Solidly built, simple controls, very nice sound
Good:
Heavy - part of the reason is the power supply is built into the radio instead of having that annoying power cable with a brick in the middle of it - like on laptop computers. There are feet the radio sits on whether oriented vertically or horizontally - and the weight of the radio makes it very stable so the buttons can be pressed and the radio will not move. The whole radio feels a little rubbery on the outside - it is a very quality feel - not squishy, but very solid and resilient.
The controls are very simple. Access to all the functions is by turning the knobs. To select a function, turn the knob and once the desired selection has a small box around it, press the button. Then turn the knob or knobs to adjust the setting. This is especially nice when setting the alarm. When the knob is turned fast, many hours go by quickly so there is no waiting to go past 12:00 each time you pass by the desired time because the knob spins both ways to adjust wakeup time up and down. There are two alarms and the snooze button is the entire silver band that goes around the front of the radio - you don't even have to aim - just reach over and if you contact the radio, you will most likely hit the snooze band and each time you touch it you get 10 minutes of snooze. This is so cool! Also, you can wake to the built in alarm which slowly ramps up in loudness, or you can set a radio station or you can use both. The alarm choices for both alarms are selected by repeatedly pressing the small alarm buttons on either side of the round display area. The choices are: alarm, radio, both, off, alarm, radio, both, off...etc. super simple design. The round bezel (display) can be rotated a quarter turn so that the radio can sit horizontally (maybe that's why they called it a horizon?) or vertically. Again, a very nice design and this is accomplished by twisting the whole display bezel and then orient the radio so it is right side up with the display - super simple - what other radio has this kind of flexibility?
The sound is really surprisingly good quality. There is only one speaker driver in this radio and it is in a ported enclosure design - pretty amazing since this is only a clock radio. The port fires out the back of the radio. To increase the bass impact, I have my radio placed on a night stand near a corner and it really makes a difference. I have listened to music after waking up with my alarm and the bass is really good and so is the clarity of voices. I am impressed with this radio.
Good tuner and easy to set presets. The radio plays very clear and it has an antenna wire that is removable so a larger antenna can be used if desired. Any of the T-shaped or rabbit ear antennas with the slip on or screw on connector will attach to this radio - another wonderful feature. The stations can be preset by turning the knob and then holding it in until it beeps - a breeze to use.
Bad:
Some display items are small. When selecting the function to be adjusted, the words on the screen are a bit small so it can be difficult to see unless you get pretty close to the radio.
The display can be too bright. In order to see the function settings better, I have turned the brightness up which I need to turn down so it is no so bright at night. There are 20 brightness levels - so plenty of variation. On the other hand, most will set the alarms up one time and then only turn them on or off so this may never be an issue. There is automatic dimming that helps at night to keep the brightness down.
Conclusion:
I like it a lot. I wish I had bought it new because apparently you could get different colors of grilles - although I am perfectly satisfied with my black or dark gray radio with a black grille.
If you want more or bigger sound, there was also a Horizon Duo (2 speakers), a Horizon Duo with CD player, a Boston Acoustics Minisystem CD, and the Recepter radios that had optional add-on speakers - I'm sure they are all high quality designs.
Bestätigter Kauf: JaArtikelzustand: Gebraucht