Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
SUCKS

Summary:
i carried it in the side pocket of a big old black coat and listened to in non-stop for a long freaking time and it was perfect stuff, but then towards the end (after i'd already dropped it many many times, and cracked off the lid) it started skipping a lot. I'm replacing it with one of the same

Strengths:
i carried it in the side pocket of a big old black coat and listened to in non-stop for a long freaking time and it was perfect stuff

Weaknesses:
towards the end (after i'd already dropped it many many times, and cracked off the lid) it started skipping a lot. I'm replacing it with one of the same

Similar Products Used:
hey hey don't you love Skankin' Pickle? they rock man!

Summary:
Really good portable cd player. Plays all of my CD-Rs: Kodak Gold, Imation Silver (Green), Verbatim Silver (Azo - Dark blue), Nashua, Precision, and Maxell. ASM 3.0 (anti-shock memory) does not work on any CD-Rs. Too bad. Included headphones are mediocre. Get a better pair such as Grado SR-60 (60$) or Sennheiser HD525 (60$) or Koss Porta Pro (40$). Obviously it is hard to expect good headphones with cd player that costs 60$ because good headphones alone cost around 60$. I use Sennheiser HD525, which I bought at ubid.com for 60 with SH. CD-player can play quiet loud even on Sennheisers (Philips did not). These headphones can put to shame a lot of speakers for 300-400$. Really dynamic with great bass extension. Try it. You will not regret it. Don't get 20$ Sony headphones. Koss makes better headphones than Sony even though their specs don't look so impressive. Don't trust too much specs. Trust your ears. A lot of companies fool customers with specs. Car kit proved to be very useful because we can listen to CDs in our mini-van on cassette player with no sound degradation. No buzz in any channels. Sound is pretty warm and natural. Soundstage is wider on Sennheiser headphones. Sound is also airy, open on Sennheisers. If you buy closed design headphones, sound will not be so open, airy. Get open design headphones (most of all best ones). S-XBS sounds really nice - gives quiet a lot of bass (specially on Sennheisers, they just love bass, put more explosions, earth shaking sound and you head will shake - these headphones have really powerful magnets - landmark of great headphones - same with speakers). Sound with S-XBS is less airy, open and less crisp. CD-player lags in bass though. I see no benefit of train mode. Go for it. These cd player paired with great headphones will not disappoint. Probably better purchase is Panasonic SL-SX272C with remote (specially in the car).

Price Paid:  $60.00 from buy.com

Summary:
Prior to buying this unit (in its 3600 version( I had pretty much given up on portable CD players because all my previous units were too big to carry and they skipped a lot. When I wanted to carry music with me, I recorded it to minidisc and used my minidisc player.

Then I saw that that buy.com was selling the 3600 version (the only difference from the 360 is that the 3600 includes a belted carry pouch) for just $60 including shipping and on the strength of the reviews posted here I decided to try one more time.

I am very happy with this player and now when I want to hear a cd from my collection I bring my 3600 with me instead of a minidisc recording. At this price, I would give more than 5 stars for value if I could.

One of the best features of this player that hasn't received much attention here is its output level. Its headphone output at full output drives a set of Sennheiser HD570 headphones and drives earbuds (or Grado SR60s) to uncomfortable levels. The output level is higher than from the more expensive Panasonic 850/860/870 jogger series.

For an even better sound, I run the line out jack through a headbanger headphone amp and drive a set of Sennheiser HD580 headphones. The carry pouch (3600 version only) even has a little elastic pocket into which the headbanger will fit.

Otherwise, there's not much to add on the technical/audio side to Jessica Severin's review here and for the 3600. I agree with her about the limited soundstage; the Panasonic 850/860/870 series has a better soundstage, but this isn't so obvious with headphones as it is through speakers.

I bought a second Panasonic 3600 at ubid.com for just about $45 including shipping. Since the pouch that comes with the 3600 sells for $25 by itself, I figured that buying the second unit was equivalent to $20 for an extended warranty.

Strengths:
sound, output level, anti-skip feature, battery life, carry pouch (with 3600 version)

Weaknesses:
limited soundstage, need to buy replacement headphones

Similar Products Used:
Sony and Onkyo (very early model) portable cd players

Summary:
I've used this panasonic cd player for a while now, and i take it everywehre i go. The design is very durable and you can tell just by looking at it that if drop it it will have no problems working again. The headphones, however, are a bit uncomfortable. I use sony in ear style headphones, and those work find and the quality is not sacrificed. I suggest buying this product, or if you are willing to go a little more high-tech, go for a minidisc player. I own a Sony MZ-R55, and it works great i love both products.

Strengths:
Long lasting battery, durable design

Weaknesses:
Headphones are uncomfortable at times

Similar Products Used:
none