Portable Audio at Its Finest
Written: Feb 06 '01
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Pros: Excellent sound, awesome design, high-quality headphones, quick-responding controls, clear LCD screen, skip-free
Cons: LCD screen not backlit
The Bottom Line: Buy it, you won't be disappointed. I feel I have covered everything above to make your decision easy. However, I have skipped some detail; for more information, visit Panasonic's website.
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| indepth_info's Full Review: Panasonic SL-CT570 Personal CD Player |
I have owned two portable CD players prior to this one; they were both Sony, which I once thought was a superior brand. In summary, they were expensive, and they both became inoperable after a short time. Here's what happened to my second Sony Discman: Within a year, the backlighting on the LCD burnt out. Then, all the controls on the left stopped functioning. Within two years, all the buttons except "play" stopped working completely, and the anti-shock feature failed miserably. It was settled; I would never buy another Sony portable CD player again.
For about three months, I looked at different portable CD players and found the Panasonic SL-CT570. It has a 50-hour battery life, 40-second shock protection, 10-second shock protection with no loss of audio quality, is "The world's lightest portable CD player," comes with an AC adapter, battery stick, battery case, rechargeable batteries, a neat wired remote, and mine came with a complete free car kit by mail.
After about six months, I am convinced that I own one of the best, if not the best, portable CD player in the world. It has never skipped, NEVER. I use the 10-second anti-shock protection mode because there is no audio dilution. And even the 10-second protection has NEVER failed me; it is amazing! I shook the player vigorously for 5 minutes on 10-second mode in every direction and it NEVER skipped; nice job, Panasonic! The sound quality is perfect, and has 4 modes: Live, Extra Bass System, Train, and Regular; they are all very effective. The remote and the player both have "hold" functions so that if you are jogging, hitting the buttons by accident will not disrupt your music. This model also has a pop-up feature; all you do is press the button (it is mechanical), and your CD pops right up; very easy.
I have dropped this Panasonic "CD Jogger" 4 times. One time, it smashed from my hands onto the concrete!!! I cringed; but, guess what? Not one scratch, not even one loose part; it still works as good as new. This has to be the most durable thing on the earth to withstand that kind of accidental abuse!
The power options are a dream-come-true. Think of this portable CD player as a rechargeable phone. With the built-in recharger system, when the power runs out, plug it into the AC adapter, and you will get another 8 hours of play time off of a 3-hour charge. Batteries are expensive; I have never put a set into this player, I just recharge. But, if a power outlet is not convenient, screw on the battery stick for a really extreme battery life. If you put 2 regular AAA batteries in the player and AA regular batteries in the battery stick, you will have a play-back time of 50 hours. I hate wasting money on batteries; thanks again, Panasonic.
The controls are well-placed and they respond very quickly, so you can easily access track 15 in a couple of seconds. The included headphones offer very good sound, but I wanted some tighter clip-on ones for jogging. I purchased a pair of Sony clip-on headphones for $30. They went back, as the sound was clangy and offered no bass on these (Come on, Sony!). I'm just thrilled with the included headphones, and maybe I'll eventually buy a pair of PANASONIC clip-on headphones for jogging. The only thing that I would have liked that was not included was a backlit screen. The LCD information is displayed big and crystal clear, but for night, I need my backlight. But if the backlight would end up burning out like Sony's did, then I'm glad it doesn't have one!
In conclusion, do yourself a favor and go buy yourself a Panasonic SL-CT570 portable CD player. It is Panasonic's best available, and I think it is nearly flawless. I have had so many compliments on this CD player; everyone has seemed to love it. I am very happy to announce that at my high school, I was shocked to see that almost everyone has Panasonic CD players now; finally Panasonic is getting the attention they deserve. I have the best Panasonic CD player though. Nobody has this model because I think it is only available on the internet or in high-tech electronics stores. Best Buy and Circuit City do not have this model (it's a higher-end portable CD player rather than the mass-market type), so happy hunting!
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 109
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Epinions.com ID:
indepth_info
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Reviews written: 1
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