Customer Reviews

Panasonic SC-HC20P-K Compact Stereo System

5 star:		(55)
4 star:		(21)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I was looking for an IPOD dock and found so much more in this little stereo system. I couldn't find any reviews on this but I own other Panasonic products and thought I'd give it a try and am glad I did. It has a recharging dock/player for an IPOD or IPhone, a CD player, a radio and a clock! Its sleek and good-lookin', small enough to fit on my dresser but has the power to send music throughout my second floor. I'm very picky when it comes to sound and was kind of worried that since I didn't spend over $100 that I wasn't going to be able to find something with great sound but this doesn't disappoint! Clear and crisp - I've heard layers of music on this that I don't hear from my bigger, much more expensive stereo system. This is a great little multi-tasker!

I had been looking at several compact Mp3 players and opted to go with the Panasonic because it included a CD player. From the picture it was hard to tell the quality and features, so I was very pleased when my purchase arrived. It is compact enough to fit on a 5" bookcase ledge - when the ipod drawer is open it extends beyond that ledge about 2". Unit is solid, well made, functions well, and attractive. Sound is great for a unit this size - very clear - for radio, CD and Mp3, and includes ability to adjust tone with both preset EQ and individual bass and treble adjustments. Tuner for AM and FM works well - 15 presets AM, 30 presents FM - with external antennas supplied. There are not many buttons on the unit - they're all on top, but it has a full feature remote - you need to supply batteries. I am accustomed to small remotes coming with compact players. This remote is about the size of a TV remote - 7x2x1". Display is adequate - a little smaller than some, but does include dimmer. No adapter is supplied for ipod dock - fortunately I saved mine - you can dock your unit without adapter if you're careful. Some units I have used retain clock settings during power interruption. This does not. However, it does include a headphone jack and AUX input. I am excited with my purchase and will be recommending it to others. This link provides an overview of features from Panasonic: [...]

Needing a new radio I purchased this from a local electronic store, mostly based upon the reviews I'd read here. It's a good item and I kinda like it, but a few things seem to have been left out of the other reviews.

First, it's nice and compact. A little over a foot long and less than six inches thick, it can easily fit into nearly any space you want it to. The sound is good and the AM/FM antennas work great; we recently had some storms here in NY and it maintained the signal fine. The main issues I have are with the mp3 player and the remote control.

Thanks to the smaller size of mp3s, I routinely burn multiple albums onto a disc to save space. The LCD display can't show multiple files or folders so you can select them; you have to know the track number you're looking for to find it via the remote. But if there are multiple albums on the disc... yep- you gotta skip through every single one of the preceding individual tracks to find the one you want instead of just being able to pull it up.

And speaking of the remote control...it sucks! It has a circular D-pad for controlling menus but it doesn't do much. When an iPod is docked the remote can call up the menu, change settings, etc. The problem is that it can't scroll through anything; if you have a fair amount of songs loaded the remote can only move through one item at a time. Ex- if you've got ten cds on your pod you'll have to hit the button ten times to get to the last one. Same goes for the tracks- looking for the twentieth song on a cd means you're gonna be a minute pulling it up. The volume and fast forward/rewind controls are fine, but unless you're all the way across the room and have your selection already cued up the remote is pretty useless for the iPod.

These are two glaring problems that shouldn't exist in 2010. Remotes are for convenience and this thing is worthless for the iPod and playing mp3s. The mp3 player itself is fine but can't be properly controlled- which are the main reasons I bought it. If you just want a radio to sit within arm's reach and don't mind setting your iPod by hand while its docked, then this'll be good for you.

I purchased this for my bedroom, as I listen to soothing music or meditational CDs when I go to bed at night. It has a very nice sound and doesn't take up much space on the dresser. It has a remote if I care to use it, which is handy. I don't know if I will ever use the Ipod dock, but just as a CD player, it was a good purchase. The seller was very prompt in sending it out...I think I had it in 2 days.

I love to listen to opera while I cook, and this micro system fits perfectly on a shelf in my kitchen and delivers wonderful sound. There aren't a lot of small, no-frills systems out there, and I wasn't interested to going to a boom box. This is very attractive, very functional, and you can't beat the price.

I would highly recommed this shelf system. The sound is very good.It is used in one room and the sound is more than adiquate. The remote is quite simple to operate. For the price and quality I would highly recommend this system.

This is the best small system I have ever had. The sound is better than some larger systems. It fits on a book shelf and is easy to use with the slide opening for the CD. The sound is equally good when turned up loud.

Only prdcut that fits on my narrow shelf. Sound great for the price. MP3 and ipod compatible

This is a fantastic product. Did a lot of research online to find a first stereo for my 11yr old daughter for Christmas. Was looking for quality at a decent price and definitely found it with this unit. Set up was a snap, after reading about flakey response w/remote I checked this out for myself. Room is only 12x12' but responded beautifully from across the room without direct line of sight. I cranked it while on the radio, was surprised of the clarity/sound as well as volume. CD works just as well. Don't have an IPOD and haven't yet used in with her MP3 player as yet, but will update as soon as we have done so.

Would highly recommend this unit for those music lovers looking for a quality unit without a high sticker price.
For those with more discriminating tastes who expect to feel as though they are in the concert hall or the record company sound booth, keep looking and expect to shell out some serious cash.

We primarily use it with our iPhone and Pandora internet radio.

Along with this unit, we also tried out the Logitech Pure-Fi Anywhere 2 and the Logitech S715i. Here is what I found:

Panasonic SC-HC20- poorest sound quality of the three, but it was nice that it included AM/FM radio and a CD player. Most versatile of the 3, but the least impressive sound quality. Sound quality is a 5.

Pure-Fi Anywhere- descent sound, not enough base, not enough volume- nothing special and about the same price as the S715i. Sound quality is a 7.

S715i- has amazing sound quality, base, and volume output. Nice, small size, solid feel to it. You do have to make sure the kick-stand locks in place so it will stand up- just give it a good push until it locks. Sound quality is a 10.