- iPod Dock on top panel
- 30-station preset FM tuner
- Clock with dual alarm function
- Alarm modes: music, beep, music + beep
- Handy card-type remote unit
Yamaha seems to resist adding features to their audio equipment. For example, it took years for their AV receivers to get a decent number of HDMI inputs. Or any at all. That's why I stuck with my RX-V1 for so long; beautiful sound, eight years to get four HDMI inputs on the RX-V1900, a nicely priced AV receiver that sounds as good as that old RX-V1 but has some newer features and for a very reasonable price. This same conservative design approach has really cut into the TSX-120's ability to be a fully useful device, especially when they are charging this premium price.
Like all Yamaha audio products this radio sounds absolutely terrific as either a radio or as a playback device for an iPod. And that's the good part. Also on the good side is that it has two alarm inputs for you and your SO's convenience. But that is about the outer edge of the good features for this radio. What it does, it does really well. It just does not do enough. One thing I noticed right away is that those alarms can not be turned on by the remote. This is a feature I'm used to with my Bose Wave radio (the one that died of old age), a similarly priced competitor, and I can see no reason Yamaha could not have included this useful feature. Just wait for the first twenty times you climb into bed and then have to get up to manually push the Alarm Set button on the unit and you'll probably agree.
This radio only has an FM radio. Too bad for me since I listen to so much AM radio but I could live with that if the FM came with HDRadio capability. Yamaha buys a ton of these chipsets for their RX and the newer Aventage receivers. That they use HD in their newest model indicates to me that they are in the HDRadio game for the long haul, which I'm happy about as I very much enjoy HDRadio, so why not include it? Adding HDRadio would have been a huge step in making this a little more worth the price.
Oh, and the layout of the remote is difficult to use and a bit arcane.
My final complaint has already been documented in other reviews. I'd like to have seen more of a differentiation in the size of the time numbers and the other info on the front panel. As a matter of fact, I'd like to see the numbers at all. This clock sits on a dresser on my wife's side of the bed and those little numbers just aren't legible to me when I wake up, bleary-eyed, in the middle of the night.
All in all, the TSX-120 is a terrific $150 clock/radio/iPod player. Except that it has an MSRP of $399. You'll have to be a real Yamaha fan to buy one of these, which I am. But not at this price, I wish there was more competition so I could have just returned it but there is not. Too much for too little pretty much wraps it up and I think I'll use it for the title of this piece.
Buy Yamaha TSX-120BL Desktop Audio System (Single, Black) Now
I was having doubts between this awesome device and the bose, but after comparing and hearing both, the difference was remarkable and the Yamaha beat it way too far. The bass is excellent without distorsion and the radio function is very useful. I'm very happy with it and if you buy it you won't regret it.Read Best Reviews of Yamaha TSX-120BL Desktop Audio System (Single, Black) Here
I bought this to use primarily as a bedside alarm clock that would also play music and charge my iphone. At the same time my wife surprised me with the Yamaha TSX-70, which is really nice too. That gave me a few days to compare them and see which I prefered. They were both great in their own way, if I only I could combine the features of the two it would be the perfect unit. I ended up keeping the TSX-120 for the following reasons:-Customization. You can set it to wake you to any playlist you choose. It also has 5 different alarm sounds, some are buzzer type sounds, but also a couple melodies which to me are better than a buzzer. I use a soft melody which is almost pleasant to wake up to, if there is such a thing.
-Sound quality is very good. Rich, full sound with several DSP settings that make a difference. Way better than most alarm/docks. In Bose class sound. Actually, at a store I compared it side by side with the bose and actually preferred it but they are both good. Of course you can't compare these to full size systems, but for it's size I'd say it's great.
-Convienent button locations and intuitive controls. Easy for me to find the snooze and alarm buttons in the dark. Two alarms that are easily set, plus when enabled the alarm time is displayed so you know for sure it's set and for what time.
Cons: the display is small and a bit cluttered. It can display artist info, song title, time remaining. If they would have made the time about twice it's size it would be perfect. The TSX-70 was much better in regard to it's time display but had no other info.
It's pretty big for an alarm clock, almost as big as two shoeboxes. I suppose the size and solid build help with sound quality so you take the good with the bad.
In summary, despite the great sound and great alarm clock functions it does lack as an alarm clock because of the small size of the display and large size of the unit. I only gave it 4 stars because I use it as an alarm clock, but as a desktop stereo it would be a 5. I suspect someday the next version of the iphone won't fit this dock anymore at which time this will no longer be useful to me as an every night charging station for my phone, but it will still make an excellent little stereo system.
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I have been searching for the perfect combo of alarm clock and great sound for my bedside that would also have an iTouch dock.I had tried and returned the Boston Acoustics Duo-i Plus which also had great sound (and a slightly better FM tuner) but suffered from the low frequency hum at low volumes when the iTouch was mounted and turned on that so many other reviewers have noted.
So I really thought that this Yamaha was going to be my ticket! Yamaha makes great stuff in every category that they are involved in. But it seems they really dropped the ball when it came to the alarm features on this unit.
Here are the cons that forced me to return it and keep looking:
1) The size of the clock display is really small. I was surprised.
2) The dual alarms do not have assignable days. Which to me, made the convenience of dual alarms almost pointless.
3) The snooze time is NOT adjustable! And is fixed at 5 MINUTES! Seriously? Why would you hit the snooze button if you're going to get only 5 Minutes more ... you might as well get up! :)
4) The FM tuner was not as strong as I was hoping.
The look and quality of the unit is top notch and sound is as awesome as Yamaha is known for.
If you're not going to use this for your main bedside alarm and FM stations are strong in your area then I can heartily recommend this unit.
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This system sounds good with an MP3 player docked. The FM radio has trouble getting a clean signal with several of my local stations. The controls are all clearly labeled and you can set the Alarm and all the basic things without consulting the manual every time. The alarm can be set to wake to a specified radio station of a specified playlist. There are two 24 hr alarms but you cannot specify days of the week for the alarm. The display is crowded but it does dim properly so as not to light up the room like many of these digital clock radios do. For me the worst flaw is that the alarm turns itself off every morning after it goes off so you have to remember to turn it back on every night. The alarm cannot be turned on or off or set from the remote control you must use the top panel buttons.
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