Customer Reviews

Panasonic SL-SV550 CD/MP3 Player

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(22)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

I tested this player (SL-SV550) with both a headphone and with external speakers (Cambridge Soundworks). And I picked three songs to play in both formats (mp3 and audio). They are "I believe (Brothers and Sisters)", "Hero (Enriques)", and "Another perfect day (American Hi-Fi)" So far, this unit has performed up to my expectation.

MP3 playback: MP3 sound from this player is pretty good. In my opinion, it plays mp3 better than regular audio CD. Bass boot helps mp3 playback as well. The mp3 start up time is a little long (10-15 secs), because it scans all directories on the CD.

Audio CD playback: Noise is noticable. I'd recommend a noise cancelling headphone. Sound quality is very average (not good/not bad).

Radio reception: Unlike most FM tuners, the SL-SV550 can do fine tunning. You can change FM/AM frequency step (0.20 , 0.10 , and 0.05 Mhz for FM and 10 , 9 kHz for AM). That means you can use it worldwide. In overall, radio sounds ok. Bass boost is not recommended in radio reception.

With the price under [money], I am happy with my decision :)

~I bought this CD/MP3 player recently. I'm very satisfied with all the functionalities it's equipped with. In addition to CD/MP3, it also has digital FM/AM. What a good deal for such a price!
The sound quality is very good. So far I have no problem at all with this product. Some people complained about the LCD display that does not show MP3 title. However, you may arrange your hundreds of MP3 songs in different albums (or subdirectories) on a CD. Usually, it's enough to have about 10 albums on a~~ CD with 10~~14 MP3 songs inside each album. The album number is selectable using this player. Therefore, as long as you know your favorite album number. It's pretty easy to find the right songs you want on a MP3 CD.
What amazed me most is the player's super efficient power system. With just two AA batteries, it seems that the player can run forever. Unbelievable! I strongly recommend this product.~

Finally all you need in portable sound in one package:
* AM/FM radio with decent reception with easily accessible switching of the sound mode that include stereo/mono and DX/local. These features are important for listening to TV sound through FM channels at exercise facilities. The tuner quality is OK but not perfect.

* The CD player is decent with good crisp sound with no audible distortion at any volume level with decent bass without using the bass boost. It has not skipped but I have not had the opportunity to fully test this.

* The MP3 playback is also sounds good but the bass boost is more useful here. This unit put 150+ tracks into memory when starting it, fairly quicky. One quirp here with mp3: an occasional blurp of sound from the beginning of the previous track when moving to the next track.

* The bass boost sounds good on some cases but overdone in others but does not crack and distort like the Sony bass boost does on their players.

* Headphones are bad!

This unit has all the essential for portable use w/o costly features such as ID tagging. ...

This thing has MP3 playback WMA playback, an AM/FM radio, with 30 preset stations, and it plays CD-R's, RW's, and normal CD's. There is'nt really anything on this CD player that cant be put on it. It is shocking that Panasonic managed to put this one out for such a low price.

Pros:
-Low price for many features
-Can play all kinds of CDs
-Nice volume control
-Bass boost
-Track repeat, album repeat, etc.

Cons:
-VERY confusing controls
-Comes with cheap headphones
-Bass boost is'nt enough
-Can never really get it to be very loud, especially in a plane

Overall, this is a great product for the price, but it really has some improvements that can be made. I like it, I recommend it, but if you are looking for better overall design, check out some iRiver CD players. If you're on a budget, however, it doesn't come any better than this one.

Pro:
Good design, appearance is very good. Very well built, made in Osaka, Japan.
Cons:
I am not using the stock headphone, the headphone used for this review is Sennheiser HD280 studio monitor.
The radio reception is kind of weak, noisy, I am close to the center of a big city.
I thought the CD/MP3 play back unit should be the same as other Panasonic SL models, such as SL-SX420 which I also have. But turn out they sounds different. For 550, the background noise is more audible, high is too crispy, and lack of bass and warmness. S-XBS can't solve the problem, it just make the sound too unbalanced.
The SL-SX410 (2 year old model, $100) is more profound and musical than all those newer models, soundstage is much better.
but SX420/SV550 seems to has more high frequency details.

Well, I give 550 4 stars because of the low price, and build quality.

The SL-SV550 from Panasonic is a stylish, lightweight CD player that also works well with MP3 audio files and has a nice built-in radio with both AM and FM bands. This model is not the sporty, rugged type Panasonic also sells, but nonetheless exhibits the highest build quality. (Made in Japan.)

Pros:
- Incredibly long battery life on two AA batteries. Takes both alkaline (1.5Vx2) and NiMH (1.2Vx2) types of batteries. The battery indicator has four levels: 1-3 bars, plus no bar to indicate low battery. I've played a mixture of audio CDs, MP3 CD-Rs and radio for over a week on two fresh AA alkalines from Walgreen's, and there are still 1-2 bars left. Just incredible. The use of standard AA batteries also means to need to buy expensive proprietary batteries or carry a charger. NOTE: if you use NiMH batteries, due to their low initial voltage, the indicator may exhibit only 1-2 bars from the start, but the NiMH batteries will actually last longer. This is speaking from my experience with other Panasonic CD/MP3 players (e.g., SX70/80).

- Very clean sound. The bundled headphones are ok, but I use a set of noise-cancelling earbuds, and the sound from the Panasonic is very clean and pleasant. The bass, even when boosted, is not too strong, but that's fine with me as excessive bass gives me headaches. There's plenty of volume from the radio and audio CD plays, but MP3 audio can be a bit too soft, so you may want to get a pair of volume-control headphones.

- Compatible with audio CDs, CD-R and CD-RW burned with audio CD tracks, CD-R and CD-RW burned with MP3 or WAV files. I've tried a good many number of MP3-filled CD-R discs, some even scratched, and the Panasonic has no trouble with any of them. Some notes here: 1. When creating an MP3 CD be sure to put files in different root-level folders, with no more than 12 in each folder. The Panasonic strives for simplest controls, at the expense of extensive file navigation. The use of folders simplifies skipping to the album (folder) and track (file) you want. The player does remember the last track/file played, unless you change discs. 2. This player does not display ID3 tags, only track number and elapsed time. This is more a CD player that can support MP3 files, rather than a dedicated MP3 player. For the latter, you might as well go for an iPod, Rio or RCA Lyra.

- Great radio functions. Very good reception, better than my dedicated portable radio, and deafeningly loud at the max volume. Twenty FM presets and ten AM presets. Very easy to program.

- Anti-skip that works flawlessly. You shouldn't drop this unit, though, as it's not designed to be dropped.

- Stylish and lightweight. Only 6 ounces with two AA batteries.

Minor cons:

- Cannot search within an MP3 track. You can search within audio CD tracks, but not within MP3. No big deal for music, but inconvenient for MP3 audio books.

- Small buttons. Buttons are responsive but not laid out logically, and they are all too small. A few times I pressed the skip button instead of volume control which I meant to.

- Battery compartment is under the CD. My old Panasonic discmen had external battery compartments, but the newer models all put them under the CD, inside. If the door is not closed in place it can pop up and scratch your CD. The engineer who made this switch should be shot. Also, when will Panasonic start using AAA batteries to make these even slimmer?

In summary, a great portable CD/MP3 player for the buck. Highly recommended (unless you plan to listen to a lot of MP3s).

For what it is and what it claims to do, this is a great little player. The no-skip feature works great- didn't skip once when I was working out, even when running at a decent clip. The MP3 function works as advertised, although the naming conventions are a bit funky. No ID tag support, but it doesn't claim any either (Panasonic does make one that does this). The AM/FM tuner is on par with other walkman-type devices. Sound quality is also as good as anything else out there- if you want audiophile level sound, you shouldn't be buying a portable device. The headphones are mediocre, but so are every other pair on products like this. For decent sound, get headphones with "Sennheiser" or "Grado" in the name. It will play at decent volume levels- some have complained about the volume, but it will go loud enough to damage hearing. If you are concerned about outside noise, get noise-cancelling or closed-ear headphones. As others have said, the construction is not particularly rugged- if you expect your player to take lots of abuse, you need to look elsewhere. On the other hand, it is very lightweight (a plus for you joggers).

Bottom line: this unit does exactly what it claims. If you want a good CD/AM/FM/MP3 solution for while you are out and about or working out, this is what you are looking for.

I purchased this CD player several months ago and have had no complaints. It recieves the radio signal clear and strong. I shake it in my hand it won't skip a beat when playing a CD. I even dropped it on the floor several times and it still plays. The last time I dropped it on the floor the parts that keep it closed broke off. I have to keep it closed with tape. But guess what, it still plays like a dream.

This player is as fragile as an egg!!! I take it to the gym and there is always something happening to it. It came with a great holder. But if you touch the holder the unit comes on. So I am constantly changing batteries. Also the open and hold switches are made of cheap materials that break at the drop of a hat. In fact, I'm in need of a repair now!!!! Also, whose bright idea was it to have the battery compartment inside the unit. What a pain. If I could get my money back I would.

Great cd player. Simply does not skip. Great battery life. If your batteries get low and will no longer play a CD, switch over to FM and you can still have tunes! Gets radio reception inside the mall where other sets will not-great for mall walkers. Had trouble at first getting CD's out of player but that seems to have loosened up with use. Would purchase again-highly recommended!