Panasonic SL-CT780 Personal CD Player

Well, well, well...I'm writing another review, how about that? Due to the popularity of my little review on my Grado SR-125s, I figured it couldn't hurt to write one on this little unit that I picked up about a month ago.

Let's put this unit in its place, I'm not some proud owner who is shining with love for his/her new product to show off to the world; I have my beefs with this unit, but overall, I think it's a fairly good deal for the price.

I picked up this thin little package for the low low price of $115 US at a sale at Sears, and, though Sears might not have been my first choice, it was certainly a good deal at the time. As soon as I rushed this unit home, I yanked out the owners manual (which is folded more like a map - it can be tiresome having to fold a manual 38 times before having to put it away), and read about battery use. And this, shall be my first sub-topic of the review...


Power
The player comes with two Ni-MH rechargeable batteries that, when fully charged lasts it a good 30 hours. It takes only 5 hours to charge the batteries with the standard 120V AC to 4.5V DC adaptor that's included with package. Now, those of you who have been reading reviews or statistics elsewhere for this unit might be saying: "That's odd, I heard this bad boy can run for close to 85 hours on a set of batteries", well, that's almost true. you see, Panasonic made a little white lie when they told you that; while the internal rechargeables provide you with 30 hours, you need to connect the included battery pack with 2 "AA" batteries (not included) in order to squeeze out the full 85 hours of playtime. But wait, don't turn your back on Panasonic yet, because that's pretty much what every company (yes, even Sony) has done to increase the total playing time for their units. I typically only use the rechargeable batteries and leave the pack at home since it adds a lot of weight and bulk to the unit, not to mention how it diminishes the look of the aluminum-clad beauty. But here's one thing that they really make sure not to tell you until you buy the unit and open up the box: this beast is noisy as hell! Alright, maybe that's a bit too dramatic, but to increase the playing time (these companies really seem obsessed with this), they have the motor adjust speeds during play. Basically what happens is it will spin a lot faster than it has to, and then "kick into neutral", so to speak; it gives a blast of power to the motor, and then stops the motor from spinning, while keeping the wheel going and continuing to read (kinda like taking out the clutch...kinda, but not really). Anywho, while this apparently really helps battery use, the motor can make a lot of noise when it really gets going. This is alright if you're biking or in a naturally noisy area, but I've often found that while sitting in a quite place to listen to music, I have to put my bag or jacket over the player to try to quiet it down a bit. This isn't a big issue though, so I will try not to harp on it. Basically, this unit is VERY good for power use and is one of the most efficient players I've seen on the market lately.

In terms of power efficiency and length of playing time, I give this unit:
9/10
It loses one point for the noise issue...it can get irritating, trust me.


Controls/Design
If there's one thing that bugs me more about these modern players is that they are getting more and more difficult to control. That is not to say that the controls are complicated, but for some odd reason, the designers seem to think that as the units shrink in size, the buttons and display should also. This makes for a player that is a pain to handle and to control without paying full attention to what you are actually doing. Often the buttons are also hair-triggered too which makes it nearly impossible to keep in your pocket without the hold button on for fear of accidentally blasting the volume, changing tracks, or shutting the unit off altogether. Another thing is that nearly all of the buttons are basically the same shape, which makes it tough to control while in a jacket or cargo-pant pocket accurately. There is one distinguishable bump on the "Play" button, but it's not very prominent or easy to find. So, one is left to memorize the surface of the unit by touch in order to not have to fumble around in ones pockets for 45 minutes, attracting much attention by your colleagues and co-workers. Another aspect of the controls that is quite irritating is the fact that you can only change the EQ settings with the remote. The EQ setting changes the overall sound of the music being passed through the very basic little rendering chip. There are a few settings: EQ Off - Nothing will be displayed in the EQ portion of the screen. Train - The worst setting ever dreamed up. This basically cancels a bunch of the frequencies to prevent sound from leaking out of your headphones and disturbing others. It really does bad things to your music, *shudder*. Live - Not so bad as train. This mode seems to heighten the bass a bit, as well as the high end. The only problem with this is that it makes the music sound a bit tinny. S-XBS - Everyone's favourite. This stands for "Super Extended Bass" and adds a lot of thump to your music. This one is actually not too bad, and I use it sometimes when I really want a good deal of bass to my tunes.

But I'm not done yet. The design of the remote is pretty decent, though it could have been a bit better. Again I need to mention the difficulty of distinguishing buttons, but since I already mentioned it, I wont bother going on about that again. It's a decent remote, but nothing fancy. There isn't a display on the remote, but one really isn't needed anyway, I feel.

As far as the controls and design are concerned, I give this unit a sad:
5/10
It just passes; I wish it were better, but it ain't. Tough luck Panasonic.


Sound
Ah yes, the all-important sound issue. Well, I must say, that in this category, I feel that this player succeeds in delivering very decent sound for a mid range player. the sound is rendered fairly well for such a low-power unit. The highs aren't at all harsh, but are very much present, the mids are spectacular, and the lows (especially with S-XBS) are quite prominent. Of course, you can't expect perfection in this price range, but certainly this player will meet the needs of pretty much anyone who buys it. Of course, if this sound is not good enough for you, the player also has a built in "Out" jack for attaching a headphone amplifier. This jack ensures that the music is not passed through any of the volume controls or its built in equalizer, providing a pure feed right to your amp. This solution is only for those who really crave something extra from their portable units, and surely headphone amplifiers are not for everyone. Certainly, however, if you plan to drive a pair of Sennheiser HD-500s or anything in that range, I'd recommend getting one, otherwise your sound will come through quite weak, even at higher volume levels. This thing can drive my Grados quite nicely though :) But I digress...

For sound, I give this player a respectable:
8/10
there are better sounding portable units out there, but not many.


Durability
This player is built pretty darned solid and features a 40 second anti-shock system with a claim on the front that it delivers "virtually skip-free music" or something to that extent. I will tell you, however, that I've had it skip on me a couple of times. Not only that, but occasionally during play, though it may not skip, it may "chirp" or "lump" giving a short burst of a high or low frequency noise that is certainly not in any of the music I listen to. This bothers me a bit, but it happens rarely enough that I don't let it get to me. As mentioned at the top, the cover is made of brushed aluminum, while the entire bottom portion is made of a strong plastic. Both materials go great strides to prevent damage from occurring to the player, and both sections of the player are made quite well and fit together with a nice "click". The opening switch at the front of the unit is well placed, though it is a little sensitive to pressure and seems to open at the slightest nudge. This is also not that big of a problem, so I'll let it slide. Surely, this is a well-built player on the whole, however, and I'm quite doubtful that I'll have much problem with it in the future.

As far as durability goes, I suppose this package deserves:
8/10
Some of the parts could be a bit stronger, but overall, a finely built piece.


Value
You can find this player at fairly good prices if you're patient enough to look around a bit. My advise to is check out eBay or other online auction sites if you don't need it immediately. But for those of us that just can't wait, look at your local department stores; you can usually find electronics of these sorts cheaper there than at more dedicated audio locations. I really think that this unit is worth a price tag of up to $140 US, though you probably wouldn't catch me paying much more than that. This unit is at a strange price range, it's above most other mid to low end units, and it's a good step away from the ridiculously priced Sonys or other such models. I like to think of it as the "happy medium", but hey, that's just me. If you're one that demands the best they can get, then you're going to end up spending possibly $300 more for a portable unit than this. I'd rather spend that kind of cash on home audio equipment, myself. If I'm on the go, I'm not as picky about sound as when I'm at home in a nice quiet atmosphere.

So, once again, these headphones are a good value, so I'll have to give them:
9/10
At Suggested Retail Price, the value isn't so great, but you can usually find them at a much lower cost.


Overall
Phew, finally, the last stage of the review. To wrap this up quick, I'll just sum up what I've said before. This player has good power management and can last a whopping 85 hours, while still delivering the sound that's more than sufficient for most people. The design of this unit is a little faulty in places such as controls and in the field of what I like to call "shock management", but it is acceptable. The durability of this system is quite good with solid, strong components, and just a few minor build problems that aren't that big of an issue. So, considering all of this, I feel that I can honestly say this is quite a pleasant little player and it will do wonders for all of the horrible, horrible music that's currently flooding the market. Not to mention the good music. So good luck with whatever purchase you may be making, and happy listening!

Overall, I give this unit:
8/10
This is not an average, just what I feel this puppy deserves.