As part of the 2020 goals I'm trying to spend less time on social media. I've now started to put my phones in the office before we head to bed. There is two fold in this reason. Firstly one of my aims for the year was to read more books. If I'm scrolling around on social media I'm going to be wasting time where I could be reading. It's also meaning that I'm switching off at night as well to help me get a better night's sleep...The only problem is that come the next morning I've got nothing to wake me up! Hence why I've bought a JBL Horizon
End of last year I bought a really cheap alarm clock but it was for ever lighting up the room at night and I ended up always putting it face down on the table. Defeats the point really doesn't it?
Anyway I've just treated myself to this JBL Horizon alarm clock and read my review below.
So why did I go for the JBL Horizon?
Well a number of features that I was looking for in the unit. One that I could use the Bluetooth element to be able to play music through it. Secondly I wanted a clock face that was dimmable. I liked the feature that the light changed depending on the light in the room. Great if you are trying to get to sleep at night. I also liked the fact that if there was a power cut at night then the unit has an internal battery to keep it running. The fact that it can play FM radio and has USB charging points were added bonuses!
So what's in the box?
Well, you get the unit itself, then a couple of different power connectors (one for Europe and one for UK) and then a set of slightly brief instructions... Plus of course the warranty card information that would be expected.
I must say that on first impressions the instructions although completely functional do feel light. I'm quite tech savy but I think they could be slightly more descriptive.
So my impressions on this unit?
Sound
JBL is of course renowned for the quality that they bring to all kind of devices... be it small portable speakers like this, sound bars right through to headphones. This device doesn't disappoint, and whilst some smaller devices lack the "bass" cut through this certainly doesn't. I've played all sorts of music through the unit and all of the sound good on the JBL Horizon.
Looks
The unit looks good. Although it might be slightly bulky for a small bedside table, everything looks well designed and is a nice looking device to be looking at on a regular basis. The USB ports at the side are neatly seated. As are the main ports at the back for the mains and the FM radio. These also allow the unit to sit flat on the ground. Sounds simple but not something everything has... The light on the back of the unit is also well integrated in the unit. With the unit facing you you can't see it and it gives a nice wake up glow. The screen at the front has easy to read numbers even when half asleep you can be fully 100% sure of what time it is.
Functionality
The main reason that I bought this unit was for the clock adapting to the light in the room - and it does this really well. The USB ports continue to charge even when the unit is off which is a nice touch. There are two different alarms that you can set so you don't have to remember to switch the thing off for the weekend. You do have the option of setting Weekday, Weekend, Single Day, All day alarms which is useful. Setting these are quite straightforward. You also have the ability to chose which alarm sound do you want. Bluetooth? Built in Alarm sounds? Radio?
All are good but the down side is that the volume on these can't be adjusted they just get louder and louder as time goes on.... There is also no adjustment for the duration of the alarm. The "sleep" setting allows options from a few minutes, all the way to 90 minutes, and it would be nice to have the same for the alarm to stop the radio cutting out at 3 minutes.
I'm also a bit disappointed in the quality of the FM radio. Firstly I would have expected in this day and age to have a DAB radio, and secondly I can't appear to get a clear signal on the FM radio that is there. As I said at the start I also think the manual is a little light on information. Yes I know it's just an alarm clock but it could still be slightly better.
Overall Impressions?
Whilst I do have some gripes about the unit when it comes to the manual and the alarm noise, this is a great alarm clock but also has the added benefit of being a great speaker as well. We all like to have music occasionally in the bedroom to get ready to and being a JBL device this just doesn't let you down!
Available in plenty of different places - but you can get it here from Amazon.
