Panasonic SL-S202 Portable CD Player
Written: Aug 25 '00 (Updated May 06 '02)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Plays scratched CDs well, good reliability, plays CD-Rs
Cons: Old model, looks, small buttons and LCD, 3 seconds of anti-shock is too short
The Bottom Line: Although this is a basic model, it is a good buy overall.
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| dkozin's Full Review: Panasonic SL-S202 Personal CD Player |
Panasonic SL-S202 CD player has 3 seconds of anti-shock memory. It is slim and relatively lightweight. The case of the player is just a little bigger in width than CD itself. But this player is an old model, modern players has even slimmer cases, much more anti-shock memory, bigger buttons and look better.
The buttons and LCD are too small, which is caused by their location, modern CD players usually have bigger buttons and displays, located on the lid.
The sound quality is good but could be better, I think. XBS improves bass, but it is not deep enough. Maybe it is the headphones? The anti-shock memory of just 3 seconds does not help much. Especially when driving.
I tried to use it in my Volvo, which has quite hard suspension, and on bumpy roads, the player couldn’t find the beginning of the next song even when the bumps are long behind. I mean it would make weird noises for a while (moving laser pickup back and forth) with no sound emitting from the speakers. Until I press a couple of buttons. Weak!
Fortunately, it plays CD-R discs well, even with anti-shock on. In contrast, my new SL-SX270 (see my review of it) refuses to play CD-Rs in anti-shock mode. At all. It has to be automatically switched to non-anti-shock mode. So S202 is good in this department.
The battery life is long comparing to older portable CD players. The player is easy to use and has all the necessary features (shuffle, resume play, hold, repeat, memory, extra-bass, etc.).
SL-S202 can play scratched and dirty CDs (it is not recommended of course) much better than other portable CD players I have seen.
Although it can recharge and use rechargeable batteries, I couldn't find them in any store or on the Web. In fact, I couldn't even find them on Panasonic's own website!
So you can use it either with 2 AA-size batteries or with supplied AC adapter.
I accidentally dropped SL-S202 a couple of times, but it didn’t break (except scratches) and still works well.
I recently bought Panasonic SL-SX270 (see my review of it) for $56 and it is much better. It has 40 seconds of anti-shock memory 3.0, more modern look and lasts up to 28 hours on one set of batteries (but it doesn’t play CD-R discs in anti-shock mode, weird). Unfortunately, when I tried to research this model at Epinions.com, I could not find it.
If you still can buy SL-S202, I think you should buy it only if it is significantly cheaper than SL-SX270, which can be found everywhere (online and offline) for $55-60.
Although this is a basic model, it is a good buy overall.
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FEATURES
• Anti-Shock Memory (3 Seconds)
• Rechargeable capability (if you manage to find batteries :-) )
• AC adapter is included
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
dkozin
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 in Electronics |
 - Top 10 |
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Location: California
Reviews written: 838
Trusted by: 517 members
About Me:
I love to push buttons on electronic (audio and video) equipment. It makes me happy.
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