My Favorite Player in the Clock Radio Wars: The Boston Acoustics Horizon Solo

Here's a recounting of my fateful encounter with the Boston Acoustics Horizon Solo back in February of 2008:

This afternoon my wife and I were doing our monthly visit to Target to buy cleaners and toiletries when I told her I wanted to visit the electronics section. I'm a lost soul, helplessly in search for a radio chimera, an AM/FM-grabbing Uber Alles. God knows every time I go there an outrageous sale is going on a Tivoli radio or some new gizmo I've never seen before is sitting on the shelf. Such was the case today as I espied a mysterious man in his sixties in a dark blue suit. With furrowed brow, he was fiddling with a strange looking radio. The man was absorbed in his tinkering; at the same time, he seemed to live in some serene, ethereal world far away from the throng of Target shoppers. He was twisting the digital tuner read-out dial/clock bezel so that the radio could be used in both a horizontal or vertical position. My curiosity piqued, I inched my way toward the gentleman and lo and behold I was in the presence of the $99 Boston Acoustics Horizon Solo.  The sound, produced from a 3.5-inch speaker, is great, like the Boston Acoustics Recepter we use in the kitchen, and the tuner grabbed 89.3 KPCC, a problematic FM station in Torrance. Mind you, this was in a high-interference store. I told the man the radio was amazing but that sadly I'd have to pass on it since I had so many radios at home. Calmly, he told me I had better get one. The man appeared to have supernatural powers, like the Mephistophelean tailor and coat peddler who persuades Akaky to save all his money to buy an overcoat from Gogol's masterpiece "The Overcoat." Like the lugubrious Akaky intoxicated by the prospect of a magical overcoat, I was tipsy at the thought of getting the Horizon Solo, so much to my wife's consternation I bought the radio and figured if it worked well at home, I'd sell my current clock radio, a very good albeit compromised FM-performing Sangean WR-2. I was eager to get the Horizon home and test its AM/FM. I was not disappointed: The AM is excellent. The FM, even with the 24-inch wire external antenna (not the telescopic that I prefer) receives all my favorite FM stations and more. Honestly, the FM tuner is on steroids: It's grabbing 103.1 and 89.3 better than my legendary Kaito 1103 and the Horizon Solo relies on a wire antenna. The sound is crystal clear. It has 20 presets. It has an easy-to-use interface for memories, bass, treble, clock, and alarm. You can position the radio vertically or horizontally. It doesn't leave a big footprint next to your bed. An improvement over the more expensive Boston Acoustics Recepter, the Horizon Solo, unlike the forlorn Recepter, has a stereo headphone jack. Honestly, I think the Horizon will eat away at Recepter sales and effectively replace it. Considering its amazing FM, I think we can crown the affordable $99 Horizon Solo the current king in the clock radio wars. As for my Sangean WR-2, I just put it up for sale. The tuner is so exceptional, grabbing all my AM and FM stations with such power and clarity, I'm tempted to sell several radios I use in my house and replace them with the Horizon Solo. This radio represents a huge leap in radio technology and innovation.  For those who want to fork out $50 more, Boston Acoustics has a stereo version, the  Horizon Duo. 

Here's a recounting of my fateful encounter with the Boston Acoustics Horizon Solo back in February of 2008:

This afternoon my wife and I were doing our monthly visit to Target to buy cleaners and toiletries when I told her I wanted to visit the electronics section. I'm a lost soul, helplessly in search for a radio chimera, an AM/FM-grabbing Uber Alles. God knows every time I go there an outrageous sale is going on a Tivoli radio or some new gizmo I've never seen before is sitting on the shelf. Such was the case today as I espied a mysterious man in his sixties in a dark blue suit. With furrowed brow, he was fiddling with a strange looking radio. The man was absorbed in his tinkering; at the same time, he seemed to live in some serene, ethereal world far away from the throng of Target shoppers. He was twisting the digital tuner read-out dial/clock bezel so that the radio could be used in both a horizontal or vertical position. My curiosity piqued, I inched my way toward the gentleman and lo and behold I was in the presence of the $99 Boston Acoustics Horizon Solo.  The sound, produced from a 3.5-inch speaker, is great, like the Boston Acoustics Recepter we use in the kitchen, and the tuner grabbed 89.3 KPCC, a problematic FM station in Torrance. Mind you, this was in a high-interference store. I told the man the radio was amazing but that sadly I'd have to pass on it since I had so many radios at home. Calmly, he told me I had better get one. The man appeared to have supernatural powers, like the Mephistophelean tailor and coat peddler who persuades Akaky to save all his money to buy an overcoat from Gogol's masterpiece "The Overcoat." Like the lugubrious Akaky intoxicated by the prospect of a magical overcoat, I was tipsy at the thought of getting the Horizon Solo, so much to my wife's consternation I bought the radio and figured if it worked well at home, I'd sell my current clock radio, a very good albeit compromised FM-performing Sangean WR-2. I was eager to get the Horizon home and test its AM/FM. I was not disappointed: The AM is excellent. The FM, even with the 24-inch wire external antenna (not the telescopic that I prefer) receives all my favorite FM stations and more. Honestly, the FM tuner is on steroids: It's grabbing 103.1 and 89.3 better than my legendary Kaito 1103 and the Horizon Solo relies on a wire antenna. The sound is crystal clear. It has 20 presets. It has an easy-to-use interface for memories, bass, treble, clock, and alarm. You can position the radio vertically or horizontally. It doesn't leave a big footprint next to your bed. An improvement over the more expensive Boston Acoustics Recepter, the Horizon Solo, unlike the forlorn Recepter, has a stereo headphone jack. Honestly, I think the Horizon will eat away at Recepter sales and effectively replace it. Considering its amazing FM, I think we can crown the affordable $99 Horizon Solo the current king in the clock radio wars. As for my Sangean WR-2, I just put it up for sale. The tuner is so exceptional, grabbing all my AM and FM stations with such power and clarity, I'm tempted to sell several radios I use in my house and replace them with the Horizon Solo. This radio represents a huge leap in radio technology and innovation.  For those who want to fork out $50 more, Boston Acoustics has a stereo version, the  Horizon Duo.