Panasonic SL-SX390 Personal CD Player
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Similar in Portable CD Players
- CD-R/CD-RW Playback: CD-R/CD-RW
- Bass Boost: With Bass Boost
- Anti Skip Buffer: 48 sec.
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Panasonic SL-SX390 - Great Player on a Small Budget
Pros
Looks, VG Anti-Skip, You can see the CD :-D, the well-designed remote, size.
Cons
Cheaply made (feels flimsy), short remote cord, sound not so good.
Recommended it?
Yes
The Bottom Line:
Buy it if you want a player that you just USE. It's intuitive, the remote is functional and useful, and there's nothing extra to detract from normal usage.
I went through about 3 different players in my search for the perfect portable CD player. My old Panasonic finally had proven to be too inconvenient and old-hat to use. I went to Best Buy and surveyed the selection.
After going through two other players, another Panasonic (lackluster) and a Sony (why I keep giving them chances, I don't know), I settled on this one. My requirements were:
Anti-Skip (almost standard on any player)
Sony, Panasonic, or Aiwa brand name
Decent Battery Life
Semi-Required: Mp3 playback
Remote
I just returned home with this player, and I must say that I have to rescind any comments I made about needing to pay more money for a decent player. This player cost me $49.99, and it was really worth more, if only for the fact that the two other players that I purchased could not beat this one for sheer functionality.
First: the bare player.
The buttons are placed in useful places relative to their function and grouped accordingly, which was nice, because the other Panasonic I purchased had the buttons spread out over the cover, and I frequently forgot which side was which when wanting to stop or start the CD. Volume + and -, Track Rew and FF, Play/Pause, Stop. Then there is a Mode button, which allows the selection of repeat one/all, programming, or shuffle/random. There is an Enter button, for selecting programmed tracks, and then there is an EQ button, which selects between 3 settings, off (no EQ), S-XBS (Panasonic's trademark bass settings), and then Train (used for filtering out painful highs and lows when the volume absolutely must be up to hear; utterly useless).
The player's controls are very intuitive, and responsive. I like a player that has a lot of speed, and when I press a button, I don't like to have to wait milliseconds for it to respond. The interface is not clunky, and the buttons have good tactile response. The display is informative, and the contrast is good. Also, the casing (for the most part) is transparent blue, allowing one to see the CD's edges and a small circle of the inside as it spins. I like that in a player, it's the nerd in me. :-D
The Sound
When searching for a player, the most fundamental part to test is the sound of the player, because that's the real dogma of why anyone would want to cart around this piece of equipment in the first place.
In the newer models of CD player, the rules have changed. Analogue is out, digital everything is in. You'll be hard pressed to find a portable with analogue volume controls anymore, or a LED display rather than a LCD one. Also, the old "ESP" moniker is gone, replaced with "ESP-MAX" or "G-Protection", or in Panasonic's case... "No-Skip". The changing times, and the state of music today dictates that any portable audio product must offer a decent sounding output, that can be changed according to the music one is listening to. Unfortunately, Panasonic (and Sony, for that matter) hasn't grasped this yet.
Taking into account that this IS a budget model player, and that I can't expect much more, the sound from this product is respectable. But from an audiophile's standpoint, being myself, I must put in a few words.
Volume Control: the state of volume controls on today's portable gadgets is a sorry one. From the Sony I purchased a few years back, to this player, the digital volume control is no match for the analogue wheel variation, as the digital ones are set to lose more bass and low end as they are cranked up. As if this wasn't enough, they also don't allow for any setting that might have any potential for splitting anyone's eardrums. It's like Spinal Tap. Using the top setting is fine and dandy for normal days, but there are times when the sound needs the little extra "push" off the edge. These players don't go to eleven.
The EQ is lacking, as well. I suppose that the Anti-Skip's encoding algorithm strips some of the high and low end out of the sound, but the EQ on this player cannot bring it back. The Sony's was much worse, as anything past 7 and one notch took out a smidge of bass as it was pushed up, so that any CD used that was mastered low is stripped of low end and replaced with high, causing artifacting and popping, and increasing the potential for hearing loss. The bass on this player is much more potent than that of the Sony, but it is still lacking on some CD's, notably the They Might Be Giants "Flood" release. I must try out some of the headphone amplifiers they sell nowadays.
The S-XBS, the default setting, offers more bass and high end. The "Train" setting, which I have tried to understand, but failed miserably, seems to be aimed at those who ride trains, but doesn't make any sense when the setting is turned on and the high end becomes worse to the ears than it was in "S-XBS". I think Panasonic needs to hire more teenagers, and perhaps a sonic engineer to design more useful and pleasing EQ presets.
Anti-Skip
The audio CD is an optical disk that contains 16-bit, 44.1khz uncompressed PCM audio, meaning that the audio has not been scanned for inaudible frequencies and had them removed. Therefore the CD must be read at a slower rate, and data takes up much more space than it would if it were compressed.
The limitations of the CD format, such as the large disc size, the scratch potential, and the large data chunk size have been accounted for and in most respects improved upon by player improvements and features. The Anti-Skip feature in CD players spins the disc at a faster rate than 1x, and reads data off the disc at a high speed through a compressor and encodes it onto a memory chip, from which it is played back.
The compressor/encoder creates a dilemma, and there are several factors that are affected by it: Battery life, sound quality, disc speed, disc versatility, and error correction.
The compact disc's RPM basically dictates how much data passes the laser per second, and the player must be able to take the data as the disc spins and read it, encode it, and store it, while playing data from earlier points, calculating time, and compressing/uncompressing it. Also consider that the player will encounter scratches/smudges on the disc, and must compensate for those, and don't forget about shocks, and bumps that throw off the lens.
The Panasonic SL-SX390 advertises 48 seconds of skip protection, which is the maximum. This means, at any given time, when the CD is spinning it's fastest at the current point, it's trying to fill a 48 second buffer. Current technology is such that when the buffer is full, the player's motor goes into near-neutral, and the buffer is the only output, until it is nearly depleted, and the CD is spun up and read from, and the cycle repeats. I can see this happening as the CD spins, then slows visibly. If the top is open and I stop the Cd with my finger while it's in near-neutral, the motor only spins it up very slowly, until which time I presume the buffer has run out, and the CD is spun up very quickly. The lens' focus and jitter must be very well made, because the player reads swiftly.
The compression on the Sony I had previously was poor, and coupled with the poor read and store performance of that player, created a player that had real trouble reading and playing the weathered and beaten discs I threw at it. I think it was somewhat defective.
However, Panasonics are famous for their very good quality read performance, and even through the deepest surface scratches, or holes in the CD wafer itself (!) it would play and play. There are small "chuck" noises, but nothing like the Sony's problems, which manifested in skips ahead in milliseconds, throwing off the beat of a song, and most often just complete stops, which never started again. This player (and any panasonic, really) is the bee's knees when it comes to error-correction and skip protection, and I think anyone would be hard-pressed to find me something better.
The Remote
This is the reason I bought the lower-priced version. I needed a full-featured (or at least decent) remote, because the pants I wear have multiple pockets (yeah yeah, i'm a nerd) and this often interferes with manipulation of buttons through pant fabric.
The remote included with the Sony only had play, next and previous track, and stop functions. In addition, it was akin to a steering wheel stalk in a car, (though it was a part of a CAR KIT, my problem there). The Panasonic's remote, while not full-featured, does include functions that are basic, play/stop, next/search and previous/search, EQ, Vol + and -, and a hold function that (ingeniously) is completely separate from that of the CD player itself. This means that I can put hold on the CD player, and still control it through the remote. There is a bit of lag with the remote, but it's still much better than nothing at all.
Overall
This player is one that you buy when you need one that does what you want, nothing more, nothing less. It will work very well for jogging, walking, or just lazing around the house, and with decent sound quality. It will at least not leave you wanting more, if all you want is a remote and you're set.
In other words, if you want a Cd player now, and you only have $55, BUY THIS.
:-D
John C. Wallace
After going through two other players, another Panasonic (lackluster) and a Sony (why I keep giving them chances, I don't know), I settled on this one. My requirements were:
Anti-Skip (almost standard on any player)
Sony, Panasonic, or Aiwa brand name
Decent Battery Life
Semi-Required: Mp3 playback
Remote
I just returned home with this player, and I must say that I have to rescind any comments I made about needing to pay more money for a decent player. This player cost me $49.99, and it was really worth more, if only for the fact that the two other players that I purchased could not beat this one for sheer functionality.
First: the bare player.
The buttons are placed in useful places relative to their function and grouped accordingly, which was nice, because the other Panasonic I purchased had the buttons spread out over the cover, and I frequently forgot which side was which when wanting to stop or start the CD. Volume + and -, Track Rew and FF, Play/Pause, Stop. Then there is a Mode button, which allows the selection of repeat one/all, programming, or shuffle/random. There is an Enter button, for selecting programmed tracks, and then there is an EQ button, which selects between 3 settings, off (no EQ), S-XBS (Panasonic's trademark bass settings), and then Train (used for filtering out painful highs and lows when the volume absolutely must be up to hear; utterly useless).
The player's controls are very intuitive, and responsive. I like a player that has a lot of speed, and when I press a button, I don't like to have to wait milliseconds for it to respond. The interface is not clunky, and the buttons have good tactile response. The display is informative, and the contrast is good. Also, the casing (for the most part) is transparent blue, allowing one to see the CD's edges and a small circle of the inside as it spins. I like that in a player, it's the nerd in me. :-D
The Sound
When searching for a player, the most fundamental part to test is the sound of the player, because that's the real dogma of why anyone would want to cart around this piece of equipment in the first place.
In the newer models of CD player, the rules have changed. Analogue is out, digital everything is in. You'll be hard pressed to find a portable with analogue volume controls anymore, or a LED display rather than a LCD one. Also, the old "ESP" moniker is gone, replaced with "ESP-MAX" or "G-Protection", or in Panasonic's case... "No-Skip". The changing times, and the state of music today dictates that any portable audio product must offer a decent sounding output, that can be changed according to the music one is listening to. Unfortunately, Panasonic (and Sony, for that matter) hasn't grasped this yet.
Taking into account that this IS a budget model player, and that I can't expect much more, the sound from this product is respectable. But from an audiophile's standpoint, being myself, I must put in a few words.
Volume Control: the state of volume controls on today's portable gadgets is a sorry one. From the Sony I purchased a few years back, to this player, the digital volume control is no match for the analogue wheel variation, as the digital ones are set to lose more bass and low end as they are cranked up. As if this wasn't enough, they also don't allow for any setting that might have any potential for splitting anyone's eardrums. It's like Spinal Tap. Using the top setting is fine and dandy for normal days, but there are times when the sound needs the little extra "push" off the edge. These players don't go to eleven.
The EQ is lacking, as well. I suppose that the Anti-Skip's encoding algorithm strips some of the high and low end out of the sound, but the EQ on this player cannot bring it back. The Sony's was much worse, as anything past 7 and one notch took out a smidge of bass as it was pushed up, so that any CD used that was mastered low is stripped of low end and replaced with high, causing artifacting and popping, and increasing the potential for hearing loss. The bass on this player is much more potent than that of the Sony, but it is still lacking on some CD's, notably the They Might Be Giants "Flood" release. I must try out some of the headphone amplifiers they sell nowadays.
The S-XBS, the default setting, offers more bass and high end. The "Train" setting, which I have tried to understand, but failed miserably, seems to be aimed at those who ride trains, but doesn't make any sense when the setting is turned on and the high end becomes worse to the ears than it was in "S-XBS". I think Panasonic needs to hire more teenagers, and perhaps a sonic engineer to design more useful and pleasing EQ presets.
Anti-Skip
The audio CD is an optical disk that contains 16-bit, 44.1khz uncompressed PCM audio, meaning that the audio has not been scanned for inaudible frequencies and had them removed. Therefore the CD must be read at a slower rate, and data takes up much more space than it would if it were compressed.
The limitations of the CD format, such as the large disc size, the scratch potential, and the large data chunk size have been accounted for and in most respects improved upon by player improvements and features. The Anti-Skip feature in CD players spins the disc at a faster rate than 1x, and reads data off the disc at a high speed through a compressor and encodes it onto a memory chip, from which it is played back.
The compressor/encoder creates a dilemma, and there are several factors that are affected by it: Battery life, sound quality, disc speed, disc versatility, and error correction.
The compact disc's RPM basically dictates how much data passes the laser per second, and the player must be able to take the data as the disc spins and read it, encode it, and store it, while playing data from earlier points, calculating time, and compressing/uncompressing it. Also consider that the player will encounter scratches/smudges on the disc, and must compensate for those, and don't forget about shocks, and bumps that throw off the lens.
The Panasonic SL-SX390 advertises 48 seconds of skip protection, which is the maximum. This means, at any given time, when the CD is spinning it's fastest at the current point, it's trying to fill a 48 second buffer. Current technology is such that when the buffer is full, the player's motor goes into near-neutral, and the buffer is the only output, until it is nearly depleted, and the CD is spun up and read from, and the cycle repeats. I can see this happening as the CD spins, then slows visibly. If the top is open and I stop the Cd with my finger while it's in near-neutral, the motor only spins it up very slowly, until which time I presume the buffer has run out, and the CD is spun up very quickly. The lens' focus and jitter must be very well made, because the player reads swiftly.
The compression on the Sony I had previously was poor, and coupled with the poor read and store performance of that player, created a player that had real trouble reading and playing the weathered and beaten discs I threw at it. I think it was somewhat defective.
However, Panasonics are famous for their very good quality read performance, and even through the deepest surface scratches, or holes in the CD wafer itself (!) it would play and play. There are small "chuck" noises, but nothing like the Sony's problems, which manifested in skips ahead in milliseconds, throwing off the beat of a song, and most often just complete stops, which never started again. This player (and any panasonic, really) is the bee's knees when it comes to error-correction and skip protection, and I think anyone would be hard-pressed to find me something better.
The Remote
This is the reason I bought the lower-priced version. I needed a full-featured (or at least decent) remote, because the pants I wear have multiple pockets (yeah yeah, i'm a nerd) and this often interferes with manipulation of buttons through pant fabric.
The remote included with the Sony only had play, next and previous track, and stop functions. In addition, it was akin to a steering wheel stalk in a car, (though it was a part of a CAR KIT, my problem there). The Panasonic's remote, while not full-featured, does include functions that are basic, play/stop, next/search and previous/search, EQ, Vol + and -, and a hold function that (ingeniously) is completely separate from that of the CD player itself. This means that I can put hold on the CD player, and still control it through the remote. There is a bit of lag with the remote, but it's still much better than nothing at all.
Overall
This player is one that you buy when you need one that does what you want, nothing more, nothing less. It will work very well for jogging, walking, or just lazing around the house, and with decent sound quality. It will at least not leave you wanting more, if all you want is a remote and you're set.
In other words, if you want a Cd player now, and you only have $55, BUY THIS.
:-D
John C. Wallace
