I bought this from Richer Sounds for £99. I bought a Kenwood 3020SE amp and Wharfedale 7.1 speakers. I was almost at the end of my £350 budget so I bought cheaper cable than I wanted. The Technics PLG480A played well for my first CD player and separates Hi-Fi setup. Within the first year (1 week before end of warranty) the laser packed in. I had moved nearly 200 miles earlier in the year, so I went to my nearest Richer Sounds branch and left it with them to fix in store. That same evening my machine wa returned to my front door fixed and ready to run for the next fifteen years without a hitch. Pink Floyd. Steve Hillage, Metallica, 80's pop, trance, chillout, ibizia, folk, homemade recordings and kid's songs sound great through this stalwart of my system. I've lost the remote but it's probably somewhere in the attic. I've changed the cables to a very much better banana plug custom made and the speakers to Mission 700s and the player and amp still rock with all my eclectic tastes of CD, vinyl, or cassette media I throw at it. For my very first CD player purchase I believe I made a very excellent choice and long may she sail!

Joe Johnson hates it yet has used it for over a year? Cant be that bad now can it?

DONT BUY THIS - IF YOU HAVE THEN IM SORRY

This machine creates a tight compressed awful sound - not open at all - maybe good for techno that goes boom boom - im sure it can make boom noises very well but really this is a very bad cd player - I bought it to replace my eclipse cd101 cos the technics was reviewed well and had optical output but oh my God there was not a chance in hell I was going to replace my £40 eclipse with this piece of ****.

If you have a chance listen to the Chinese Eclipse CD101, for £40 it will beat a lot of players up to £150 or so. The Eclipse produces a really good open yet detailed sound - the technics produces a closed compressed technical sound - ive got good speakers good cables and a great amp and believe me when I say this is a piece of useless junk.

Im getting a cambridge audio cd with optical output soon - to make the eclipse and the cd101 obsolete - don't even think of wasting good money on tbis - the reviews said the sound might be a 'little' compressed but this is awful awful awful - I did not believe that a cd player could make such a big difference in the way a system sounds - oh my god was I wrong.

The only reason that I can see this CD player being popular is if you use really bad speaker cables that make evertything sound loose and distorted - then MAYBE somehow the technics makes up for this - really I have no clue - but this is the only thing I can think of to account for any good reviews this thing might get here - don't buy it- and if you have I'm sorry.

Nice warm sound. Good display. You can adjust the volume with the remote ctrl. Headphone socket. (my model is a SL-PG490)

None really, from my point of view. A bit heavy on the bassy side, wich is fine for me.

This should be a pretty good buy for anyone but the dedicated audiophile. It seems to be built to rock, and perhaps this isn't the first choice for someone planning on listening to classical music mostly. For anyone into funk, rock and dance music though it's recommendable. This Technics machine sparkles pretty much for the money.

I bought this single disc CD player a few months ago - it is currently the least expensive of the two Technics single disc machines listed at the panasonic web site. My one complaint is that this company is no longer putting headphone jacks and volume controls on it's cheaper models (this player is no exception). This is a pity for those who like to use a full size player with a pair of good headphones alone, away from their primary system. While this is apparently a cost cutting move, it appears misplaced because TEAC still has the headphone feature on their bottom of the line models.
Otherwise, this player functions flawlessly, and to give Matsushita it's due, looks as though it's going to have the same significant longevity as other Technics CD players and Panasonic video recorders I have.

Solid, fast responding, low price for quality.

None

I bought this product because it's british counterpart got selected as one of the best CD player of the year in What Hi-Fi magazine. I use it with a Yamaha RX-570 received and B&W 302's and I am very pleased with the results and would recommend this unit to anyone needing a good system at an affordable price (street price of around $110).

Bass, display, digital out, remote control

Lightweight build difficult to stabilize

I was looking for a budget player to replace an old Sony model. I auditioned a few but none had the bass weight of the technics. I like it's warm sound and its system friendly nature (it sounds as good through my av amp as it does through my 2 channel one). I can only complain about its casing which does not sit level on the shelf straight out of the box (a surprise). Some isolation cones have sorted that one out. Basically if you want a nice cheap, loud, warm player for rock and pop this is the baby!!

Similar Products Used:

Yamaha CDX396
Phillips CD723
Sony CDPXE330

Warm and mellow sound that handles all types of music with ease, excellent bass and fine build quality

Have used this for over a year now with a Marantz PM4000 amp and Eltax Symphony 6.2 speakers. It's especially good with House and Dance music with good deep bass and smooth midrange as opposed to the Sony XE330 that had tinny treble and lacked depth. An absolute bargain and highly recommended!

Similar Products Used:

Sony CDPXE330

Very competant with all types of Music. A bargain at 80 quid! Has a headphone socket (mine's a SL-PG490), which is handy as my Cambridge A4 amp hasn't. The output level is variable from the remote, also handy when used with Amps which have no remote. There is a high level of detail on offer compared to other budget CD players I auditioned. It fits in well with my Cambridge A4 amp and Eltax liberty 3+ speakers.

Very low mass. Could do with being kept away from speakers. I've got mine on a paving slab with a inner tube underneath. What Hifi? recomend squash balls too. I'm clearly not and audiophille, I thought the Sony looked better.

The best CD player for <£100? I didn't find any better so I bought this one.

Similar Products Used:

Kenwood DPF2030 -Very dull and no hp socket.
Sony CDPXE330 - Very bright - almost harsh.

Price, digital output

thin sound without outboard adapter

This is a good basic CD player, althought not in the same league as the other players I use. I use it in my office for R & R. It is very lightweight, suggesting some lack of mechanical damping, but sorbethane feet helped the sound. As well, I use the optical output to drive a discounted Music Fidelity X-ACT DAC. The feet, the cable and the DAC added about $180.00 to the cost. Like all equipment it pays to use a good RCA interconnect, although many of these cost more than the player itself.
It is hard to complain about any equipment in this price range that works reliably, but I wouldn't call this machine a stellar performer. The tree stars for quality reflects its standing in "absolute terms" With modest upgrades, you have the basis for a good deal better machine.

Similar Products Used:

CEC 5100z, Denon 3000