Panasonic RX-D550 Hifi Sound System with FM Radio, Portable speaker and CD player, 20W - Black

Remarkable and powerful sound for its size sounds much much louder than statedThe DAB is flawless and the cd player section sounds super rich and very clean in fact the whole sound quality is crystal clear and excellent this is why it's more expensive than others and obviously the price is a lot higher it is also made in Malaysia not China!!The ariel (teloscopic) is a generous size going higher than on other boom boxes (portable stereos)The FM is a little hissy but it's thats all really the USB selection while scrolling through music files is pretty fast and not much of a delay and its round the back of the device that I prefer as it looks much neater that a large uglay flash Drive stuck out of the front!!!I think the volume goes up to about 50 I can push it to about 35 without any degrade in sound.... at around 28 onwards it starts to go exceedingly loud..... and I don't hear any loss of bass it will however slightly loose some richness when pushed to 40 to 50 but I don't think it needs to be pushed that loud anyway,it seems to handle a lot of power without loosing the bass at a higher level than some cheaper stereos meaning it can take more gain pushing without distorting.I've had boom boxes that go to 40 but start to loose sound quality at around 23....Also note that this Panasonic does not have an AUX or 3.5 jack even though I'm old school it's still worth the money I like to play CDs I have over 4,000 I will never get rid of.....most cannot be found on on line mp3 storesmost young people today won't appreciate just how good CDs were ( are ) and their sound quality.....and as this Panasonic is not a high powered device I was careful not to give 4 stars as it is good at what it is compared to similar size stereos that sound utter dreadful this Panasonic has a nice smooth pleasant sound.and one more thing.......it takes batteries yes! the ones you know that can be replaced!im so fed up today of batteries (rechargeable) that are built in to items like blue tooth speakers that manufactures seem to be happy with us throwing the whole device away due to a suicide battery.!!!e waste!!

I bought this to replace a recently purchased Philips model which was completely underwhelming. This Panasonic unit impresses all the way - great sound, and I seem to be getting more DAB stations now. There is plenty of volume and the sound effects actually make a difference. The speakers really are very good - crystal clear, no distortion and with loads of oomph!The only negatives are that the LED screen showing function operations isn't illuminated, and it can be a bit difficult to make out the text clearly, and there seems to be no headphone socket. Also, the Basic User's Guide is... very basic, and stuffed full of other languages. But there is a 21 page English User's Manual available for download as a PDF file on the link on the front page of the Basic guide - I strongly urge buyers to download this as it is comprehensive and detailed and well worth printing out.

Despite having good points the Panasonic RX-D552 is not ideal, which is a great shame as it has potential to be an excellent unit.Sound Quality - The sound has a very good tone and the unit has plenty of power. I would prefer to have Bass, Treble and Mid (fully adjustable controls) as opposed to the provided EQ presets but what we have here offers a decent result together with the added Bass boost option. The Bass boost makes a noticeable difference but is not overpowering and, for me, the ‘Flat’ EQ setting with Bass boost ‘on’ provides excellent sound.Features - This unit offers DAB+, FM, CD, USB, and Bluetooth options and will play mp3s using both CDs and the the USB option. Unfortunately there is no ‘line in’ though that is not a problem for me but it could prove an issue for people who would like to connect a separate mp3 player, or similar external device.Presentation - A compact and pleasant looking unit that will slot easily into most spaces without drawing too much attention.Display - Tiny and NOT backlit so pretty much invisible and unusable unless you are within 3 feet of the unit in fairly strong light. The impact of this cannot be overstated; programming and setting up the unit is more difficult and takes longer than it should as a result and the remote control is less useful as you need to remember sequences to operate the unit and if you get lost there is no option but to get up and approach the unit to see where you are on the display. And when I approach the unit to see the screen I have to crouch because the screen is mounted near vertically and cannot be seen well from an angle either. In my view using this type and size of screen was an unfortunate design choice as it detracts from the enjoyment of using the unit overall.Remote Control - A comprehensive control allowing wide operation, but very limited in overall usefulness by the proximity issues with the display described above.Power - Can run on batteries which is important for true portability and may also explain why the screen is not backlit (energy conservation). This unit will, of course, run from mains power also.Price - The unit seems a little expensive for what it is, though my opinion here is no doubt affected by the usage issues with the display. Had the display been larger or had at least offered a backlighting option, hence been informative from a reasonable distance, the price would seem more appropriate.Despite its shortcomings I like the RX-D552, particularly its sound quality and portability. I will, for the most part, have to treat this unit in a similar way to one that does not have a remote control as I will need to be close-by to use it successfully. This is not a bad unit but could have been so much better if it had a decent screen. I would ideally award 3 1/2 stars if that were an option but have awarded 4 as it isn’t.**Since writing this review I have become aware of a nasty crackling sound that seems to occur mostly on the loudest sections of CDs and songs broadcast on DAB+. (I have not tried the USB stick functioning but suspect it would happen with that also.) This sounds to me like some form of digital distortion - a very annoying sound that I have tried to find a way around but have not been able to do so. At this point I’m not sure whether this is a fault with my particular unit or a fault inherent in the range. This unit is being returned.**

CD player worked fine & so did the volume with it, however when I used bluetooth to play music from my iphone library it only put out about a third of the regular volume even on max & became very tinny & lacking bass & body on that mode. It also kept skipping. I got no radio at all from it- no DAB, no FM. Faulty obviously. Disappointing as I'd previously always bought Panasonic home stereo systems since the 1990s & rated the brand quite highly for the price range.Returning this for a refund as I'm not tolerating non/semi-functional cr*p.I'll have to find something else similar that's fully functional.