PanasonicPanasonic RX-D55GC-K Boombox - High Power Portable Stereo AM/FM Radio, MP3 CD, Tape Recorder with USB & Music Port Sound with 2-Way 4-Speaker (Black)

This is a very nice unit. The sound quality is far above average compared to similar products. It has decent bass response and good highs. It doesn't have a sub woofer so you won't get that thumping bass, but it's not a surround sound system with a sub-woofer either. It's a portable radio and a really nice one. It does have a "sound virtualizer" button which adds a spacial effect to the music, kind of like simulated surround sound. It also has a built in eqaulizer with 4 settings that works well and a seperate bass and treble adjustment that also works well. It states that the frequency response for CD's is 40 hz to 20 khz and the frequency response for cassettes is 50 hz to12khz. It doesn't state what the frequency response for radio or usb is. Everything works really well on it and I really like the design. It states that you should limit the size of your USB drive to 8GB but I use an old 32GB drive that I've had for years which is about 1/2 full and have had no problems at all. It just takes it about 20-30 seconds to "read" but once it's read the drive it will go immediately to whatever album and song you choose. It only recognizes the MP3 format. Some of the songs on my USB drive are WMA format and it just doesn't recognize them at all. The "Music Port" (aux input) works well but make sure that you turn off any equalizer that you might have on your phone or MP3 player. The remote has large buttons and is easy to use. You can do everything with the remote, however, it states that the remote will not work if you are using batteries to operate the unit. There are matching buttons on the unit itself so you can also contol everything without the remote, except it doesn't have "music port" button on the unit. I guess you could turn it on, put it on "music port" with the remote and then unplug it. It comes with a very good owners manual which is easy to understand and gives you clear step by step instructions on the various operations. I STRONGLY suggest reading the manual before you even plug it in, especially the part about setting the voltage. Mine arrived with it already set to 110 volts, but check it before you plug it in! The cord does have an adaptor plug for european outlets but I have had absolutely to problem with it. It's plugged in 24/7 and has never even gotten the least bit warm. When you unplug it you just have to hold the plug at the bottom, close to the wall, then pull it from the outlet. This is definitely a 5 star product. It will play everything imaginable and has a "classy" design. GREAT PRODUCT!! VERY PLEASED WITH IT!!!

Great boom box! Has AM/FM Radio, CD Player, Cassette Deck, Remote. A little heavy to carry around. Has digital read out. Has great sound with special audio to make it sound better, love it!

Perhaps it's a misnomer to call this a "last gasp" product offering. As people's interest in playing the Compact Cassette rebounds, there are more and more players coming to market. Most of them cut corners in various ways: cheap and cheezy mechanisms, monophonic only playback, low quality recording or no ability to make recordings at all.I've purchased two of the RX-D55 model and judging by the component date codes within, I suspect they're all new old stock that someone is liquidating. (For those wondering, the component date codes suggest both of mine were manufactured in 2009.) This product wasn't intended for sale in the US or Canadian markets. It works perfectly well. Just remember to change the AM tuning steps if you care about that, make sure the line voltage is set correctly before you plug it in, and don't expect any warranty coverage if something goes wrong.The cassette mechanisms in both of mine run slightly slow (a 1 kHz test tone plays at 935 kHz on one of mine and at 960 kHz on the other). I haven't looked into whether or not it'd be easy to fix this. It plays and records in stereo. Recordings are made using AC bias, which produces a much higher quality result. Officially, you're only supposed to use normal bias (type I) cassettes for playback or recording, though Panasonic says high bias tapes may be used even though they will not record or playback correctly. Perhaps the most surprising thing about the cassette mechanism is that it is equipped with full auto stop capability. You don't have to worry that the mechanism will keep grinding away when the tape has reached its end in any operating mode. It's also interesting to note that without power, the pinch roller releases so as to protect it and your tape. (This suggests that perhaps Panasonic thought about making it possible to produce timed recordings using the built in clock, though that feature isn't available.)The tuner's not very exciting and really performs at its best on strong local stations. At least you can force monophonic reception on FM and this can help with noisy reception. AM performance is decent, though if you've ever heard AM stations through a good quality tuner, this boom box won't excite you. Despite a full alphanumeric display, there's no capability for decoding RDS, labeling stations or any other "fancy stuff".Panasonic includes a 24-hour clock and I'm glad to see it. It'd be nice if other major brands offered the same. Unfortunately, it can't be used to make timed recordings to the cassette player. There is also a sleep timer function.I've had no complaints whatsoever from the CD or USB playback functions. Both do exactly what they should. You can also play MP3 files stored on a CD. CD playback is skip protected. (One wonders why it took so long for boom box manufacturers to realize this was a good idea!) ID3 track data can be displayed, although the interpretation seems odd. CD Text is not supported.Panasonic provides a remote control that can do everything except control the tape player. In fact, as is common with modern consumer electronics, you'll need the remote to access all of the functions.If you want to play your music loudly, this may be the boom box for you. The RX-D55 has a claimed 2x10 watt RMS power output rating and I'd say it's pretty honest. (The integrated circuit amplifier that's used could output more power than Panasonic's design will allow.)All of this said, battery life is abysmal. You'll need four AA batteries to keep the clock and station memories intact if you care to do so, and eight C cell batteries for everything else. Unlike the competing Sony CFD-S70 which seems to run almost forever from batteries, the RX-D55 does *not*. Worst case, it may only last for a couple of hours with multiple functions running. (The figures given in the manual appear to be swapped around.) The news is a little better for the AA batteries that keep the memory going. These are said to last about a year in normal use. If you leave the unit plugged in, they will last longer.Fit and finish is a bit rough on parts of the cabinet. If anything, it looks as though the plastic molds were getting to be quite worn when these were made.To try and summarize what has become a very long review: if you really want a boom box that plays loudly, has a remote control, clock, and full auto stop cassette transport...this is it. If you don't need all of that, are looking to spend less money, think you want a factory warranty, or it happens to be important that the cassette player run at the correct speed, I'd look toward the Sony CFD-S70.

My unit does not play any cassettes at proper full speed. I would estimate it typically plays them about 5% too slow. On some cassettes, as the tape plays through one side and it nears the end of that side, it drastically slows down. The motor/drive mechanism is junk.When I connect my phone via a standard audio cable to the "music port", the unit makes very loud popping and crackling sounds. Something is clearly wrong with the jack.The FM reception is very poor. I have not tried the CD player yet.Keep in mind when you buy this unit: there is no warranty. There is no mention of any warranty in the user manual. There is no phone number to call for customer service. There is no "help chat". Good luck finding help on the Panasonic website.If you think that buying a Panasonic product is a good idea because they have "been around forever" and are a well-established brand, you are wrong. It is not like buying a product from Sony, Apple, Yamaha, Makita, Ryobi etc.. You are on your own.There are very few options on the market these days for cassette players, and this seemed like a good combination of features and price. Certainly the sound is good from the speakers and the unit looks nice, but those are about the only good things about it. This was a waste of money, and I have not found a "plan B".If you happen to luck out and get a unit that works 100% properly out of the box, good for you, but I am skeptical that it still will in a year or two.