Panasonic SL-SW965VA Shockwave Portable CD Player with AM / FM Tuner, Blue

Rating:
Summary: An Embarrassment to Panasonic...
Review:
I purchased this player in December of 2004 and have regretted it since.

1. This player does not output in true stereo sound...

Simply making sure that the headphones are properly connected to the shockwave is a chore because the shallow headphone jack does not allow for the pin on the headphones to be completely inserted into the unit. I should also mention that the headphones included are flimsy junk. Buy a better pair for yourself, if you plan to pick up a portable cd player.

2.I am a big fan of guitar driven hard rock. This player has very poor high frequency response...

Guitar sounds that have been very easy to distinguish on my favorite classic albums over the years, are very hard to hear on the Shockwave 965. X-Bass drowns out everything but the lower end tones.

4. Lower bit rate (under 256k) MP3s sound warbled, almost like worn out cassettes, even when the MP3 remaster(useless) feature enabled...

I will say that MP3s properly encoded at 256k or higher do sound fairly good, almost as good as their CD counterpart on the SW 965.

5. No remote control! UGH! Frustrating & Pointless...

Switching tracks, adjusting volume, or switching from CD player to radio band tuner, on the Shockwave 965 is a real pain, as there is no remote control. I have to pull the unit out of my bag each and every time that I want to make an adjustment on the Shockwave!

Overall the Shockwave 965 is a major embarrassment to Panasonic, and should be avoided at all costs! Not a suitable player for the serious music lover, or someone that likes audio to at least sound LISTENABLE!

I plan to give the Shockwave to my younger brother as a hand me down, as I would feel guilty if I sold this unit to anyone.

I also plan to pick up one of the new Sony CD Walkman 2005 models in the spring. Sony has never let me down when it comes to portable CD players. Took a chance on Panasonic, a company with a great reputation, who has made excellent products in the past, and was burned...

It should also be noted that the review titled "It only gets better" by Trevor J. Hall is referring to Panasonic SL-CT710 Slim CD / MP3 Player, as the Shockwave has NO EQ setting called "live".

Rating:
Summary: Solid for either CDs or MP3s
Review: I picked this up just recently as I was needing a source of personal music for when I was at work and my criteria were relatively simple. Whatever I picked had to play standard audio CDs and MP3 CDs. It had to have good battery life. And finally it had to be well constructed and likely to last me a long while. With this, I got all that I wanted and much much more.

The audio quality is very good with solid and thumping bass and extremely clear sound on both music and spoken word tracks. There is some issues on the treble and higher ranges on some songs, but for the most part it's rarely noticable. The headphones that come with the player are somewhat awkward initially, but are comfortable and have good sound. The major problem I have with the player aspect it of it is that the mp3 randomization is utterly horrid. The player will continually return to certain songs or directories of songs while never touching other songs or directories, which rapidly becomes an irritance.

So far the battery life has been astounding as well. After a week of nearly continual usage, the battery meter hasn't even registered a drop off in power. Which is good because the batteries can be difficult to get in and out.

Finally, the player is very well constructed, a design that just feels really rugged and likely to last a large number of bumps and bruises. The anti-skip protection is enough to ensure that unless you're in a very rough situation, your music will continue to pump out for your entertainment.

Rating:
Summary: DOES NOT SKIP!!!
Review: If your looking for a CD walkman that does not skip, this one is for you. It had all of the features that I was looking for and it's works great.

Rating:
Summary: It only gets better
Review: My pup terminally damaged my old Shockwave - an old friend of many trecks through the forest, skiing and jogging.
Thus, I felt that I ought to try the newer model.
To be truthful I found the styling much less appealing than my deceased model, but decided, what the heck, it is the sound quality that one is buying.
As yet I have no MP3 discs but the quality of playback of CD and CD-R is outstanding, the 'live' option is paticularly impressive with classical music.
Batteries seem to last forever, the display indicates that they are still kicking and will be for a long time, even after 3 weeks of hard usage.
I retain my old earphones but the new ones are not that bad. The remote is functional but I mainly value it for the extension to the headphone lead.
We have played merrily through a couple of monsoon standard rainstorms and over rough terrain without a lost note.
Who cares about moot points of aesthetics - one can always pop it in a pocket. A rugged and quality product guaranteed to give complete satisfaction.