Rating: 
Summary: Good MP3 sound, worldwide radio reception, inexpensive
Review: I tested this player (SL-SV550) with both a headphone and with external speakers (Cambridge Soundworks). And I picked three songs to play in both formats (mp3 and audio). They are "I believe (Brothers and Sisters)", "Hero (Enriques)", and "Another perfect day (American Hi-Fi)" So far, this unit has performed up to my expectation. MP3 playback: MP3 sound from this player is pretty good. In my opinion, it plays mp3 better than regular audio CD. Bass boot helps mp3 playback as well. The mp3 start up time is a little long (10-15 secs), because it scans all directories on the CD. Audio CD playback: Noise is noticable. I'd recommend a noise cancelling headphone. Sound quality is very average (not good/not bad). Radio reception: Unlike most FM tuners, the SL-SV550 can do fine tunning. You can change FM/AM frequency step (0.20 , 0.10 , and 0.05 Mhz for FM and 10 , 9 kHz for AM). That means you can use it worldwide. In overall, radio sounds ok. Bass boost is not recommended in radio reception. With the price under [money], I am happy with my decision :)
Rating:
Summary: Good player, great price
Review: Pros: compact & light; radio has both FM and AM; digital tuner; lots of station presets; other models have only FM and cost more; reception is decent (about same as Sony armband portable); plays CD & MP3 CDRs no problem; SBX bass boost; good battery life.
Cons: mediocre headphones.
Rating: 
Summary: Radio is a nice feature, especially if it's the ONLY feature
Review: I just purchased this player from a retail outlet last week. I couldn't get MP3 CDs to work at all, it just keeps searching tracks. Then I found out that it doesn't even play audio CDs (brand new, no scratches). I'm walking around with a $... portable radio. Don't get me wrong, the sound is good, but based on other reviews, I'm taking it back and getting a different brand. I like the ID3 tagging feature and don't mind paying a little bit more for that feature.
Rating:
Summary: A very nice product at a bargain price
Review: ~I bought this CD/MP3 player recently. I'm very satisfied with all the functionalities it's equipped with. In addition to CD/MP3, it also has digital FM/AM. What a good deal for such a price!
The sound quality is very good. So far I have no problem at all with this product. Some people complained about the LCD display that does not show MP3 title. However, you may arrange your hundreds of MP3 songs in different albums (or subdirectories) on a CD. Usually, it's enough to have about 10 albums on a~~ CD with 10~~14 MP3 songs inside each album. The album number is selectable using this player. Therefore, as long as you know your favorite album number. It's pretty easy to find the right songs you want on a MP3 CD.
What amazed me most is the player's super efficient power system. With just two AA batteries, it seems that the player can run forever. Unbelievable! I strongly recommend this product.~
Rating: 
Summary: sound quality is marginal
Review: Pro:
Good design, appearance is very good. Very well built, made in Osaka, Japan.
Cons:
I am not using the stock headphone, the headphone used for this review is Sennheiser HD280 studio monitor.
The radio reception is kind of weak, noisy, I am close to the center of a big city.
I thought the CD/MP3 play back unit should be the same as other Panasonic SL models, such as SL-SX420 which I also have. But turn out they sounds different. For 550, the background noise is more audible, high is too crispy, and lack of bass and warmness. S-XBS can't solve the problem, it just make the sound too unbalanced.
The SL-SX410 (2 year old model, $100) is more profound and musical than all those newer models, soundstage is much better.
but SX420/SV550 seems to has more high frequency details. Well, I give 550 4 stars because of the low price, and build quality.
Rating: 
Summary: Not a bad deal, but lousy headphone....
Review: For this price, it is not a bad deal that also comes w/ FM/AM radio; however, the headphone is lousy! This is the worst headphone I ever used (I used to work for Panasonic, therefore, I know their quality is good, but this one....)!
Rating:
Summary: Fine EXCEPT ONLY HAS NUMERIC DISPLAY ON THE LCD.
Review: Excellent product but totally useless for mp3's as it does not read playlists AND THE LCD DOES NOT READ FILE NAMES OR ID TAGS so you have no idea of what songs you are playing & cannot find the songs you want unless you have memorized the whole cd.
It only reads track #'s- i.e. 23 of 174. Very foolish-like building a car with an opaque windshield. Radio tuner is excellent; headphones are decent. Too bad....They blew it by just a hair.
Rating:
Summary: The Best CD Player on the market for the price
Review: I purchased this CD player several months ago and have had no complaints. It recieves the radio signal clear and strong. I shake it in my hand it won't skip a beat when playing a CD. I even dropped it on the floor several times and it still plays. The last time I dropped it on the floor the parts that keep it closed broke off. I have to keep it closed with tape. But guess what, it still plays like a dream.
Rating: 
Summary: Breaks way too easily!
Review: I got one from Target, and it broke after a few weeks. My sister later got the same one, and hers did the same.
The latch to open the cover broke both times, so the cover stayed open unless we held it down or used scotch tape. Mine made clacking noises when I tried to play CDs, because something was wrong with the moving laser. Hers doesnt even play CDs anymore.. only the radio works.
To be honest, we dont take the best care of our electronics. But we've always been able to use our old portable cd players after accidentally dropping them on all sorts of surfaces. I think my Panasonic sl-sv550 broke after dropping it once from a height of 3 feet onto carpet. My sister said she dropped hers too. This player falls way below the minimum level of durability required by portable devices.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent CD Mp3 player w/ Radio under $60
Review: The goods about this player: Good priced. Play Audio CD in original disc, or CD-RW / CDR disc. Play MP3 files disc.
It allows users to listen to AM/FM radio and preset them.
LONG Long battery life, much better than sony or RCA models.
The unit was made in Japan. I suppose factories from Japan have higher quality control in general.
Conclusion: Very good player under $60.
Must buy for teenagers or college students.
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