What Hi Fi Sound and Vision
26 AUG 2008
Boston Acoustics Solo XT
Solid styling and easy to use, the excellent sound quality caps a satisfyingly complete radio
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The
Boston Acoustics Solo XT is a tabletop DAB/FM radio. Yep, just a DAB/FM radio – no iPod dock, no internet radio, no wireless streaming.
Still, it’s a well-made, solid piece of kit. The main unit is available in two finishes with a choice of four coloured grilles. The radio sits vertically or horizontally, so fitting it in to your bedroom, kitchen or living room shouldn’t be a problem.
Boston reckons the bedroom might be a safe bet, so provides clock, alarm, sleep and snooze settings – the entire circular trim is a slappable snooze button – with the tuners. Elsewhere there’s a 3.5mm-minijack audio input and an output, plus a headphone connection for private listening.
The display is clear and easy to read, with the three knobs providing efficient guides to the radio’s menus. The Solo XT doesn’t match the best in terms of tuner sensitivity, but with decent radio reception, this shouldn’t be a big issue.
Excellent radio performance A listen to XFM on DAB delivers a blast of Coldplay’s ubiquitous
Violet Hill. Chris Martin’s airy vocals are given emotion and insight, while the rest of the track has bags of bass weight and decent levels of clarity.
If anything, as Kiss FM proves, bass can be a little overbearing on this mono radio, but it’s a slight criticism given how lightweight rivals can sound.
Switch to FM and we’re again greeted by solid, dynamic sound alongside clear, detailed voices, as delivered by Mark Radcliffe and Liza Tarbuck during a spot of listening on Radio 2.
All told, we find ourselves really rather enamoured of this Boston Acoustics Solo XT radio, and thanks to sterling sound performance, impressive build and decent functionality, ‘it’s more than a feeling’. Sorry…