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Panasonic SC-EN5 Executive Microsystem

Panasonic SC-EN5 Executive Microsystem

List Price: $99.99
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Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Tremendous Sound in Small Package
Review: I am a stereo nut but needed a small unit for my desk. Panasonic makes very good products and this one for the money is exceptional. It may sound silly to talk about the soundstage & wonderful spatial imaging ... but this one has it. The bass isn't the greatest but more than adequate. The AM-FM tuner is strong.
For a speaker to begin to sound good-you have be able to hear the music at low volume accurately OUTSIDE of the speakers as though it is floating coherntly in the room. This unit does it. My regular stereo speakers are PSB's and KEFs for those who want to know what I think good sound is.
A wonderful small unit a excellent price!!!!!!

As a postscript to my orginal review-everything stays the same. Keep in mind this is DESKTOP unit-not a room unit. Words are important. Anybody expecting room filling sound should grab a dictionary and find out the difference. As a matter of fact-it's an engineering feat to get sound to sound good on a DESKTOP or TABLETOP, This unit does it!!!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great sound to my ears
Review: I bought this as a birthday present for my husband to take to his office. I set it up at home to see how it sounded, and well, it is staying home now. It's set up in a bedroom, and I think the sound is great. There are four settings to choose from on how you can listen to the music, bass, soft, vocals, and clear. When I have regular rock/top 40 CD's in it, the bass setting is the only one to go with. Classical or jazz music might sound better on a different setting. There is also an equalizer on or off choice, which slightly changes the way it sounds. Their book says that the equalizer on makes music sound more live, although I couldn't really tell. True, those selections are available only with the remote, so you don't want to lose it.
I don't mind how the CD player opens upward, that allows the system to be thinner and more attractive in my opinion. I was worried that when I pushed the buttons on the front of it, that the whole unit would slide backwards from the finger pressure, but it is heavy enough to stay put. It is kind of a bummer you can't read the clock when it is dark, but I bought it for music, not to tell time. It has the ability to work as an alarm clock also and can wake you up to your music setting choice. I like that, as I have set it to play music for 5 minutes as a wake up and then it automatically resets itself to do the same thing the following day. You can also set a sleep timer.
As for playing CD-R's, mine plays one I made on my computer using a standard Memorex CD-R and the Veritas computer program. I'm not thrilled with the antenna sticking up there, as someone else said, but I was able to easily find 12 stations to program. Reception will undoubtably be different for everyone. Overall, I think it is a sweet machine, it made the old AWAI boombox we were using sound like a cheap radio. I might just buy another one to put in the kitchen.........

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great sound to my ears
Review: I bought this as a birthday present for my husband to take to his office. I set it up at home to see how it sounded, and well, it is staying home now. It's set up in a bedroom, and I think the sound is great. There are four settings to choose from on how you can listen to the music, bass, soft, vocals, and clear. When I have regular rock/top 40 CD's in it, the bass setting is the only one to go with. Classical or jazz music might sound better on a different setting. There is also an equalizer on or off choice, which slightly changes the way it sounds. Their book says that the equalizer on makes music sound more live, although I couldn't really tell. True, those selections are available only with the remote, so you don't want to lose it.
I don't mind how the CD player opens upward, that allows the system to be thinner and more attractive in my opinion. I was worried that when I pushed the buttons on the front of it, that the whole unit would slide backwards from the finger pressure, but it is heavy enough to stay put. It is kind of a bummer you can't read the clock when it is dark, but I bought it for music, not to tell time. It has the ability to work as an alarm clock also and can wake you up to your music setting choice. I like that, as I have set it to play music for 5 minutes as a wake up and then it automatically resets itself to do the same thing the following day. You can also set a sleep timer.
As for playing CD-R's, mine plays one I made on my computer using a standard Memorex CD-R and the Veritas computer program. I'm not thrilled with the antenna sticking up there, as someone else said, but I was able to easily find 12 stations to program. Reception will undoubtably be different for everyone. Overall, I think it is a sweet machine, it made the old AWAI boombox we were using sound like a cheap radio. I might just buy another one to put in the kitchen.........

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Great for Narrow Spaces
Review: I got this because it fit on a ledge in my kitchen. The sound is better than I expected from a small unit. The speakers have a decent wire length so they can be spread apart for better sound. The remote, which I thought that I would never use, comes in handy for quickly switching channels when something you don't like comes on.

The only complaint that I have is that the antenna can sometimes get in the way of the CD door openning.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Skip to my Lou
Review: I got this system for christmas. I had a problem with cds skipping, which is really annoying, so, to say the least I am taking it back...

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Only OK; sound = price paid; no good for a bookshelf
Review: I hate to rain on the parade of the other reviewers, but I bought this system and returned it. I won't buy another without first going to a retail store to listen to it. I strongly recommend you do so before buying this - I've seen it all over town, even stores like Target. If you like it, buy it from Amazon - their price is better (plus no tax) and even though I have to return it, I love Amazon. Also, they shipped it, for free, well before their "estimated" ship date. Prop's to Amazon.

There are 5 basic problems:
1) The sound is good, but it doesn't fill the room. It is low-power and will sound "great" only if you position the unit right in front of you.
2) It is not clear from the description, but this thing has an automatic door which opens by sliding up. If you want to put this "bookshelf" unit on a bookshelf, you have to allow TWICE its height before the next shelf above - this is a huge amount of wasted space in your bookshelf.
3) This unit has a telescoping FM antenna - no provision to connect an external antenna. Again, on a bookshelf, this is useless. You cannot extend it, and if you try to extend it up and forward, it gets in the way of the up-sliding CD door described in 2). Reception was really lousy so I couldn't use it.
4) It has a clock on the display, but the display is set at least 1" back behind a clear plastic window, and when the unit is not on, the display is de-powered and you cannot see anything. You cannot see the clock when it is off.
5) It has radio presets, but you can only access them sequentially by scrolling forward and backward; this is like almost all boom-boxes and bookshelf units today. The problem is that if you don't set exactly all 12, you still have to scroll through the un-set ones.

Don't expect a bargain - it is exactly worth what it is priced.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Great little Stereo but........
Review: I think this unit has a nice balance between size and sound for use on a desk. As an audio buff I always check out sound quality. This is a step up from many units you'll find up to about $150. However, this is a 'personal' unit, not meant for room filling sound. Its just very listenable and non-fatiguing. It has a nice sound balance from the bass through the high end. Sound is best with the equalizer turned off - the bass can be heard but its not boomy. The soft setting of the equalizer is nice for background music that won't disturb your concentration. The bass setting is attactive on first listening and ok for room use, but I find it thumpy when sitting at my desk. Ergonomics and subdued appearance are other plusses. There's also an extra input that can be used to hook up to your PC - so you can still hear your MP3s on this unit if you want. The Panasonic five disc changer has better sound but I think its better suited for a bookshelf and use in a small room. But if you're really looking for the best desktop sound and don't mind spending the cash you should check out the better JVC executive systems. This panasonic unit, however, is definitely the best bang for your buck.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: good desktop cd player
Review: I think this unit has a nice balance between size and sound for use on a desk. As an audio buff I always check out sound quality. This is a step up from many units you'll find up to about $150. However, this is a 'personal' unit, not meant for room filling sound. Its just very listenable and non-fatiguing. It has a nice sound balance from the bass through the high end. Sound is best with the equalizer turned off - the bass can be heard but its not boomy. The soft setting of the equalizer is nice for background music that won't disturb your concentration. The bass setting is attactive on first listening and ok for room use, but I find it thumpy when sitting at my desk. Ergonomics and subdued appearance are other plusses. There's also an extra input that can be used to hook up to your PC - so you can still hear your MP3s on this unit if you want. The Panasonic five disc changer has better sound but I think its better suited for a bookshelf and use in a small room. But if you're really looking for the best desktop sound and don't mind spending the cash you should check out the better JVC executive systems. This panasonic unit, however, is definitely the best bang for your buck.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: CD-R playback flaky at best
Review: I'm in a cover band so I often need to make custom CD mixes; I bought this stereo because it was small, looked cool, and had a remote (which turns out to be crucial for the machine's higher functions) but most importantly, the SC-EN5 promised CD-R playback. The instructions vaguely say that the stereo may not be able to play "some CD-R or CD-RW due to the condition of the recording"--but it does not specify what those conditions are. What I've learned is that it must be a disc-at-once, finalized burn in order to play without constant skipping--and even then, you'll still run into jitters and hiccups. Track-at-once finalized burns will NOT work correctly on this stereo. If you burn your own CDs but the terms "track-at-once" and "disc-at-once" do not mean anything to you, you should probably not buy this--you'll be disappointed and confused with this stereo's habit of playing one homemade CD while rejecting another. The CD lens is also very sensitive to smudges, so you'll get audible skips if the disc is dirty at all--the oversampling must not be very high (it's not listed).

The unit has a lot going for it--an extremely long telescoping FM antenna, attractive speakers with removable grilles, that snazzy motorized door, an aux input (for listening to a Walkman or MP3 player), and surprising power. But if you never know if a homemade CD will play, does it matter? The basic, advertised functionality is a hedged bet at best. If you don't burn your own discs, this is a lovely little stereo--it handled normal discs without incident. But for anyone seeking proper CD-R playback, check out other units and brands. Sadly, I wound up returning it and getting a Memorex MX4100 instead.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Great little Stereo but........
Review: Just received this in the mail. I am a studio apartment so the sound is not bad. However I have an IPOD and not sure how I can play music through this system. I read the previous review that said the person played MP3 off the computer. Can anyone tell me how that is done. I called Apple and Panasonic, both told me I cannot because I don't have audio input and output.


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