AZATOM Horizon DAB Radio Review

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Summary:
Offers decent sound quality and strong DAB reception, but is quite fiddly to use.

Buy it online:
See on Amazon.co.uk

The AZATOM Horizon is an affordable bedside FM/DAB radio alarm clock. It has a compact design and offers wireless streaming via Bluetooth as well as other useful features such as a dual alarm. This radio is available in either black or white. Find out more about what it can do and how it performs in this review…

Features

FM RDS/DAB/DAB+ radio
Display with four display levels including sleep mode
Display shows clock, station name and scrolling news text or song names
Bluetooth 4.0
Headphone jack
Dual alarms, so you could set one for weekends and another for weekdays
USB port for charging a phone or other device

Dimensions: 14.5 cm wide x 14.5 cm deep x 4.5 cm high
Weight: 499 g

Performance and use

This radio has a good aerial and offers relatively good DAB reception. It should find plenty of DAB radio stations, even if you live in an area with a weak signal.

The AZATOM Horizon has decent sound quality for a radio of its size. It’s good for listening to speech stations or casually listening to the radio while in bed, though if you’re very picky about sound quality you will want to invest more to get something with better speakers. If you’re looking for a similar clock radio with better sound quality, the Pure Siesta could be a good choice.

In addition to the radio and the alarm, the AZATOM Horizon has some other useful features including Bluetooth for wirelessly streaming audio from your phone or tablet. It also has a USB port so you can charge your phone, MP3 player or other device.

This radio could certainly be easier to use. There isn’t a single button to turn the alarm on and off, so you have to go through a menu and set the time, source and so on each time you turn the alarm on. Saving and accessing preset stations is also quite fiddly. It would be good if the radio had dedicated preset buttons for quickly accessing preset stations.

Another area where this radio could be improved is the volume controls. They aren’t very sensitive, and there’s quite a big difference between the lower volume levels.

Pros

Crisp and clear sound
Small and compact—should fit easily on a bedside table
Reliable, with good build quality
Good value for money (see price on Amazon)
Alarm gradually increases in volume, so you can wake up gradually
Display is easy to read. The clock has large digits.
Good aerial

Cons

To change the display brightness you have to go through a menu rather than just pushing a button
Setting and changing the alarm is quite fiddly

Verdict

Overall, the AZATOM Horizon performs well for the price. It’s carefully designed, and AZATOM clearly paid lots of attention to the sound quality, display and radio reception. Its main flaw is that its menu system is fiddly and complicated to use, meaning that it might take you a long time to learn how to use and adjust the alarm easily.

#1 reason to buy: Offers good overall performance for the price.
#1 reason not to buy: Setting the alarm and adjusting settings using the menu is fiddly.

Similar radios

One radio with a similar design and price is the Majority Fulbourn. It has a similar shape to the AZATOM Horizon and offers FM/DAB radio as well as Bluetooth and two USB charging ports. Majority design several other budget-priced alarm clock radios, including the Abbey and the Madingley Hall, which both have USB ports for charging a smartphone overnight.

For more suggestions, check out our reviews of the best alarm clock radios.