Panasonic SC-EN17 CD Mini Audio System
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- Included Accessories: Remote Control
- Playable Disk Types: CD (Audio) CD-R CD-RW
- Number of Discs: 1
- Sound Type: Stereo
- Functions: CD Player Radio Tuner
- Output Power: 18 Watt
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All about style
Pros
Futuristic design, good sound, great remote, lots of features
Cons
Main unit not very intuitive, only 18 watts of power
Recommended it?
Yes
The Bottom Line:
It has a very unique design, better than average sound, and lots of features. Its few shortcomings are acceptable given the price.
Introduction
The Panasonic SCEN17 was also previously marketed as the SA-EN7, with minor cosmetic changes. It is an AM/FM/CD/MP3 shelf stereo system that puts stunning, futuristic style before function.
My lovely wife wanted a shelf system for our kitchen. I had recommended another more conventionally styled shelf system because of its better sound, but the kitchen is her domain, and to her, the style was more important than the sound. There is no doubt about it. For the price, you will not be able to find a more futuristic styled shelf system that looks as good as this and is still capable of delivering good sound. Triangular in shape, LED lights appear to be floating in the glass across the top, clean lines...and when you want to insert a CD, press the button and the entire brushed aluminum front splits open like a robotic mouth, driven by a motor. Very cool.
The package
Inside the package, you get the main unit, two speakers (each with a removable grill), a remote control (with batteries), an AM loop antenna, a power supply, a power cord, the manual, and assorted bits of paper that include the warranty card. True to its futuristic design, there is no "Old Skool" cassette deck. It does feature an "Aux" jack line in on the back, so you could connect a tape deck if you really wanted to...but you'll probably want this to hook up your iPod or computer because, like this system, you are of the future. Indeed, this system would look well at home sitting next to a laptop computer, serving as the speakers.
Usability and design
I did mention that Panasonic put form before function, right? The headphone jack is inconveniently placed at the bottom on the back. On the other hand, you have a silver "Eject" button conveniently smack in the middle of the front. There are 10 buttons across the top which include power, stop, left/down, right/up, tuning mode, volume down and up, aux., tuner, and a CD play/pause button. The LEDs change from red to blue; the blue LED indcates which feature you're using (CD/MP3 player, tuner, aux.) It's not very intuitive, but that's due to the design. Things from the future are supposed to be a little confusing, right? In any case, the remote control more than makes up for it, and in the future, all we use are remote controls anyway.
The remote control!
I'm pleased to say that Panasonic did an excellent job on the remote. It takes 2 regular AA batteries (Yay!) The buttons are of different shapes and sizes, depending on their function. Two buttons have raised bumps on them, so one can find their way around the remote by feel (good for the visually impaired). Unlike the buttons on the main unit itself, the remote buttons are clearly labelled and it's intuitive. A remote such as this is a thing to be cherished. Protect it at all costs, because I'm certain there are functions that are only accessable by the remote.
Sound quality
Each speaker is a two way speaker, in that each incorporates a tweeter and a midrange. The system is 18 watts total, so I'd imagine that each speaker will handle a total of 9 watts. That's certainly loud enough for most indoor environments (it's just over three times as powerful as a typical boom box). The speakers are made out of some good quality stuff, as they maintain their composure and fidelity all the way up to maximum volume. They certainly sound bigger than they actually are, and though certainly not hi-fi, the music is crisp and clear. As is typical with big sounding small speakers, the sound can tend to be a bit thrummy. To fine tune your music, there is a "Sound Eq" button which gives you a choice between XBS, Clear, Soft, Vocal, and EQ-off in lieu of a real equalizer; which I found rather disappointing. There is an "Extra D.Bass" button which does indeed increase the amount of bass to a level seemingly beyond the capability of these speakers. Then there is the "Live Virtualizer" which does a convincing job at emulating a natural surround sound system.
The tuner
The FM tuner, which works from the built-in antenna, has 20 presets; while the AM tuner, working from the AM loop anteanna, has 12 presets. Unfortunately, there's no external FM antenna connection, so you're forced to use the built-in antenna. Fully extended, it's quite competent and able to pull in distant and weaker signals, though it does take away from the clean style of the main unit. In comparison, I found it slightly better able to pull in weaker signals than my Aiwa boom box (which itself does an adequate job). The AM is as good as AM will be, thanks to the AM loop.
The MP3 player
Yes, it plays CD's, but this is 2006; who listens to those anymore? MP3 CD's is where it's at; you can have a couple days worth of music on one CD that can be played in your DVD player, modern car stereo, and in this system as well. CD's snap on the spindle, then the motorized doors close on it with the push of a button. Various burned CD's work fine. In my testing, it took a respectable 15 seconds to load the information from a 700MB CD filled to capacity before it could start to play anything. It scrolls the folder and file name across its backlit display which, instead of being dot matrix, uses a segmented display common with clock radios and VCR's (remember those?) It has extra segments to make all the letters necessary.
Timer features
This system features a timer. You can set the time, then choose the time you want it to come on, and choose the time you want it to turn off. This feature is good if you want this radio to come on when you arrive to your office and turn off when you go home, or in your bedroom in place of a clock radio. It also features a "Sleep" feature; again, making it suitable for a bedroom or dorm. One caveat; there is no "Battery backup," and it will forget the time moments after it loses power, so if you're going to use it in place of a clock radio, be sure to have a battery powered or wind-up alarm clock for backup.
Conclusion
For the price, this is a decent shelf system. It may not be intuitive or ergonomic, but its remote more than makes up for that. There are other shelf systems in this price range that might have slightly better sound, but not that much better; and none have the speakers that angle upwards, making this better suited for low shelves. There are certainly plenty of shelf systems in this price range that have worse sound! Other futuristic shelf systems come to mind. It is feature rich, and if you're looking for a futuristic shelf system that delivers good sound at a good price, then you can't go wrong with this one.
The Panasonic SCEN17 was also previously marketed as the SA-EN7, with minor cosmetic changes. It is an AM/FM/CD/MP3 shelf stereo system that puts stunning, futuristic style before function.
My lovely wife wanted a shelf system for our kitchen. I had recommended another more conventionally styled shelf system because of its better sound, but the kitchen is her domain, and to her, the style was more important than the sound. There is no doubt about it. For the price, you will not be able to find a more futuristic styled shelf system that looks as good as this and is still capable of delivering good sound. Triangular in shape, LED lights appear to be floating in the glass across the top, clean lines...and when you want to insert a CD, press the button and the entire brushed aluminum front splits open like a robotic mouth, driven by a motor. Very cool.
The package
Inside the package, you get the main unit, two speakers (each with a removable grill), a remote control (with batteries), an AM loop antenna, a power supply, a power cord, the manual, and assorted bits of paper that include the warranty card. True to its futuristic design, there is no "Old Skool" cassette deck. It does feature an "Aux" jack line in on the back, so you could connect a tape deck if you really wanted to...but you'll probably want this to hook up your iPod or computer because, like this system, you are of the future. Indeed, this system would look well at home sitting next to a laptop computer, serving as the speakers.
Usability and design
I did mention that Panasonic put form before function, right? The headphone jack is inconveniently placed at the bottom on the back. On the other hand, you have a silver "Eject" button conveniently smack in the middle of the front. There are 10 buttons across the top which include power, stop, left/down, right/up, tuning mode, volume down and up, aux., tuner, and a CD play/pause button. The LEDs change from red to blue; the blue LED indcates which feature you're using (CD/MP3 player, tuner, aux.) It's not very intuitive, but that's due to the design. Things from the future are supposed to be a little confusing, right? In any case, the remote control more than makes up for it, and in the future, all we use are remote controls anyway.
The remote control!
I'm pleased to say that Panasonic did an excellent job on the remote. It takes 2 regular AA batteries (Yay!) The buttons are of different shapes and sizes, depending on their function. Two buttons have raised bumps on them, so one can find their way around the remote by feel (good for the visually impaired). Unlike the buttons on the main unit itself, the remote buttons are clearly labelled and it's intuitive. A remote such as this is a thing to be cherished. Protect it at all costs, because I'm certain there are functions that are only accessable by the remote.
Sound quality
Each speaker is a two way speaker, in that each incorporates a tweeter and a midrange. The system is 18 watts total, so I'd imagine that each speaker will handle a total of 9 watts. That's certainly loud enough for most indoor environments (it's just over three times as powerful as a typical boom box). The speakers are made out of some good quality stuff, as they maintain their composure and fidelity all the way up to maximum volume. They certainly sound bigger than they actually are, and though certainly not hi-fi, the music is crisp and clear. As is typical with big sounding small speakers, the sound can tend to be a bit thrummy. To fine tune your music, there is a "Sound Eq" button which gives you a choice between XBS, Clear, Soft, Vocal, and EQ-off in lieu of a real equalizer; which I found rather disappointing. There is an "Extra D.Bass" button which does indeed increase the amount of bass to a level seemingly beyond the capability of these speakers. Then there is the "Live Virtualizer" which does a convincing job at emulating a natural surround sound system.
The tuner
The FM tuner, which works from the built-in antenna, has 20 presets; while the AM tuner, working from the AM loop anteanna, has 12 presets. Unfortunately, there's no external FM antenna connection, so you're forced to use the built-in antenna. Fully extended, it's quite competent and able to pull in distant and weaker signals, though it does take away from the clean style of the main unit. In comparison, I found it slightly better able to pull in weaker signals than my Aiwa boom box (which itself does an adequate job). The AM is as good as AM will be, thanks to the AM loop.
The MP3 player
Yes, it plays CD's, but this is 2006; who listens to those anymore? MP3 CD's is where it's at; you can have a couple days worth of music on one CD that can be played in your DVD player, modern car stereo, and in this system as well. CD's snap on the spindle, then the motorized doors close on it with the push of a button. Various burned CD's work fine. In my testing, it took a respectable 15 seconds to load the information from a 700MB CD filled to capacity before it could start to play anything. It scrolls the folder and file name across its backlit display which, instead of being dot matrix, uses a segmented display common with clock radios and VCR's (remember those?) It has extra segments to make all the letters necessary.
Timer features
This system features a timer. You can set the time, then choose the time you want it to come on, and choose the time you want it to turn off. This feature is good if you want this radio to come on when you arrive to your office and turn off when you go home, or in your bedroom in place of a clock radio. It also features a "Sleep" feature; again, making it suitable for a bedroom or dorm. One caveat; there is no "Battery backup," and it will forget the time moments after it loses power, so if you're going to use it in place of a clock radio, be sure to have a battery powered or wind-up alarm clock for backup.
Conclusion
For the price, this is a decent shelf system. It may not be intuitive or ergonomic, but its remote more than makes up for that. There are other shelf systems in this price range that might have slightly better sound, but not that much better; and none have the speakers that angle upwards, making this better suited for low shelves. There are certainly plenty of shelf systems in this price range that have worse sound! Other futuristic shelf systems come to mind. It is feature rich, and if you're looking for a futuristic shelf system that delivers good sound at a good price, then you can't go wrong with this one.
