Rating: 
Summary: CD quality sound????
Review: I purchased this CD player and was highly disappointed. I have an old minidisc player that I purchased 4 years ago and it was getting old. It was one of the MD players that didn't have 40 second anti skip protection. Thus, the reason why I was looking for a CD with 40 s protection. Anyway, when I listened to the quality of the CD player, I was very disappointed. I compared it to my old minidisc player and the MD player blew it away. My wife also agrees with me. I just found out that Amazon.com also sells MD portable players. Boy did I feel like an idiot. As a result, I am returning this poor quality player, and upgrading to a 40 s protection MD player. For those of you thinking about getting a portable CD player, the MD players blow them away.... big time! For those picky people that get chills whenever they hear high quality sounding music, Go for the portable MD players.Peace out! ej
Rating: 
Summary: Expensive, but a solid performer
Review: I purchased this cd player several months ago with the thought that I "needed" one (ha!) that included an am/fm tuner, as well as a disc player. Since my main use for a portable for workouts at the gym, I looked for one that has reasonably good anti-skip performance and that is ruggedly constructed. And of course, great sound quality is still the most important feature of all. In almost all ways, this unit has met my admittedly high expectations. It is very solidly built, is light on battery use, and includes such useful feature as a "hold" mechanism to prevent accidental button-pushing during play.... The anti-skip mechanism seems as good as any currently available, but don't let anyone fool you into thinking that ANY portable cd player is entirely skip-proof. Yes, if you run hard with this unit strapped to your waist it WILL skip. Moreover, if you engage in any kind of up-and-down repetitive exercise (for example, pullups) the unit will skip. Still, if a user limits the activity to easy jogging and takes at least some care to minimize rocking motions while exercising, the anti-skip performance of this machine is satisfactory. Typical of recent Panasonic cd players, the sound quality of the SL-SW869V is quite good. Sadly, competitor Sony has decided to go with extremely low-powered amplifiers in their newest generation of cd players, figuring that light weight and long battery life are more important to users than is optimal sound quality. As yet, however, Panasonic has not made this mistake, striking a still-acceptable balance between size/battery conservation and audio performance considerations. Whether or not one likes the optional bass boost feature will depend upon one's tastes, of course. The am/fm tuner is reasonably good, but potential buyers should know that since the headphone cord essentially acts as the antenna for this feature, the reception will vary in accordance to where the listener is located, the quality of the original signal, and the extension/position of the headphone cord. Getting static-free reception for some FM stations while exercising inside an urban gymnasium may sometimes be difficult. Overall, the features and buttons are logically laid out, with but one noteworthy exception. The sliding switch that controls play mode (resume, normal, random) is located *underneath* the unit's lid, so you cannot access it without opening the lid. This can be a real headache under the following circumstance: suppose you play a cd using the "resume" mode, which allows the user to stop play and then subsequently have the music resume at the beginning of the track that was being played when the unit was stopped. If you keep the same cd in the machine, stop play for a while and then resume play, this is very useful. However, if you remove a cd stopped at say, track seven out of twelve and then replace it with another cd, the "resume" feature will still dumbly and dutifully begin the music at track seven for the newly inserted cd. Drat! You either need to remember to perform some back-and-forth button sliding *prior* to the insertion of the new cd to prevent this from happening, or you need to open the lid, remove the new cd, and reset the slide switch to begin play of the new cd from the beginning. Of COURSE, the headphones that come with this unit are pretty bad. They ALWAYS are. Anyone interested in sound quality should invest is a good (or better) pair of portable headphones or earphones, making sure that the impedence of the model you choose is low enough to ensure adequate performance without the use of an add-on headphone amplifier. I have found that the best-sounding portable earphones are the expensive but awesome Etymotic ER-4P's, which give great, LOUD sound without an amp. The SL-SW869V is not perfect, but overall, this is the best all-around portable cd player I have owned to date. And given its quality construction, I anticipate enjoying it for quite a while.
Rating:
Summary: Expensive, but a solid performer
Review: I purchased this cd player several months ago with the thought that I "needed" one (ha!) that included an am/fm tuner, as well as a disc player. Since my main use for a portable for workouts at the gym, I looked for one that has reasonably good anti-skip performance and that is ruggedly constructed. And of course, great sound quality is still the most important feature of all. In almost all ways, this unit has met my admittedly high expectations. It is very solidly built, is light on battery use, and includes such useful feature as a "hold" mechanism to prevent accidental button-pushing during play.... The anti-skip mechanism seems as good as any currently available, but don't let anyone fool you into thinking that ANY portable cd player is entirely skip-proof. Yes, if you run hard with this unit strapped to your waist it WILL skip. Moreover, if you engage in any kind of up-and-down repetitive exercise (for example, pullups) the unit will skip. Still, if a user limits the activity to easy jogging and takes at least some care to minimize rocking motions while exercising, the anti-skip performance of this machine is satisfactory. Typical of recent Panasonic cd players, the sound quality of the SL-SW869V is quite good. Sadly, competitor Sony has decided to go with extremely low-powered amplifiers in their newest generation of cd players, figuring that light weight and long battery life are more important to users than is optimal sound quality. As yet, however, Panasonic has not made this mistake, striking a still-acceptable balance between size/battery conservation and audio performance considerations. Whether or not one likes the optional bass boost feature will depend upon one's tastes, of course. The am/fm tuner is reasonably good, but potential buyers should know that since the headphone cord essentially acts as the antenna for this feature, the reception will vary in accordance to where the listener is located, the quality of the original signal, and the extension/position of the headphone cord. Getting static-free reception for some FM stations while exercising inside an urban gymnasium may sometimes be difficult. Overall, the features and buttons are logically laid out, with but one noteworthy exception. The sliding switch that controls play mode (resume, normal, random) is located *underneath* the unit's lid, so you cannot access it without opening the lid. This can be a real headache under the following circumstance: suppose you play a cd using the "resume" mode, which allows the user to stop play and then subsequently have the music resume at the beginning of the track that was being played when the unit was stopped. If you keep the same cd in the machine, stop play for a while and then resume play, this is very useful. However, if you remove a cd stopped at say, track seven out of twelve and then replace it with another cd, the "resume" feature will still dumbly and dutifully begin the music at track seven for the newly inserted cd. Drat! You either need to remember to perform some back-and-forth button sliding *prior* to the insertion of the new cd to prevent this from happening, or you need to open the lid, remove the new cd, and reset the slide switch to begin play of the new cd from the beginning. Of COURSE, the headphones that come with this unit are pretty bad. They ALWAYS are. Anyone interested in sound quality should invest is a good (or better) pair of portable headphones or earphones, making sure that the impedence of the model you choose is low enough to ensure adequate performance without the use of an add-on headphone amplifier. I have found that the best-sounding portable earphones are the expensive but awesome Etymotic ER-4P's, which give great, LOUD sound without an amp. The SL-SW869V is not perfect, but overall, this is the best all-around portable cd player I have owned to date. And given its quality construction, I anticipate enjoying it for quite a while.
Rating:
Summary: works well
Review: I really think this is a great discman, and I especially like the radio feature. I think it's a good buy.
Rating: 
Summary: its a WICKED player
Review: i was thinkin what to get the sony g-protection cause they said they wouldn't skip then i saw panasonic they have a 40 second protection and i thought it would skip so i was scared and it was expensive so i risked it and im really glad i got this player because it never skiped yet i ran down my street still never skiped yet and the radio is WICKED SO GO BUY THIS PLAYER NOW!
Rating: 
Summary: Don't waste your time or money!!!
Review: I was very disappointed in the product. The volume for the radio was too low to hear with any outside noise and the CD player skipped often. This was given as a gift, which I was asked to return. I tried to use it myself and was amazed at the poor quality. However, on a positive note, full reimbursement was made without any hassle. Thumbs Up to Amazon - Thumbs down to Panasonic.
Rating:
Summary: Don't waste your time or money!!!
Review: I was very disappointed in the product. The volume for the radio was too low to hear with any outside noise and the CD player skipped often. This was given as a gift, which I was asked to return. I tried to use it myself and was amazed at the poor quality. However, on a positive note, full reimbursement was made without any hassle. Thumbs Up to Amazon - Thumbs down to Panasonic.
Rating:
Summary: terrific sound, good features and unbeatable quality
Review: I've had this model for almost a year, and I don't have much negative things to say about this CD player. This is actually the SECOND Panasonic CD player I own, the first one was an older model purchased around seven years ago and still runs great, I'm expecting this one too will provide me many more years of faithful service. If you're the athletic type and worry about skipping, worry not. This model is equipped with a 40 seconds memory, I've used it while jogging, working out and tumbling down a hill(don't ask) and it never skipped a beat on me. If you listen to radio, you will fall in love with its built-in digital AM/FM tuner. Not too many portable CD players have a radio tuner built in? It also has a full-feature remote control (wire-based). Sound-wise, I have no complaints. All my favorite CDs sound crisp and powerful. Its Bass Boast system works very well. What else? The battery life is amazing. It runs for around twenty CDs on a pair of Everyday rechargeables. As good as it sounds, it's not perfect. The following is a few minor design faults I've experienced. The in-ear headphone came with the unit was literally a pain in the neck (well, in the ears). It was so uncomfortable I had to replace them with a same style Sony headphone. The switch between Random and Sequenced play is located UNDERNEATH THE LID! You have to actually open up the lid, and remove the CD to select between Random/Sequence. I know it's suppose to be a Sports model and all, but I'd still want to be random WHENEVER I want to. Don't know which crackhead enginneer came up with this brilliant design. Aside from the aforementioned problems, this model is perfect.
Rating:
Summary: sending it back
Review: in the past 6 - 7 years I have only bought two panasonics. i've loved them since they've lasted all sorts of abuse and the vmss headphones rock. so i figured i'd go for another panasonic but this one is a flop. i don't care how good the rest of the cd player is and what it does. if i don't get good sound, it's useless to me. and the headphones that come with this unit are U S E L E S S. i'm sending it back and really bummed to see that panasonic thinks that this style of headphones, the ones that slip into your ear, work for anyone. i have yet to see a review of these headphones where the user thinks the sound quality is great. so if I can't get a decent pair of headphones, i may as well get a portable cd player that will play MP3s!
Rating:
Summary: Panasonic finally got this one right
Review: Often i was having trouble deciding which discman to get: The choices were the non-rugged versions of discman, with great features such as a remote control and AM/FM tuner, or the Shockwave model, which could withstand daily abuse (I am a student, so it gets bashed around quite frequently in my backpack). However, the shockwave models never offered a headphone remote or a useful radio tuner. I am the owner of the previous Shockwave model (the fat 10 second anti-shock model). It has served me well, but left me wanting more. This new model incorporates the best of both worlds: feature rich, rugged design, and relatively thin cross-section, and I would recommend it to anyone who wants a great discman that is almost indestructable, as far as discmans go. PROS:
-great XBS sound from Panasonic
-super rugged design
-thin, compared to previous plastic models
-AM/FM tuner
-headphone remote (for those wondering, this was never included on any previous shockwave models)
-great, solid design, all buttons and latches feel solid, and comes with embedded handgrip
-anti-shock 4.0 40 seconds, almost skip-free
-battery life rated for over 20 hours, uses AA batteries unlike some ultraslims, that use expensive AAA batteries
-rechargable battery capable
-comes with AC adapter to save batteries
CONS:
-for those who do not require a rugged model, go for a thinner, lighter discman. Will save money and pocket weight.
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