Boston Acoustics Horizon Duo-i

The basics

The Boston Acoustics Horizon Duo-i is an AM/FM clock radio with an iPod dock that measures 203x140x328 inches. With an LCD display and two speakers, there are 15 presets available. Other connections include: 1x composite video out, 1x audio line-in and 1 x 3.5mm jack.

The good

This is one of the friendliest-looking desktop radios we've seen. And we've seen a few. Rather than the usual car grill/radiator/air conditioner design, this one's covered in a rubberised coating that demands to be stroked and has removable speaker grilles, which come in nine flavours from "Chilli Pepper" to "Spanish Moss". Tasty. It busts out plump, beefy tunes from the AM/FM radio or hooked-up iPod, thanks largely to the full-range speakers and vibration-negating build.

The bad

While the Duo-i's iPod dock is compatible with most models in Apple's music player range, it didn't support our iPod Shuffle or the first two generations of classic iPod. That said they can be hooked up via the front or rear auxiliary inputs if needed. The real disappointment here, though, is the lack of DAB radio.

The bottom line

A well constructed radio and iPod dock that performs admirably. We'd have liked DAB squeezed in too. But overall this makes us go Radio ga ga, radio goo goo and radio blah blah. Whatever that means.