Boston Acoustics Duo-i iPod clock radio

Several years ago, when I was looking for a new clock radio for my nightstand, Boston Acoustics' Recepter Radio stood out for its simplicity, elegance, and performance. Unlike most clock radios, the interface wasn't littered with buttons, and the few controls it did have were intuitive and easy to use. Radio reception was excellent, audio quality was great, and Boston even got the smallest details right: the buttons were all soft rubber so they wouldn't make noise when pressed--I didn't have to worry about waking my already-asleep better half with loud, clicky buttons when setting an alarm. The Recepter remains one of my favorite gadget purchases, and it still sits on my nightstand.

I bring up this anecdote because Boston Acoustics' Duo-i AM/FM Stereo Radio with iPod Dock, available in mist (white) or midnight (dark gray), is a direct descendent of the Recepter. If you were to take the Recepter and add stereo audio, an iPod dock, and a bunch of new features, you'd get something much like the Duo-i. And in doing just that, Boston has preserved much of the Recepter's simplicity and elegance, making the Duo-i my favorite "iPod alarm clock" yet.

At 12.9 inches wide, 5.6 inches tall, and 8 inches deep, the Duo-i is chunkier than some of the iPod alarm clocks we've tested, but it's still small enough to fit on most nightstands--or a kitchen counter or a desk, for that matter. The front of the system hosts left and right 3.5-inch speaker drivers behind color-matched metal grilles; a large white-on-dark-blue LCD display; the unit's control knobs and buttons; a headphone minijack; and an auxiliary-input minijack (for connecting another audio source). Surrounding the front face is a strip of aluminum trim that acts as a touch-sensitive snooze bar: instead of fumbling for one button among many, you can fling your arm wildly at the Duo-i, and as long as your skin touches any part of the metal, you activate the snooze feature.

The top of the Duo-i hosts an iPod dock that uses Apple's Universal design; Boston Acoustics includes seven dock inserts for compatibility with most older iPods (newer iPods come with a compatible insert for use with Universal-dock accessories). The Duo-i's dock uses USB circuitry for power, so it correctly charges iPhones as well as all dock-connector iPods except the third-generation model. And although the Duo-i is not specifically advertised as being iPhone-compatible, I used an iPhone 3G with it without incident; however, when I tested the Duo-i with an original (non-3G) iPhone, the system produced the familiar audible "buzz" whenever the phone accessed the mobile network.

Finally, the back of the unit hosts a surprising array of connections. You get a second auxiliary input (this one using right/left RCA jacks); an audio output (also RCA) that's switchable between line-level and variable-level output; connectors for external AM and FM antennas (basic loop and wire antennas are included); a composite-video output; and a jack for the power cable. The Duo-i includes the necessary circuitry to support video output on the latest iPods and iPhones, and the system's power supply is internal, so there's no bulky power brick hanging off the back. There's also a mini-USB service port that is apparently only for repair and service. Overall, the system feels solid and well-built.

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