Home > Consumer Reviews > Panasonic SLCT470 Super Compact CD Player with 40 Second Anti-shock

I bought this portable cd player after reading a recommendation by a very trustworthy source, the Headroom headphone people in Bozeman, Montana. They claimed this is the "best-sounding portable" they had heard recently, and considering its low price, I decided to buy one. I was a bit wary, since I had previously bought a different Panasonic model, SL-SW869V, which I found disappointing in terms of sound quality.

This model, however, is a winner. The sound reproduction is terrific, despite the fact that the SL-CT470 has been designed to be battery-conserving. Usually, players that are particularly small, light, and economical in terms of power usage achieve these goals at the expense of amplifier power and quality. Not this time.

Some of the added features are quite good. The EQ setting for bass boost (s-xbs) typically distorts the original sound a bit, but this one is better than most. For listening to bass-heavy music like techno, r&b, or rock, this feature is quite useful. The added two settings for "live" and "train" are a bit puzzling, however. The "live" setting seems simply to overemphasize the treble setting, whereas the "train" setting (designed for listening in noisy settings) seems merely to shift the s-xbs setting a bit--it is NOT a true "noise-reduction system."

There is a "resume" feature which allows you to stop the unit in mid-cd and then return to the track you were listening to previously. Like all Panasonic units, however, this feature takes you back to the start of the track, rather than to the exact point in the track where you left off before. This is one feature for which the Sony cd players are definitely superior.

As with all portable audio units, the small headphones that are provided are pretty bad. Buyers are encouraged to budget some additional money for some better headphones or earphones. The very best available are the Etymotic ER-4P's, which exhibit stunning quality, but are extremely expensive. For people on a budget, the higher-end Sony earbuds or Koss' Porta-pros or Sporta-pros will probably be adequate, or if one doesn't mind the extra bulk, Grado's SR-60 headphones provide great performance at a very reasonable price.

This machine is unusual in that it comes with two rechargeable AAA batteries which are claimed to have an average life of about six hours with the anti-shock mechanism "on" (the AC adapter serves as a recharging unit). In my limited experience so far, this seems like an accurate claim. Users can also attach a small black battery case that holds two AA batteries. With both AAA and AA batteries loaded, the machine can apparently play for up to 30 hours with anti-shock on and 38 hours with it off (this depends on how often you start and stop the unit and how loud you play your music, of course).

The anti-shock feature is about as good as any associated with today's cd portables. This means you can walk or exercise lightly with the machine and it will not skip, at least not too much. You do have to be sure to begin by letting the 40-second memory fill with the machine absolutely still, however. Even so, any kind of rhythmic up-down motion, including an all-out run, will eventually lead to skipping. For truly vigorous exercising, cassette tapes, radios, and MP3 units remain the technologies of choice.

Users should also be aware that this unit is indeed light and is encased in plastic. I really doubt this machine will survive a lot of bumping and dropping. In this regard, there is a certain truth to the old adage, "you get what you pay for."

Overall, I consider this to have been a great purchase. For me, the sound quality a player provides is more important than various bells and whistles that are added on. For people who share my priorities, this cd player is highly recommended.

I had put this cd player to it's test....and the results have proven positively remarkable. Bumpy busrides and fast pace walking has never made it skip with it's 40 sec. anti shock. So it's no wonder, the positive reviews everyone has written. The design is perfectly sleek and compact. It is one cd player, that is pleasing to the eyes as it is to the ears.

I reviewed this product earlier but after listening for a bit longer I have to reevaluate my opinion. The sound quality of this portable is superb, even with anti-shock turned on. However, the EQ features are still useless. Don't use them unless you want the quality to drop significantly. I still believe that this is a very attractive portable. Also, I would recommend pairing this player with the Koss SportaPro headphones.

When I bought this CD player, I nearly broke down in tears, happy that I FINALLY, got a superb CD player. If you click on my name and see my review history, you'll see that this CD player was the replacement for the CD player I review earlier (note: the one with the near to zero stars). This Player has EVERYTHING you'll want.
Pros-
-Good audio quality: four settings for however you like to hear your music. Try the Live setting. Your ears will explode.
-VIRTUALLY NO SKIPPING: I turning this player to so many angles to see if it'll play consistently, and it played beautifully no matter what angle I put it on. Even in my pocket
-Playing Longevity: the extra battery pack add-on included with this player as well as the rechargeable batteries make playing this player for as long as you feel like. Well, until ya gotta recharge that is.
-Good Button Placement: The buttons aren't all over the place driving you crazy when you have to find one in the dark or while your jogging. The Resume and Random playing settings are located on the side next to the hold button just where you finger would be so you can easily click back and forth to you preferred settings.
-Strong: It may look weak but this player won't break. I've dropped the player many times thinking "Yeah, you finally broke it" but nope, the player holds steady. Uh...I don't recommend you making a habit of dropping it though.

Cons
-NO CD-R/CD-RW playback: Yeah, this was a problem for me since I recently gotten some CD burning utilities. But you have to realize this CD was brought out during the time CD-R/CD-RW playback was only found on high end VCR shaped CD changers and not on portables.
-Headphones: The headphones aren't too good. Too thin and frail for me. That's my personal opinion. I suggest getting headphones that allow you to adjust volume and have a bass boost. A bass boost combined with the player's Live audio setting and you know why this player has so many good reviews.

Please folks, if your tired of clunking around skip filled CD players and just want something steady at a good reasonable cost (I mean look at all it comes with!!) just do yourself a favor and click the buy button. Your ears will thank you.

this product is awesome! it has all the features and sound quality you could ask for. other players with these functions cost a lot more. slim, compact, lightweight and visually very elegant. the headphones though could have been better. with the included battery pack you can get 50 hours plus playback time and the program and memory functions are very useful. i highly recommend this product to anyone.