Comments Boston Acoustics Duo-i - Peripheral - review

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ruthless

8:58 AM on 20 November, 2008

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DAB radio is a medium in crisis - note Channel 4 pulling out of their proposed national stations. Add that to the fact that DAB is actually not that good and it seems eminently sensible for Boston Acoustics to produce a radio without it. What would have made the radio really desirable would have been the inclusion of wi-fi internet radio.

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james1000

9:25 AM on 20 November, 2008

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Shame once again this isnt portable with the otion of battery power.

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Ed

9:44 AM on 20 November, 2008

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@james1000

While I see where you're coming from, there's simply no way you could make an audio device of this quality run on batteries. Not without adding significantly to its weight (approx 5Kg) and being happy with just a few hours usage. That's why portable radios like the Pure Evoke Flow, the Roberts Stream WM-202, and the Dualit Lite have small, relatively weak speakers.

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james1000

1:50 PM on 20 November, 2008

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I just dont understand how in the 1980's you could get a decent ghettoblaster with battery option, yet 25 years later and products matching that sort of power just dont dont seem to exist...

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Martin Daler

2:26 PM on 20 November, 2008

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agree with Ruthless - never mind the DAB, where's the internet radio? Most especially for a bedside radio. Because apart from the youngsters out there, I guess most of us go to bed at about our usual bedtime and get up the next morning, so you're sentenced to a lifetime listening to the same thing on the radio schedule every night and every morning - unless you have internet radio, when you can so easily dial up whichever podcast or listen-again stream you like from Auntie.

As to batteries, never used them, it stays plugged in!

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Ed

2:48 PM on 20 November, 2008

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Well, I must say, I'm rather glad to see there are conflicting opinions on just what this radio lacks. It just goes to show that you can't please everyone.

Personally, in my time using internet radio products, I've just not been that sold on the concept. Maybe that's because I tend to listen to radio just for background noise and seldom have time or inclination to sit and listen to specific spoken word programs. If I want to listen to music I actually like, I'll plug my iPod in (I can also load this with podcasts of many of the shows I might otherwise listen to). Maybe I'll catch the internet radio bug one of these days.

As for the ghettoblaster argument, do you remember how big those things were!? Not to mention how many batteries they took and how long they lasted.

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Martin Daler

6:41 PM on 20 November, 2008

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ah, well Ed, as you probably know (?), the BBC has a range of tech/science radio output, but its scattered all around the schedules and wavelengths. So there's Material World, Science in Action, Leading Edge, Discovery, Digital Planet, and more I'm sure, all probably overlapping with the TR profile (if there is such a thing). But if you want to listen to such as you nod off each night (and what else is a bedside radio for? {er, apart for waking up to of course...}) then you have a choice of an erratic bedtime or an internet radio. Otherwise I suppose there is always "Today in Parliament" on FM.

So keep the Internet Radio reviews coming please

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AJ

11:16 AM on 28 November, 2008

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I hope you can answer a few quick questions for me as I'm very keen on buying one of these very soon. In fact I’m have trouble stopping myself from visiting John Lewis tonight…

1) It appears that the Duo-i has been out since March (ish) and it's very unusual for Trusted Reviews to wait so long to review a product; so is this a new version or was it just much later appearing in the UK than the internet makes out ?

2) iPhone 3g compatibility. In the pictures it looks like you tested it with an iPhone 3g. Can you confirm if this is so and if there were any issues ? Did it charge the phone for instance? This is an absolute must for me.

3) Finally, I've heard in reviews that the speakers are not shielded and therefore when the phone is on the unit you can get "interference" / "feedback". Did you notice this at all in your testing?

Thanks for any help.

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AJ

7:45 AM on 2 December, 2008

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Shame. It seems that communication on this item was a one day only affair on the 20th.

I haven't bought one far because the worry of the interferance at low volumes is just too great.

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Ed

9:09 AM on 2 December, 2008

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Not at all, AJ. I merely missed you previous comment.

1. We were just late to the party. It's a relatively new area for us so we're catching up.

2/3. The iPhone 3G is compatible and charges but you do get interference, which amounts to occasional squeaks and pops, if you don't turn on airplane mode. Depending on your usage, this could either be slightly annoying or a real deal-breaker. Personally I didn't find it an issue.

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AJ

12:47 PM on 2 December, 2008

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Thanks Ed. Obviously these weren't too bad - or they would I'm sure have effected your review. Good to know that it charges the 3g.

One last question. This comes from the comments on places such as Amazon (from owners). Did you ever have it by the side of the bed as you slept or in another like environment.? Many are commenting that it makes a small buzzing noise.

If it does then I know I can't have one. There is a small electrical buzzing from the aerial booster in my bedroom 12ft from the bed, if I don't unplug it then it annoys the hell out of me and I can't sleep. :-(

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Ed

11:40 AM on 3 December, 2008

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I can't say I noticed anything like that. I'm afraid I can't confirm either way though.

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Martin Daler

11:39 PM on 16 December, 2008

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"I tend to listen to radio just for background noise and seldom have time or inclination to sit and listen..."

Curious credentials for one reviews the product!

But on a more serious note, why do the Boston Acoustics products not show up in your database. Filter in Multimedia for "DAB" and no Boston Acoustics products show up, and "Boston Acoustics" does not appear in the "brand" drop-down list either. Clandestine review?

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The Duo-i is a wonderfully realised take on the high-quality desktop radio concept. It has superb sound quality and it's a pleasure to use. So if you can cope with its lack of DAB radio we cannot recommend this radio highly enough - it really is that good.

Overall

9/10

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Reviewed by Edward Chester

20 November 2008

Price as reviewed

£159.90

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