Editorial Review:

Product Description:
Panasonic's SC-PM71SD Micro Audio System gives you superior digital music in multiple formats. This small audio system accepts SD Cards for record and play -- load up the digital music you play on your PDA or MP3 player and enjoy. You can also record directly from CD to the SD card, for easier file transfers. Apart from that important feature, this compact sound system performs like those that are 4-times its size. Panasonic's hybrid bi-amp drives independent speakers for low and high frequencies for more precise sound integrity. Using the optimum drive system for each speaker assures reproduction of the high frequencies over an extended range, which results in wide-range audio reproduction. You also get an exceptionally powerful sound at 40 watts per channel. At 4 channels, that's 160 watts total power. And since it's a low-noise amp, you can enjoy clear reproduction of even quiet sounds. There's even a built-in AM/FM digitally tuned radio. If your mobile phone, PDA, notebook or other device has an SD card reader and is capable of having a speaker or headphone, you can listen to music you've recorded directly to an SD card. At home, you'll just love listening to this system. Park yourself in a comfortable chair and stay there thanks to the included full function remote control. The large, bright display makes it easy to see disc and track info from a distance. Sit back and listen. MP3, CD-R/RW, WMA and HighMAT playback with re-master function for excellent sound covering the recording's full dynamic range SD Audio playback Hybrid Bi-Amp System H.BASS Sound - Harmonized Bass sound enhancement selectable MASH 1-bit Digital Analog Conversion System Programmable timer for recording, play, and sleep Wood Grain Speakers with detachable grilles

Amazon.com Review:
With the ability to record audio straight from a wide range of digital and analog sources onto an SD card, and with a highly capable portable SD audio player and SD card thrown in for good measure, there's no doubt that the Panasonic SC-PM71SD SD Micro System is working hard to impress. If you're on a budget and are looking for a bookshelf unit with a full range of features, and you're also ready to send your portable CD player out to pasture, this system could be exactly what you're looking for.

SD Recording Capability
One feature that sets this system apart from all others is its SD recording capabilities. Believing that the demand for products with SD cards will only continue to rise, Panasonic loaded this micro-system with the ability to record directly from cassettes, CDs, the radio -- or even external sources such as television -- onto an SD card for playback on SD-compatible devices. The system lets you rip CD tracks directly onto the SD card without the need for a computer, and it even gives you the option of creating play lists directly through the system's remote control. From there it's just a matter of sliding your SD card into your device, into the unit's built-in SD card reader, or into the included portable SD audio player, and you'll be on your way to enjoying hours of sound files. (The SC-PM71SD's included portable SD audio player and gigabyte SD card offer up to 2000 minutes of recording capacity.)

If you're like many of us who have shoe boxes of cassette tapes we can't bear to toss, then the SC-PM71SD will be a godsend. Simply drop a cassette into the top loader, insert your SD card, start recording, and voila -- you've got yourself digital files that you can upload to your PC (with the help of included software) or directly onto your portable player.

In our tests, there was no discernible sound degradation in our recording. CDs record up to 4x speed, while cassettes record in real-time. The quality of cassette-to-SD recordings, which was entirely dependant on the quality of the source tape, happily surprised us. Although each side of cassettes record as a single track, the SC-PM71SD allows you to place tags at five-minute increments so you can conveniently fast forward in your listening.

But there are some downsides. The unit does not come with ID3 tagging and only records in AAC format. So after you've ripped your music to the SD card, you've got to manually plug in track information either on your PC (sorry, no Macs), or with the included remote. Either way, you're looking at spending many more hours creating the track information than you did recording the actual music. This becomes a major bummer when it's time to create play lists and song sequences. And if you want to play your SD Card on anything other than the included SD audio player, you'll need to make sure it's AAC compatible.

Despite those drawbacks, after easily loading a dozen CDs onto the SD card (you can record up to five CDs at a time), we spent many happy hours listening to the tracks on the unit's portable SD audio player. Our only complaint was that in the outside light, the display on the portable player was virtually impossible to read, but without the ID3 tagging, we figured we weren't missing much anyway.

The Rest of the Story
The SC-PM71SD also sports a five-disc changer with the full-range of playback features, along with the ability to change out a CD while another disc is playing. The remote's intuitive functions are easy to use, and the LED display lays out all the information you need, including the time, clearly and concisely. If you want to fall asleep to the music, you can dim the display and set the sleep timer up to two hours, in increments of 30 minutes. The AM/FM tuner offers excellent reception and gives you up to 15 presets each in each band.

It took us all of five minutes to set up the SC-PM71SD. Clearly coded speaker wires made the job easy. If you're looking for high-performance sound, however, the SC-PM71SD will disappoint. The 2 x 80 watt system's three-way speakers were somewhat underwhelming. Trebles can quickly sound tinny at higher volumes, and the 'H. Bass' function doesn't have much discernible impact on the deeper tones. The unit's 'Surround Sound' feature, however, effectively adds depth to the sound and will likely become your default setting. In short, although the Panasonic SC-PM71SD is a few tweaks away from being a truly great product, it's still got plenty going for it.

Pros:

• Offers high-quality, direct recording of cassette, CD, and radio to an SD card
• Full range of micro-system features for budget-conscious consumers
• Includes an excellent SD audio player and SD card with one gigabyte capacity

Cons:

• Does not support ID3 tagging
• Records only in AAC format
• System's overall sound performance is mediocre

Amazon.com Product Description:
With the ability to record audio straight from a wide range of digital and analog sources onto an SD card, and with a highly capable portable SD audio player and SD card thrown in for good measure, there's no doubt that the Panasonic SC-PM71SD SD Micro System is working hard to impress. If you're on a budget and are looking for a bookshelf unit with a full range of features, and you're also ready to send your portable CD player out to pasture, this system could be exactly what you're looking for.

The AVR-786S receiver features intuitive controls and comes equipped with a universal remote control. Detailed view or view larger.

SD Recording Capability
One feature that sets this system apart from all others is its SD recording capabilities. Believing that the demand for products with SD cards will only continue to rise, Panasonic loaded this micro-system with the ability to record directly from cassettes, CDs, the radio -- or even external sources such as television -- onto an SD card for playback on SD-compatible devices. The system lets you rip CD tracks directly onto the SD card without the need for a computer, and it even gives you the option of creating play lists directly through the system's remote control. From there it's just a matter of sliding your SD card into your device, into the unit's built-in SD card reader, or into the included portable SD audio player, and you'll be on your way to enjoying hours of sound files. (The SC-PM71SD's included portable SD audio player and gigabyte SD card offer up to 2000 minutes of recording capacity.)

If you're like many of us who have shoe boxes of cassette tapes we can't bear to toss, then the SC-PM71SD will be a godsend. Simply drop a cassette into the top loader, insert your SD card, start recording, and voila -- you've got yourself digital files that you can upload to your PC (with the help of included software) or directly onto your portable player.

In our tests, there was no discernible sound degradation in our recording. CDs record up to 4x speed, while cassettes record in real-time. The quality of cassette-to-SD recordings, which was entirely dependant on the quality of the source tape, happily surprised us. Although each side of cassettes record as a single track, the SC-PM71SD allows you to place tags at five-minute increments so you can conveniently fast forward in your listening.

Load dozens of CDs onto the included 1 GB SD card.

Spend hours listening to your favorite tunes on the portable SD audio player. View larger.

But there are some downsides. The unit does not come with ID3 tagging and only records in AAC format. So after you've ripped your music to the SD card, you've got to manually plug in track information either on your PC (sorry, no Macs), or with the included remote. Either way, you're looking at spending many more hours creating the track information than you did recording the actual music. This becomes a major bummer when it's time to create play lists and song sequences. And if you want to play your SD Card on anything other than the included SD audio player, you'll need to make sure it's AAC compatible.

Despite those drawbacks, after easily loading a dozen CDs onto the SD card (you can record up to five CDs at a time), we spent many happy hours listening to the tracks on the unit's portable SD audio player. Our only complaint was that in the outside light, the display on the portable player was virtually impossible to read, but without the ID3 tagging, we figured we weren't missing much anyway.

The Rest of the Story
The SC-PM71SD also sports a five-disc changer with the full-range of playback features, along with the ability to change out a CD while another disc is playing. The remote's intuitive functions are easy to use, and the LED display lays out all the information you need, including the time, clearly and concisely. If you want to fall asleep to the music, you can dim the display and set the sleep timer up to two hours, in increments of 30 minutes. The AM/FM tuner offers excellent reception and gives you up to 15 presets each in each band.

It took us all of five minutes to set up the SC-PM71SD. Clearly coded speaker wires made the job easy. If you're looking for high-performance sound, however, the SC-PM71SD will disappoint. The 2 x 80 watt system's three-way speakers were somewhat underwhelming. Trebles can quickly sound tinny at higher volumes, and the 'H. Bass' function doesn't have much discernible impact on the deeper tones. The unit's 'Surround Sound' feature, however, effectively adds depth to the sound and will likely become your default setting. In short, although the Panasonic SC-PM71SD is a few tweaks away from being a truly great product, it's still got plenty going for it.

Pros

• Offers high-quality, direct recording of cassette, CD, and radio to an SD card
• Full range of micro-system features for budget-conscious consumers
• Includes an excellent SD audio player and SD card with one gigabyte capacity

Cons

• Does not support ID3 tagging
• Records only in AAC format
• System's overall sound performance is mediocre

Accessories:
     see more

Accessories:

• Panasonic 256MB SD Memory Card with up to 10MB/s (up to 66x) writing speed
• Kingston 512 MB Secure Digital Card (SD/512) (Retail Package)
• Panasonic 128 MB Secure Digital Memory Card
• Kingston 1 GB Secure Digital Flash Card ( SD/1GB ) (Retail Package)
• Monster Cable MP AV600 Power Protector

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Rating: - 1 of a kind
speakers-small and loud!. My headphones rock with this stereo. My son made his own sd mix the mp3 player is tiny a nd cute. it is smaller than I thought. GREEEEEEEEAAATT. and this 209 is the best price out there.

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Rating: - Great buy
We purchased this system for our disabled teen aged daughter. She loves to listen to music, but has trouble managing CDs. This system has great sound and with the ability to put all her music on a memory stick the CD management problem is solved. She can run everything by remote!
System arrived quickly and was in great condition. Great shopping experience and well worth the price.

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Rating: - Please check the item carefully
I just received the above unit from Etronics and the Audio player & SD card was not included, despite the fact that the Amazon page says that it's part of the sytem and the unit packaging said it was also.
Etronics are claiming that on THEIR site it's not listed so I'm not entitled to one.
This is very frustrating as I can't seem to find anybody to take responsibility.
I will probably return the item, even though it seems like a very good unit as I simply cannot abide false advertising (regardless of whether Amazon or Etronics are at fault).
Customer service at Amazon really sucks.

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Rating: - Crippled Recording: NOT for converting cassette recordings into AAC or MP3 format.
At first I was delighted with this unit's easy set-up, smart appearance, intelligent design and functionality, and high-quality sound. However, I soon discovered that it won't perform the main function for which I bought it: converting old personal analog cassette recordings into digital format(s).

To be fair, the unit does in fact "rip" (convert) a cassette recording and saves it as a digital file on the SD memory card. But the resulting recording is formatted as a proprietary ".SA1" type file, which apparently is .AAC plus a layer of Panasonic's DRM security. The main problem is that .SA1 files are NOT recognized by typical audio software (iTunes, MediaPlayer, etc.), and a web search for conversion utilities turned up nothing. Panasonic includes their own "Jukebox" software, which doesn't help. This set-up works well if all one wants is to transfer audio files to and from the included tiny, stylish and cool Panasonic SD-SV90 player (noting the lack of ID3 tagging). But the inability to move audio files from the SD card to one's PC, and convert them to .aac or .mp3 formats for easy playback on other media (i.e. CDs, iPods or MP3 players), etc.) is a fatal flaw for my needs.

For the extra cost of this unit, I expected a lot more flexibility with the SD recording function, but it seems like DRM (Digital Rights Management) limitations won out over user functionality. For the record, all my cassettes are personal recordings, not commercial music -- so there's no reason for DRM to limit my digital conversion. The other functions all seem very good, but sadly this system is going back for a refund, to be replaced by a less-costly stero without the crippled SD-recording function.

Great idea, poor execution.