Panasonic RX-D29 CD / Radio / Cassette Boombox with MP3 CD Playback

Amazon Customer Reviews

(1 out of 5)

Very Disappointing

After reading the reviews that were already posted here, I purchased this item with great anticipation. I ended up returning it to Amazon.com within one week. The only thing I enjoyed was the cosmetic appearance and light weight for carrying. I was terribly disappointed in several important features. Most importantly, the sound quality was surprisingly poor. It only sounded reasonably good with the "sound virtualizer" turned on. The four preset equalizer options always worsened the sound. Classical instrumental music sounded okay, but music containing vocals had a serious balance problem; the vocals were too soft in contrast to the instruments and it was quite difficult to hear the lyrics clearly. I tested the same CDs on an older, much cheaper boombox and did not encounter the same problem. Many important features are only accessible from the remote control, so if the remote became damaged or lost, many of these functions would also be lost. The interface is not user-friendly or intuitive. For example, there is no general on/off or power button for turning on the CD player. You have to load a CD and then press play in order to "wake up" the boombox. Then, if you want to display the summarized track information or the total playing time, you have to STOP the CD while it is playing. You cannot use the search button to go backwards from the first track on a CD to the last one; I therefore could not access hidden bonus tracks on a collection of newly-released CDs that happen to have them hidden before the first track instead of after the final track. Most CD players have search buttons that do allow you to search backwards from the first track or forward from the last track to the first. Many of the other features on this box (including programming a desired sequence of tracks or accessing the radio presets) also require a bizarre set of steps using the remote control. I found myself having to refer repeatedly to the user manual, and it would've taken me a long time to memorize the steps. The designers should have put more control buttons right on the box and not just on the remote control. The display is small and poorly lit. The cassette player is also rather poorly made. I tried to listen to an audiobook and heard too much white noise when I set the volume high enough to comfortably hear the narrator (not very loud). The cassette player is only for "normal setting" tapes (not high position or metal). The radio had fair-to-poor reception despite the digital tuner. This boombox actually made me want to turn off my music or book, and that is why I decided to return it.

(4 out of 5)

Well, what choice do you have?

If you want a CD/MP3/Cassette/Tuner Boombox, this is pretty much the ONLY one available, anywhere. While this unit does have some annoying quirks, its not nearly as insufferable as this "spotlight reviewer" makes it out to be. In fact, I find it to be quite an enjoyable boombox to use and listen too. There are some misconceptions that I would like to clear up on this unit though...In regards to the loss of vocals and balance; this unit has a sound virtualizer, which is the equivelant of surround sound which is found on many TV's and DVD players to create the illusion of an enhanced stereo image. As you know, if you watch a movie with the surround sound on, in most cases the background music drowns out the vocals. This is a normal side-effect of fake surround sound options. All you have to do is turn OFF the virtualizer and the problem is gone. In regards to track selection, while you can't hit the back button to go from the first track to the last (a feature not found on many boomboxes) but you can input the track number directly on the remote if you're too lazy to hit the NEXT button a few times. And, in regards to powering the unit on and off; its not as complicated as its made out to be. There is a general 'power off' button, and the elaborate process of "waking the unit up" is hitting the play button for the CD player. I dont think thats such a big deal...in fact it seems easier for quick playback - instead of powering on, then hitting play, all you do is hit play and you're crankin.Oh, and the incredibly 'complicated' procedure of setting the clock? Hit 'set clock' on the remote, then press the CD FF or REV keys to adjust the time, then 'set clock' again to confirm. I didnt find that so difficult and I think was over-exaggerated by the other reviewer. That's not to say the unit is perfect, because its not. My major beefs with it are that you cant skip search through an mp3 track...meaning you can't zip halfway through the song to hear the chorus, or if its an audiobook you cant track to where you left off. It just plays from beginning to end and thats it. I think that they did put a bit too much control into the remote - I dont like how I cant set the sleep timer, set the clock, or even skip through mp3 folders without it. Also, I hate that they put the headphone jack on the back of the unit. Really though, these are quirks I can live with given the fact that this boombox is the ONLY one that has every popular form of media in one unit, and also for that fact that it has an incredibly low price tag for all the feautres it has. And it puts out decent sound too, about as good as any respectable boom box. Overall, you dont have much of a choice if you want all these features, but at least there's enough here to not make you feel that even though it was your ONLY choice that it was a BAD choice. I'm very picky with boomboxes, and I've come to enjoy this one.

(5 out of 5)

It's a boombox - and for a boombox, it deserves all five stars!!

I started to give this radio four stars because it did not sound like a Bose... then I smacked myself in the forehead... cuz, it was never meant to compete with the high end radios. I researched radios, sound and other features for about two months before getting this one for my daughters 14th birthday. It fit the bill perfect. I doubt we will use the tape, but the ability to play mp3's makes the machine priceless. After looking, listening, and playing with around 100 radios or boomboxes, I can assuredly say that the sound on this unit is easily comparable! The logic of the controls is not too tough and if the kid loses the remote... shame on her :)

Bottom line, if you are looking for something that has decent sound, good construction, and most importantly - plays other formats on cdr's... this has got to be the most affordable quality option out there. I highly recommend this unit!

(4 out of 5)

Finally found a boom box which plays mp3

I was looking for a branded boom box, which plays mp3 as well. This boom box satisfies what I was looking for,

1. Plays mp3
2. Plays cassette
3. Has FM radio

Reproduces sound clearly, has additional options like sleep timer and sound virtualized.

Following options would have made the product very good.

1. Line in/out
2. Display that reads mp3 tags

(2 out of 5)

Good sound, bad interface

I got a JVC RC-EX30 for the kids last Christmas. Since I needed another portable stereo for the kitchen I thought I'd get another but it's discontinued. The Panasonic RX-D29 seemed to be a comparable item so I got it.

The sound is really good. For a small boombox it has surprising clarity and depth.

The problems start when I put in an MP3 CD. The spinup took about five seconds as all of the files were examined. Then the little LCD readout showed " 15 135" to indicate that I had 15 folders/albums and 135 songs on the CD. I pressed play and the display changed to " 1 3:45" as the first song started playing. After a while I thought, OK how do I change to the 6th album? After much fiddling and trying I found I had two options.

I could somehow know that the sixth album started on song 86 and press the >> button 86 times or I could stop the CD and hold down the >> button as the song numbers advanced to 86.

-There is no way to simply change the album folder
-There is no readout of the name of the album or song on the LCD so you're always guessing where in the CD you are at
-There is no random or repeat for any type of CD. This means that if I have a Christmas mix CD to play during holidays I always start at the first and go thru in the same order, all 300 songs over and over.
-There is no way to fast forward within an MP3 song. This is particularly troubling if the MP3 is a copy of a Books-on-Tape cassette. It likely only has a few "songs" and each is 20 minutes or more.
-Unlike my car stereo, this unit does not remember where on the CD I was when I last stopped or changed functions to tape/radio. Hence I have to start at the first of my 200 songs again.

All in all, it's practically useless for playing MP3s.