Home > Consumer Reviews > Panasonic SC-AK500 Compact Stereo System (Silver)

For two hundred dollars, this is one of the better book shelf/mini system out there.

AESTHETICS: The unit is compact and the controls lay-out is useable, but not the best I've seen. The design doesn't do anything for me; in fact I find it rather tacky; but compared to what other manufacturers are doing (like JVC and their very ugly styling/design) it's not that bad. I prefer traditional styling, but this is OK.

SOUND: The sound is great, whether you're playing CD's, listening to the radio, or listening to MP3's. 300 watts is more than enough and more than any comparably priced systems out there. The preset EQ's are adequate and I end up using the "Super Sound EQ" most often. I do not listen or record to tapes, so I have no comments there.

MP3 Playback: Let me take a moment here to refute what the other reviewers have said in regards to MP3 performance; they don't know what the heck they're talking about! This unit plays every MP3 compilation I've thrown at it and I didn't follow the manual at all; I just burn my CD's the way I've always done it. It will play MP3 CD's based on the following sequence: ROOT -> FOLDER NAME -> TRACK NAME. My stand alone 5-Disc RCA changer has a lot of trouble with a few of my MP3's compilations, but this unit plays them all fine.

MISSING FEATURES: This is where your decision to purchase this unit or not will be determined. The key feature missing for me is the ability to randomize the playback when playing MP3. You'd figure Panasonic would at least figure out how to do this! The other feature that's missing that would have been helpful is a feature called Play-Exchange, which allows you to load and unload discs that are not being played. This is very useful! You don't have to stop the music to change discs. My last gripe: I don't believe there's enough preset EQ's and the unit doesn't give you enough control over them; I would have liked to have at least bass and treble controls. Aside from this, the unit is an admirable performer and I would recommend it if you can live without the features mentioned above.

I purchased this system and am quite happy with the sound. It is so much better than my old micro-system. I would like to have had auto reverse for the cassettes and high speed dubbing as well as bass and treble controls, but at $... what did I really expect. I wanted great sound. Got it. I wanted to be able to play more than one cd at a time. It plays five. I wanted to be able to play cassettes. I can. I wanted AM/FM radio. It has that too. The other features I'd like to have would cost another $... or more. I'm completely satisfied with this system. Oh, by the way, I love the small remote control device.

This system is great! It provides great sound including whomping bass! Ip you want a great compact sterio system than get the Panasonic SC-AK500!!!

This stereo has the best sound I have ever heard (obviously not comparing this to more expensive stereos). I bought mine a couple years ago (because I missed having a stereo around) and have been happy with it the entire time. It plays MP3s just fine and the sound quality for MP3s are perfect - it depends on the quality of the MP3s and how they are burned to CD, not how the stereo plays them. I have never had a single problem with this stereo and mine still looks and feels brand new.

everything has been said in other reviews really, but here are my main concerns... when playing an MP3 disc, there is no shuffle feature which is really lame. MP3 discs hold hundreds of songs and you have to hear them in the same exact order every time? yuk. ALSO, i lose discs sometimes because of the 1-drawer, 5-disc setup. it takes a minute or two to find them. OVERALL, it sounds great, just be aware of the features you need and make sure it has them before you buy. Above average stereo, just not what I wanted.