Panasonic SL-CT700 Portable CD Player

by Panasonic

Product Details

Product Manual [743kb PDF]

• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 9.8 x 3.9 inches ; 5.4 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B000093UQS
• Item model number: SL-CT700
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #105,906 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

Panasonic's ultra-slim, MP3-friendly SL-CT700 CD player offers the convenience of pocket-slim sizing, remote control operation, and a staggering 80 hours of MP3 file playback. The player's No Skip technology combines rubber, shock-absorbing brushings and an anti-skip digital servo with 48-second memory reserve (100 seconds for MP3) for added back up.

Panasonic's Power Last system uses a highly efficient motor with low-load circuitry for drastically improved playback time, helping the player derive up to 80 hours of MP3 file playback from two supplied Ni-Cd rechargeable batteries in conjunction with two standard AA batteries in the included (and optional) external battery case.

A hold function activated from the supplied wired remote control prevents unintended interruptions in playback and saves batteries by negating playback when the player is stopped. You can set it to lock the player, the remote control, or both. The SL-CT700's digital-to-analog converter is Panasonic's single-bit MASH (multi-stage noise shaping technology) DAC, designed to virtually eliminate distortion and deliver all the subtleties and nuances that make digital recordings so rich.

Playback options include 20-track programming, repeat (track or disc), and random play, and a three-preset equalizer lets you tailor the sound to your preference--choose from S-XBS (extra bass system), live, train (high cut). With the player's moving-light key illumination, the buttons on the side of the unit change color and light up in different sequences, showing both the mode of operation and the remaining battery life.

What's in the Box
CD player, stereo earbud headphones, wired remote control, external battery pack with two Ni-Cd rechargeable batteries, user's manual, and an AC power adapter.

Product Description

Enjoy the best in portable audio with this personal CD player from Panasonic.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Audio Quality and Silent Operation, July 25, 2003

By 

Jack Wang (Waterloo, Ontario) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Panasonic SL-CT700 Portable CD Player (Electronics)

Outstanding Qualities
I own several Panasonic CD players, and this is a very refined CD player, with or without its MP3 capabilities. First, it's very quiet in operation, so you won't hear unmusical motor whirring or seeking while you listen intimately to bedtime music :) The audio signal is also relatively noise free, and there is absolutely no hissing noise when the music quiets down. My previous Panasonic SL-CT560 makes a high pitched noise in the headphones whenever the remote backlighting came on, but the with CT700, Panasonic fixed that, too.

Model Family Comparisons
In comparison to the CT700, the CT800 is basically the same unit with metal casing and bundles Ni-MH instead of Ni-Cd reachargeable batteries, offering twice the battery life of CT700. I chose a red CT700 based on the look. Stay away from the budget SL-CT500 and SL-MPxx models, because although they're all Made in Japan like the CT700 (a rarity these days), they apparently use lower quality electronics and have much more noise in the audio.

Comparison with other Brands
A major strengh of Panasonic CD players is their superior mechanical engineering, and you can expect much better compatibility with different CD-R/RW discs and much longer product lifetime than with Sony CD Walkmans. This Panasonic is quality built to last. The only reasons you may choose a Sony might be its second-accurate resume feature, which like cassette Walkmans start at exactly the same point in music from which you left off yesterday, and better sound quality of the top end models. But Sony's all about marketing these days, and sound quality is a mixed bag, as are reliabilty, value (pricing) and design.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great mp3 player, May 12, 2003

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Panasonic SL-CT700 Portable CD Player (Electronics)

I've had a great experience with this mp3 player.

... The rechargable batteries that come with the unit are thin-form Ni-Cd rechargables. These are standard format batteries that can be bought at any standard electronics store, such as Best Buy. The unit is simply *too thin* to have space within the main unit for standard size AA batteries. However... you can attach an external battery pack (included) that accomodates AA size batteries. It's a bit more cludgy, but I can still fit the unit in my pocket with the external battery case attached if I need to. If not, you can always use the thin profile internal rechargables.

Removing the CD is like any other compact CD player, not any easier. But with mp3 format, you only have to change the CD rarely anyways.... not a big deal.

The controller is actually very compact. The screen is a bit small, but legible. Normally, I don't look at the screen anyways, so it's not a big deal for me.

Some other good points:

(1) This unit *sips* batteries. Using AA rechargable NiMH batteries in the attachable battery pack, the unit will run continuously for more than 24 hours. I once left the unit running in the car all night by mistake, and it was still running when I came back. Panasonic lists battery life at 80 hours for 2 external Alkaline disposable plus the 2 NiCd internal batteries combined. Expect the batteries to last a little bit less if you are using only the NiCd thin-profile internal batteries (which I haven't tried yet), or a lot longer if you use alkaline disposable batteries (don't do that - wasteful and {spendy}). As noted, the disc spins down between songs, so the motor is not continually running. Is suppose this saves a lot of batteries. It's a bit strange to see the CD sudeenly stop spinning while you are listening to music. Most of the time, the disc is completely stopped.

(2) Sound quality. This is my primary concern. It's great. The preset equalizer settings are very nice also. I know what audiophiles say about not toying with sound quality using these types of things, but unless you are buying a {very high cost} piece of equipment, equalizer settings can help offset some of the deficiencies in the types of standard audio equipment that mere mortals can afford. For example, I use the unit often with my car stereo, and the equalizer settings are quite helpful for that.

(3) The display doesn't bother me. I don't have problems with it.

(4) Nice construction. Made in Japan.

19 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good for the price, horrible remote, bad for audio books., April 28, 2003

By 

"cowexchange" (Green Bay, WI United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Panasonic SL-CT700 Portable CD Player (Electronics)

I received this unit today; all-in-all, I think it was good for the...price. It looks stylish, is thinner than a dime's diameter, and isn't clumsy (when you don't attach the remote/battery pack/AC adapter), and has the yummy sound quality I expect from Panasonic. Below are (to me) the most important points/dirt I noticed within 2 hours of playing with it.

To be fair, please note that I only tested it with a Joliet-format (ISO-9660) Mp3 disc, and its files were 128kbps CBR.

BASE UNIT:
+ Does not spin CD through whole song in MP3 mode; for one particular song, it spun about 10 seconds before stopping, then spun again 1.5 minutes later.
+ Remote control is not necessary for basic operation of the unit. The base unit supports play/pause, stop, track skipping, and volume up/down. Functionality like EQ is on the remote.
- 2 second delay when skipping tracks.
+ Quiet, great sound quality (for an Mp3)
- Uses abnormal rechargable batteries (included, but good luck getting them replaced) to help form
factor, though you can use AA batteries (not included) with the external battery case (included).
- My last Panasonic CD player allowed me to press the center of the spinny thing to pop the CD out, rather than trying to pull it. This player doesn't have that functionality, unfortunately. It's still relatively easy to pull the CD out, but I worry more about scratching the disc now.

- When turned off/on, unit will resume play at the BEGINNING of a track. This is normally fine, except when listening to long tracks, like 30-minute audio books. Don't plan on fast-forwarding, either; I haven't found a way.

BATTERY CASE:
- Awkward to carry alongside unit (don't underestimate the weight of 2 AA batteries). Cord is only 5.5 inches long.
+ Its use is optional, but you can't recharge the base unit's batteries while these are plugged in.

HEADPHONES:
- The average quality you come to expect of "free" headphones. There's a noticeable difference between these and my Grado SR-80 headphones. Differences aside (Panasonic uses an in-ear design, and the Grados go over the ear.. plus the Grados cost about as much as this MP3 player), I'll stick with the SR-80.

REMOTE (some severe lack of QA testing here, I'm afraid):
- NO BACKLIT DISPLAY. The display is small and lacks contrast; very hard to read. The manual explains how to adjust contrast on the display, but after significant effort I was unsuccessful.
- Requires strange combinations of holding buttons and pressing other buttons to extend functionality. Normally I'm okay with this, but some of these combinations were tricky, and I found myself holding buttons longer than I would have preferred. If you enjoy playing games like Twister, Street Fighter or Mortal Combat, this is perhaps the Remote for you. Otherwise, stay away.
- Slight degredation in sound quality (non-audiophiles won't notice) when listening through remote.
- The display only shows 6 characters of the file/ID3 tag at a time. The scrolling is relatively fluid (pixel-by-pixel rather than character-by-character scrolling), and uses lower-cased letters where they exist, but it makes my 8-characters-at-a-time JVC car stereo look like a luxery.
+ Cord is 28 inches long
- There is a slightly-raised piece of plastic near where you would plug your headphones. Depending on the diameter of the base of your headphone plug, this might hit the plastic, preventing you from plugging your headphones all the way. I had to push a little extra hard with my Grado headphones, otherwise the plug kept falling out. No problems with the base unit.
- No reverse timer for MP3 nor CD playback (that is, you can't see how many seconds remain; you can see how deep into the song you are, but not at the same time as you're viewing the title).
- No fast-forward in MP3 nor CD mode; you only seem to be able to skip tracks, not fast forward or rewind in the current song.
- No custom EQ settings besides the 3 presets (Train (allegedly easier on your ears), S-XBS (bass boost), and Live).
+ Has a "Hold" switch that is exclusive to the Remote, so you can choose to lock functions on the Base Unit, on the Remote, or both. Might confuse some people, but I like it.
- I'm not sure how to hold the remote. I'm always tempted to hold it like a wand, with my thumb on the circular controls, however if I do this, button functionality is awkward: pressing right decreases the volume and pressing left increases the volume.