... The Panasonic SCDV290 looks gorgeous, but remember, every rose has its thorns. Well! What kind of thorns can a Music System have????, I advice you to better read on if you don’t want to get pricked by some. If you don’t read then I’ll haunt your computer forever ( just kidding guys ).
♫♫♫SOUND ... Read review
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A review by jedi_kickass on Panasonic SCDV290 May 3rd, 2004
Author's product rating:
Picture Playback
Good
Sound Level
Excellent
Ease of Use
Simple
Range of Features
Above Average
Value for Money
Good
Advantages:
Powerful & Good Quality Sound at 360 Watts RMS, Perfect Picture, Attractive Aesthetics, Good Build, 5 CD changer
Disadvantages:
Costs £430, Honks at high volumes
Recommend to potential buyers:
yes
Full review
What did you have for lunch?, I had a SCDV290. Pretty tasty performance & a pretty cute store girl too, though I’d prefer the latter, I guess I am permitted to write only on the Machine. I was passing by the bus depot on my way to college when I spotted a new gal in the Electronics store on the way & a new machine too. The Panasonic SCDV290 looks gorgeous, but remember, every rose has its thorns. Well! What kind of thorns can a Music System have????, I advice you to better read on if you don’t want to get pricked by some. If you don’t read then I’ll haunt your computer forever ( just kidding guys ).
How many of you like good quality sound?, I suppose all of us do, as long as we are paying for it. And that’s exactly what the Panasonic SCDV290 delivers with all the aplomb of a Master at Work. Starting with the lower end frequencies, the bass was really well soaked in moisture & the bass density was quite thick too, like you could feel the bass in your teeth & in your bones, sometimes blocking your eardrums, it was really a Gut Wrenching, Bone Cracking experience for me & the best part is that even if you set the bass level at the lowest still the machine delivers formidable amount of bass, though this doesn't mean that the controls do not work its just that the Panasonic SCDV290 has ample amount of bass. The kind of default bass the Panasonic SCDV290 has is best suited for Movies though it can adapt well to other sound modes & backup as a hifi but still I’d prefer the Panasonic SCDV290 for movies rather than for a rock party with my chums. The mids were absolutely perfect hitting right on dot and evolving into a wide soundstage with lots of depth & height, again as I have told you earlier, this kind of an effect is essential for optimum movie entertainment. The imaging was mathematically perfect although you got to disable Surround for the imaging to be perfect. If you’d close your eyes then you’d know who is talking & where with respect to the movie & maybe you can even make a fair idea of the distance between the characters too, this signifies the level of technical accuracy engineers at Panasonic corp. have achieved. The highs were very sincere in complementing the Mids & the Bass by not overtaking them and also by not disappearing out of the scenario, they were very prominent but not troublesome at all. Being very Crisp & Ice Cold & as sharp as the edge of a laser cut scalpel blade, the Panasonic SCDV290 delivers a high quality piercing Chills which contribute their part to the soundstage at extreme efficiency. The Dolby Pro-Logic Decoder filters out all the unwanted audio interferences from the media & does provide a solid ground for a highly entertaining movie experience, but I found that it is better to disable the Dolby decoder while playing normal music ( This is just a question of individual taste ), the manual equalizers are the best as far as I am concerned as you can customize your sound according to your taste but if you don’t know how to use it then you better stick on to the manufacturer supplied audio presets. The acoustic image equalizer enables you to adjust the audio image according to the dimensions of the room & where you’d like the stereo axis to be placed & the position of the audio image in context with the placement in the room. Now if everything was so good then why the cruel 4/5 for ‘Sound Quality’ ?, ‘cos all these boon like audio services come at less than 70% the total sound volume, go higher & the whole magic of the Panasonic SCDV290 disappears into thin air. At volumes higher than 70% you are confronted by honks that occur due to resonance effect. Resonance sound is caused when two or more vibrating bodies vibrate in the same frequency & amplitude. Here the sound from the speaker & the speaker box material vibrate in the same frequency in response to certain sounds. Higher the volume, then higher the resonance as at high volumes the speaker might not be the only thing that resonates but even the household articles & windows & furniture tend to resonate at certain audio frequencies. Now, though this might seem discouraging, How many of you are actually going to use this machine at more than 70% of its volume?, Are you mad?, you could get your ears screwed up if you’d do so considering the fact that 70% of the volume would still be at around 400 Watts RMS which is powerful enough to kill your pet ( unless it is deaf ). If I were the buyer then I would buy it as this performance would be enough as I am not deaf enough to hear it at full volume. So I guess that justifies the ‘Cruel’ 4/5 I have accursed the Panasonic SCDV290 with!!!!
This is the most important part as the Panasonic SCDV290 is a DVD system and you surely wouldn’t want to end up with a screwed up movie experience. Starting with the individual colours Red Green & Blue – Red sometimes tends to overtake other colours in all fields except sharpness, you may get the feeling that red is too soft when compared to other colours though this may partially depend on the video also but with a VIBGYOR screenshot this is what I observed. But the positive part is that Red is delicious when displayed by the Panasonic SCDV290 whatever be the shortcomings, I love Red as long as it is not my Blood ( haha but True ), Apples, Strawberries, Roses, Hot Lava, Setting Sun, Pink cheeks, Beef & Blood too seem really striking with the Panasonic SCDV290. Green on the other hand is well balanced with just the required detail & an acceptable level of sharpness & contrast but well defined density & clarity. Greenery, Green Snakes, Green Dung & Aliens all look soft & timid but not lacking anything in any sense ( especially the dung – Really!! ). Blue looks very mature & sexy with a psychedelic texture & very clear picture density. Though I felt that blue seemed quite brighter than other colours, it should not matter much as Blue represents Spirituality ( But I hope it doesn’t give you the blues- haha ). Oceans, Rivers, Skies, Lakes & all things blue are quite pleasant on the overall context as displayed by the Panasonic SCDV290. White is – White as White can be, Though this can be glaring at times, if you reduced the overall brightness then this would be taken care of. But I observed one thing that when white is coupled with black directly then there is a grey sector bordering both the Black & White regions or objects, but this could have also been the problem with the Sony projection Television with which I had reviewed the Panasonic SCDV290. This problem is quite evident in almost all the televisions, so you need not worry after all the colour TV is just 55 years old and we have a long way to go in this field, though I have a feeling that in another 15 years all the sensory signals like Audio, Video & so on will be delivered directly to the human brain thus avoiding any loss in data reproduction. Well , coming back to the Panasonic SCDV290, its video is nothing to complain about because optical recognition capacities vary diversely across the entire human species & you may not like certain colours or are more sensitive to certain colours than other people hence you may find my opinion on video quality entirely different from your optical experience ( as long as Panasonic does not double-cross its customers ). But trust me, if you are not the unconditionally pessimistic kind then you will comfortably settle with the Panasonic SCDV290 in regard with its Video performance. So a balanced 4/5 would not be too soft on the Panasonic SCDV290.__________________________ ***BUILD QUALITY. [3/5]*** __________________________
Though not an Arnold Schwarzennegar or a Sylvester Stallone by any standard. The Panasonic SCDV290 material is quite sturdy for a DVD System. But don’t expect too much or you might end up with a post mortem of you Panasonic SCDV290. The Tap test returned a hollow response indicating that the material used for the speaker cabinets was quite soft but since the response was short-lived, this indicated that the material was not brittle in any way though it was soft, so this kind of a material would absorb the internal & external shock the Panasonic SCDV290 may be subjected to making it behave somewhat like a shock absorber. The main system has a metallic body, which is quite good at dissipating the internal heat thus maintaining the specified ambient temperature for optimal performance of the Panasonic SCDV290’s electronic circuitry. So don’t be disappointed with the 3/5 I have given the Panasonic SCDV290 because this is the average rating all the systems nowadays deserve. Even my build is just at 3/5 so I have started exercising ( not Exorcising )- Anybody willing to do weights with me??????
Robust looks & Powerful sound go well with the stunning price of about £430. The Panasonic SCDV290 surely is a punch packer for both ears & the eyes as well. The silver metallic finishes with a black background & an elegant white foreground complement metallic décors efficiently. Though I would not club the Panasonic SCDV290 with a wooden décor as such fusion techniques still don’t go well with the sane population at present, surely a time will come when our taste will just be a chowmein of everything. Coming back to the present, the Panasonic SCDV290 could also go well with a ceramic finish décor or a marble floor but would not go well with turquoise or any pearl finishes other than light green or red. The milky white bass reflexes of the Panasonic SCDV290 would very well complement pearl white Floor & walls, just the kind you see in some Hi-fi ads. The Panasonic SCDV290 has more of a techno or a macho look than a sleek pseudo sexy one ( ones like the high end Grundig or Bose offer ), so you could complement this feature with a Big TV if possible or a metallic finish AC placed opposite to the Panasonic SCDV290 ( or the other way ). Overall, the Panasonic SCDV290 is surely an eye catcher & an eye pleaser & no one visiting your would possibly miss it, that is unless of course you want to do so ( some people just want to disprove others ). If you think that a 5/5 is too much then write a review yourself & give it a lower rating ( Come on now don’t be serious, I was just kidding ).
______________________ ***EASE OF USE. [4/5]*** ______________________
Though not as easy as picking a candy from a baby ( though it is not easy nor legal nowadays ), using the Panasonic SCDV290 is not a Herculean task either, with ergonomically placed keys & a very comfortable Remote Control that is quite a breeze to use with your eyes closed. And the instruction manual is very clear when it comes to Directions & Function detail. The onboard control too are very comfortable to use as they are very well designed & placements well planned but all you must do is carefully & sincerely read the supplied instruction manual in order to operate the Panasonic SCDV290 hassle free. If you don’t read the manual then you are more likely to get lost ( unless you are me – just kidding ) trying to set the machine in accordance to your need. So a very carefully thought 4/5 is what the Panasonic SCDV290 gets…..
●Speaker Type: 3 Way 3 Speaker system with 17cm woofer, 12cm midrange and 6cm ring shaped dome tweeter
●Power Output 360W (RMS) Total Power Output
●MP3 CD Playback Yes
●CDR Compatible Playback Yes
●CDRW Compatible Playback Yes
●Speakers included Yes
●Optical Digital Out Yes
●Supplied accessories Remote Control
●OTHER INFO:
DVD Playback, Energy Saving: lower stand-by power consumption (approx. 0.5W), Detachable speaker grilles, G.U.I (Graphical User Interface) function Multi-languages function, Multi-subtitles function, Built-in Dolby digital decoder,
Coax plug to Coax socket gold plated OFC cable For high quality digital audio signal transmission with minimal signal degradation, use this excellent Coax plug to Coax socket lead from tech+Link. With 24k gold plated terminals and metal connectors for a solid repeatable connection, as well as oxygen free copper cable, this lead will enhance your audio experience.
Price (including VAT): £18.00
Company: tech+Link
Toslink to Toslink high purity optical fibre digital audio lead For high quality digital audio signal transmission with minimal signal degradation use this excellent Toslink to Toslink digital audio lead from tech+Link. With high purity optical fibre cable for low loss digital signal transmission and metal sprung Toslink connectors for a solid repeatable connection, this lead will certainly enhance your audio experience.
Price (including VAT): £24.00
Company: Zignig
Gold plated Scart to Phono lead Gold plated ends on this 3 Phono to Scart lead. Scart to 3 Phono (RCA) lead.
Price (including VAT): £10.00
Company: Zignig
Switched Scart plug with 3 RCA and S-VHS sockets Switched Scart plug (in/out) adaptor to 3 Phono (RCA) sockets and 1 S-VHS socket.
Price (including VAT): £10.00Note: The above details are absolutely necessary to those making a serious purchase decision about the Panasonic SCDV290.___________________________ ***INFO ON PANASONIC*** _____________________________
HISTORY:
The company was founded in 1918 in Osaka, Japan by Konosuke Matsushita and has grown from just 3 employees to over 290,000 people worldwide. Panasonic's standards are still firmly grounded in the philosophy of company founder Konosuke Matsushita. He began in 1918 by inventing a two-socket light bulb. Profound in its importance yet elegantly simple, Konosuke Matsushita's breakthrough led to what is now one of the world's largest electronics companies. As he built Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd., he never lost sight of the importance of putting the needs of his customers and the public first. Panasonic’s operations all over the world are guided by certain key objectives. One of the most important of these was established way back in 1929 by the founder, and is as relevant today as it was then:
"Recognizing our responsibilities as industrialists, we will devote ourselves to the progress and development of society and the well-being of people through our business activities, thereby enhancing the quality of life throughout the world."
Matsushita's Basic Management Objective, formulated in 1929 by the company's founder, Konosuke Matsushita.
WORLDWIDE OPERATIONS:
Panasonic has been operating in Europe since 1962, when it established its first sales office in Hamburg, Germany. The company's presence has increased throughout Europe following major investment programmes in manufacturing and sales operations. Panasonic now employs nearly 15,000 people in manufacturing, sales, R&D and support companies throughout Europe.
Currently around 60% of Panasonic products sold in Europe are also manufactured in the region including colour TVs and microwave ovens in Wales (Matsushita Electric UK Ltd), and Matsushita Television Central Europe in the Czech Republic. Our Vacuum Cleaners are made by Matsushita Espana SA. Our VCRs are made in Germany by Matsushita Audio Video GmbH in Germany, and our GSM mobile phones are made in the Czech Republic (Matsushita Communication in the Czech Republic). MEI also has established an R&D presence in Europe with development work carried out on-site at manufacturing facilities, as well as at Panasonic OWL in Scotland (Panasonic's DVD authoring and software/electronic documentation operation), Panasonic European Laboratories in Germany and Panasonic Mobile Communications Development Office in England.
Matsushita Electric Europe (HQ) Ltd is the parent company in Europe for Panasonic & Technics and is located in London.
CONSUMER PRODUCTS
Colour TVs, DVD players, Home Cinema Systems, VCRs, Camcorders, Digital Cameras, Home & Portable Audio Equipment, Car Entertainment Systems, Vacuum Cleaners and Microwave Ovens.
BUSINESS SYSTEMS
GSM Mobile Phones, Fax machines, Photocopiers, Laptop PCs, Monitors, Printers and PBX telephone systems.
INDUSTRIAL
Assembly Robots, Automated Chip Insertion Machinery, passive and electromechanical components, computer peripherals, automotive electronics, semiconductors, factory automation robots and equipment and batteries.
BROADCAST PRODUCTS
Panasonic Broadcast is a major player in the world of professional video technology, broadcast and industrial operations. Worldwide, thousands of television stations, networks and studios have chosen Panasonic broadcast equipment.
The popular Technics brand covers high-end consumer Hi-Fi & home theatre products. Technics DJ turntables in particular, have developed something of a cult following in Europe and around the world in recent years. Products sold under the Technics brand in Europe include:
TECHNICS CONSUMER PRODUCTS
DJ Turntables, Amplifiers, Receivers, DVD Players, CD Players, Mini-disc players, Tuners, Speakers and Mini & Micro Hi-Fi Systems.
I agree that £430 is a bit extravagant but given the powerful sound & the features I’d recommend this to those who want a very powerful music system from a reputed company with quality assurance & to those in a hurry to buy things without reading my other reviews. So if you want to buy a good music system then you’d better read my other reviews & then decide upon the one you want. Best Of Luck & be sure you make a Happy decision ☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺
Thank You very much for reading this review, Jedi_kickass ( ‘ _ ‘ )☺☺☺Please don’t forget to rate this review & comment on it. I desperately need you valuable opinion. Thanks once again – jedi_kickass ( ‘ _ ‘ )
Advantages: Excellent System, more features than you will ever need. Disadvantages: No microphone sockets.
...comes with a pair of Panasonic batteries ready to install. The buttons are a good size but perhaps grouped a little to close together. The layout is logical and most of the features of the system can be access via the remote controls.
The system can be as easy or as complicated to use as you make it. It can be a simple case of switching it on and inserting a DVD, to a complex matter to selecting seating positions and playing around the dubbing settings
... ...from the sold bass thumping to the high pitch tweeters. The surround is brilliant, on more than one occasion I have turned around expecting to see some one standing behind me. In terms of sound out put the main two speakers at the front can punt out 600watts between them. The surround speakers are rated at 75w each. The graphic equaliser has several pre-sets and a can be configured to a number of manual ones. However I would recommend using the presets. ...
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