endure buzzing on AM. Here is what he wrote in response to his buggy Horizon Solo:

Understand I'm not slamming the Solo, or its fans, or Boston Acoustics in general, but being "first year" doesn't excuse poor quality control.  My Recepter is very early "first year", and has operated flawlessly since day one.  BA has been around since 1979 so they should have plenty of product launch experience by now.
Which begs another question...  Since I bought my Recepter, BA has since been acquired by D&M Holdings.  Wonder if a new corporate culture is to blame?

Contrasting the consistent quality build and smooth transition between stations on the Recepter with the aforementioned problems of the Horizon Solo, I'm sad to report that my rhapsody to the Horizon Solo was premature.

Any lessons in this? Indeed, I should reserve judgment on a radio until a "cooling down" period ensues in which I can analyze the radio with all its warts before I start singing its praise. As for me, my Horizon Solo still sits on my bedside, but with that churgling between stations, I keep a weary eye on it and wait for the next shoe to drop.

Final 3 Thoughts:

#1: I sold my Sangean WR-2 because its FM wasn't grabbing all the stations I wanted; however, readers praise its FM. I'm wondering if my WR-2, an early model, was improved upon in later models. Just a thought.

#2: Is the Boston Acoustics Recepter going the way of the dinosaurs? I don't see it being widely available the way it used to be.

#3: If my Horizon Solo goes on the fritz, what will I replace it with? I might get a black Sangean WR-2 and stick my Kaito 1103 on it as a "back up" FM radio or I might go "military" and put the up and coming Grundig Satellit 750. It measures close to 15 inches across and my bedside table is 17 inches, so there's a fit.

Comments

[Ed S.]

Ever since I complained about problems with my BA Duo, the replacement unit BA sent me has worked flawlessly. I think you should get them to replace your Solo, Jeff. At worst, you'll pay the return shipping (I didn't have to). The Receptor, when available, is commanding a premium price, as I predicted. Just goes to show that "newer" is not necessarily "better."

[Tom Welch]

You might consider a Tangent Uno radio very similar to the Solo, click http://www.tangent-audio.com/00003/00011/00036/ to view. CCrane is the North American distributor for this company.

[Jeff McMahon]

In regards to the flawless Horizon Duo. It has a different preset mechanism than the Solo's. I think the loud noise transitioning between station presets is the "nature of the beast." I could be wrong. I'll check the one in my office today before I make my verdict.

Regarding the Tangent Uno, it has no presets, which I need when I'm toggling at bedside.

[Cyril]

Re #2: According to a local audio dealer, the Recepter is now discontinued. At least he claims dealers can't order them from BA anymore. He also said he ordered all the remaining "MicroSystem CD" he could get...

I managed to try the newly arrived Solo (very nice in white) and I must admit I was a bit underwhelmed. I think it might have had this preset « churgling » sound, although as I did not know what I was doing with the menu buttons, this might be user error. It sounded a bit like I switched to an untuned AM band for a while (although it was supposedly on FM). More surprising, it could not pick up the local CBC and Radio Canada stations without fiddling with the antenna in between them. Again, there may be a suitable position where it picks up both correctly, but these are usually two of the easiest stations to pick up around here...

This experience, combined with the multiple bug reports and the relatively high premium charged in Canada (130 C$, whereas the Canadian dollar has been hovering around parity for months...) makes it slightly less tempting after all...

[herculodge]

It's funny how radios respond differently to different environments. That's why I'm reluctant to make absolute judgments on them.

It appears that quality control on the Solo is lacking. I own two. The one at work doesn't make as much churgling between stations.