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Yamaha’s hi-fi alarm clock spares your tender waking ears, charges your gadgets

Caleb Denison
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yamaha TSX B72 lifestyle
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How old and crusty is your alarm clock? If it used to be white but is now 50 shades of fingerprint-y grey, perhaps it’s time you replaced it. And, hey, if you’re going to replace your least-favorite appliance, you might as well get something you could learn to love. Check out Yamaha’s latest effort, the TSX-B72. 

While the TSX-B72 won’t be winning any awards for most clever alarm clock nomenclature, it is one of the more interesting – and expensive – alarm clocks we’ve seen in a while. As much bedroom sound system as it is wake-up device, the B72 offers Bluetooth for wireless music streaming, NFC for one-touch pairing to mobile devices, a USB charging port, and a dual-driver speaker system which Yamaha claims can deliver “exceptional, full-range sound” with adequate bass. The B72 also sports an attractive powder-coated finish which we think will look slick in just about any bedroom. Yamaha alarm clock app

Perhaps the B72’s most interesting feature is the manner in which it wakes you up. Alarms that fade in to wake you slowly are nothing new, but for those who don’t enjoy a piping-hot mug of treble first thing in the morning, Yamaha’s alarm clock doesn’t just fade in, it restricts alarming high-frequencies at the start, then gradually adds them back in as it gets louder. Yamaha seems to think this is the way to start your day. And from our desk on a cold Monday morning in December, we’re inclined to agree. 

In addition to Yamaha’s intelligent alarm, the B72 boasts enough smarts to be controlled with a free smartphone app, which allows per-day alarms to be set with controls that customize fad-in times and frequency curves. Naturally, you can wake up to the tunes stored on your mobile device, but if you prefer AM or FM radio, that’s available too. You can even specify which radio station to wake up to on which day. 

The $200 B72 is currently available in dark green, dark red, and the ubiquitous “iPod white,” as we like to call it. 

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