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Panasonic SC-PM03 Executive Microsystem

Panasonic SC-PM03 Executive Microsystem

List Price: $179.95
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Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great microsystem!
Review: This is one excellent little machine and for the price...just unbelievable. It's got some cool features that you'll probably only find in more expensive units (like the in and out plugs). Hook up that KLH subwoofer from Amazon to this puppy and you get some unbelievable sounds for its size. You can also plug in a turntable, tape deck or any of that other stuff. Small enough to stick anywhere in your room and it just looks and sounds so cool!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Nice Sound and Looks
Review: This system is in a nutshell very simple and very effective. It is easy to use, looks great, has a very very strong tuner and gets alot of bang for your buck. There may be some others out there that have more nifty CD loading mechanisms but not too many in this $$ range to get the this type of sonic quality. This unit cut cost on mafufacture (plastic v.s. glass, etc) but not on technology. You get Panasonic's legendary MASH converter and circuit technology. Great system if you like great sound not smoke and mirrors.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Nice Sound and Looks
Review: This system is in a nutshell very simple and very effective. It is easy to use, looks great, has a very very strong tuner and gets alot of bang for your buck. There may be some others out there that have more nifty CD loading mechanisms but not too many in this $$ range to get the this type of sonic quality. This unit cut cost on mafufacture (plastic v.s. glass, etc) but not on technology. You get Panasonic's legendary MASH converter and circuit technology. Great system if you like great sound not smoke and mirrors.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Excellent sound, small package
Review: This system not only looks great, but sounds amazing. The small size makes it suitable for a dorm room, office or bed room but the sound can defintely fill an entire apartment easily. The speakers produce trmendous bass for its size. When cominbined with the sound virtualizing feature on the system, the speaker produce a crisp and undisorted bass sound. One hesitiation I had before buying the system was the missing cassestte deck but I am not missing it at all. The sound more than makes up for the obsolete deck. This is a great value and a great sounding system!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: What it does and what it doesn't
Review: This unit isn't perfect. There isn't a lot of flexibility with it. On the other hand for [price] what you get is actually a great little sound machine.

The unit is nice and small, about the size of two cigar boxes stacked on top of each other. The speakers are each a little bigger than that. It fits pretty much anywhere and put in a small area it will fill it up with great sound.

However, there isn't a lot of tinkering with the sound. You can adjust the bass and the treble, but except for a button that virtualizes the sound,whatever that means, that's the beginning and the end of sound management. Moving the sound by adjusting the volume of each speaker is not an option either since there is no control lever for that.The speakers are connected by a wire with a naked end that is clamped into the back of the unit, as are the antennas for AM and FM radio. There are jack slots for auxilliary connections but not for the basic connections which seem pretty basic. The display is kind of hard to read, blue light and all. And lastly the CD player opens and closes by a push button on the unit or on the remote. Which is not bad, unless you have an idiot brother who decides to close it by pushing on the lid, in which case it might break. I have an idiot brother. I won't let him touch it.

On the plus side the speakers makes CDs and the radio sound pretty darn good; a nice clean sound. It has a clock that will turn it off at a designated time. The remote is handy, especially if you're as lazy as I am. Since its so small and so basic, it can be unconnected, moved and reconnected without any hassel. It also has no tape player so the wife will have to get rid of the Harry Belafonte tapes decomposing in the basement once and for all. Yes, I consider that a plus, at least in my house.

Its very basic, very good value and very good sound for a smaller space.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A fine system for a bedroom or dormroom.
Review: When looking for a second music system to put in my bedroom, I knew I wanted something that would be small and discrete, but also classy-looking and (most importantly) capable of delivering rich, full sound. This automatically ruled out most so-called "mini systems" with their seizure-inducing flashing lights and graphics and sci-fi designs. I decided upon the Panasonic SC-PM03. I liked the clean brushed aluminum look of the main unit, and the light colored wood finish on the speakers is classical yet modern at the same time. The finish and constuction isn't quite as nice as some of JVC's "executive systems". For example, the Panasonic substitutes plastic for glass, and vinyl-covered particleboard for cherrywood, but it's still quite attractive and will match almost any decor. It's a fairly low powered unit, but it makes good use of it's 15 watts per channel. Don't expect concert-level volumes, but it's more than adequate for a bedroom or dormroom. One feature I really like is the speed sensitive volume control. The faster you turn the knob, the faster volume adjustments are made. This is very handy when the phone rings, and you don't want to stand there turning the knob 45 times just to cut the volume down. The first thing I usually do with a new system is to upgrade the speaker cables. This is not an option with the SC-PM03. The tiny cables are built into the speakers and come out of a small hole in the back. A bad policy in my opinion, but obviously a cost saving measure. Also, I would strongly suggest investing in a pair of stands for the speakers and placing them as closly as possible to the wall. The imaging and bass response will be VASTLY improved. The unit includes one set of RCA inputs for adding another component such as a TV, or cassette deck, and a set of RCA outputs which can be used to add a subwoofer. And lets face it, it might not be such a bad idea to add some apmlified bass, as a 4" driver only goes so far. The unit features a small backlit LCD panel that, while not flashy, displays all necessary information over a cool field of blue. While the display is very clear from most angles, it becomes nearly illegible in bright sunlight or when veiwing it from below, like when you're lying in bed. Rounding out the unit is a remote control which handles most of the system's functions. It's small and fits nicely into your hand, but unfortunatly, it is saddled with 34 tiny buttons that, with the exception of the volume control, are all shaped exactly alike. This can be somewhat frustrating when trying to operate the unit in the dark. Aside from some minor complaints that are to be expected from such a reasonably priced system, the SC-PM03 is a very solid performer and good looking to boot.


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