Panasonic CQ-C7203U Car CD / MP3 Player

After two years, my Kenwood MP-225 receiver stopped reliably reading CDs, and rather that replace it, I decided to look for a new head unit for my 2004 Saturn Ion 2 Sedan.

My main requirements for an aftermarket radio were that it have a rear auxiliary input, be able to play MP3 files, and have iPod control capability. An excellent FM front end was a plus as well. Since I don't play too many compact discs any more, I felt that fold-down face and nice bright display would also be nice.

My investigations led me to the Panasonic CQ-C7203U player. The CQ-C7203U met all the requirements I had, plus the black color matched the original factory radio in my Ion.

Based on my previous experience with car audio, I elected to install the Panasonic unit myself and wound up purchasing the unit from an internet retailer which included all the necessary installation directions and harnesses. Needless to say, I had the radio installed in less than two hours.

The CQ-C7203U has an 18x4 RMS / 50 peak by 4 channels amplifier which is CEA 2006 rated, so the power rating is based on a standard rather than the hype that some manufacturers promote.

The radio also includes the "SQ3" presets, which are basically a three band equalizer. You can adjust each band by +/-12dB at the following frequencies: Band 1 at 60Hz, 80Hz, 100Hz, or 200Hz, Band 2 at 500Hz, 1kHz, 2kHz, or 3kHz, and Band 3 at 10kHz, 12kHz, 15kHz, or 18kHz. There are six SQ3 settings (flat, rock, vocal, jazz, and club) which can be edited by the user of the radio. The rock profile was surprisingly close to my default music settings, and I modified the vocal setting to be suitable for talk radio without a lot of booming bass. A mute control is also included and is configureable to reduce volume by 5 or 10 steps, or totally mute sound.

The CQ-C7203U also features an excellent FM tuner. I've noticed a significant improvement in FM reception over the stock radio, and even though the specifications would tell me otherwise, better reception than my Kenwood had. 18 FM and 6 AM station presets are available, but since there are no direct buttons on the head unit for presets, one touch tuning is only available from the remote. Presets can be called up from the menu screen very easily, however.

The CD section of the stereo is excellent, with a 96DB Signal-to-noise ratio. This is on-par with most home equipment, and it really shows. Track-to-track time is a bit slow, but I've had no problems with skipping. MP3 files will show ID3 tag information whether ID3v1 or ID3v2, and the CQ-C7203U has no trouble with VBR files. I've been very impressed with the MP3 output of the CQ-C7203U. Folder navigation is a little hard to figure out at first, but a good read of the manual will help alleviate most issues. I have not found an easy way to view the folder names to do a jump across several folders yet; the only way to advance folders I can find is one at a time. I also like the ability on MP3 discs to do an "entire disc" shuffle where files are picked at random regardless of the folder or a "folder" shuffle where the files are shuffled within a folder. MP3 discs may be CD-R or CD-RW and almost all common CD file formats are supported. The player can support up to 511 files, 255 files in one folder, 8 levels, and 255 folders. This is more than the Kenwood unit I had could support, and allows one to easily export playlists from software such as iTunes without worrying too much about folder structure.

The CQ-C7203U can control a compatible Panasonic CD changer as well, but with the MP3 capability, I don't see a need to add one.

The CQ-C7203U allows an XM or SIRIUS tuner to be hooked up to the head unit with only a single cable. In fact, the unit can support both tuners simulataneously with the purchase of an expansion box. Since I no longer use an in-car only tuner and use two plug-and-play tuners, I can't speak to the functions of this feature.

Learning to use the CQ-C7203U took me about one day of drive time plus a careful read of the manual. The biggest confusion for me was setting the presets and MP3 CD Navigation. Everything else was pretty easy to figure out from the menu navigation.

A nice feature of the CQ-C7203U is the rear auxilary inputs. These are female RCA-type jacks hanging on a cord from the rear of the player. I'd have preferred these be female jacks directly on the back of the unit instead of on a cord. I used this input for my satellite radios and cellular phone. I did need to use a ground loop isolater to eliminate ignition hum, but I also had that problem with the Kenwood unit, so I will not attribute that to a fault on Panasonic's part.

The unit I bought also included a free iPod adaptor, which is normally $50. This hooks up to the changer unit input and allows one to control any dock connector enabled iPod (I use a Nano 4GB). This is a vast improvement over the interface the Kenwood used and is very fast. It is very easy to select playlists, albums, or artists. However, if you like to listen to Podcasts, you will either need to access them through a playlist (I just make an on-the-go before I leave) or find the item through the other searches. The hookup of the control unit was simple, just one cable with a slender box in the middle. There's enough cable to easily place your iPod wherever you want. I placed mine in the center console.

I can't finish the review without talking about the display. It's a a High Definition 3D Dot Matrix display with 3 motion patterns, 1 spectrum analyzer, and 10 still pattern presets to choose from. I use the spectrum analyzer feature which provides nice eye candy. Unfortunately, you'd need to get the C-7403U unit to upload your own images to the head unit.

Overall, an excellent value. Worth investigating if you're looking to have a decent MP3 CD player and want iPod control.