From time to time we like to review lower end kit around here (actually we like to try to review everything we can beg, borrow or steal eventually)  but just because something is in a budget price range doesn’t mean it should be given an easy time. So when I got my hands on a Panasonic sc-hc20p-k to review I did my best to get into my “nasty picky reviewer” mindset. Luckily the SC-HC20P-K is such a fine bit of budget kit I didn’t have much call to flex those particular muscles.

The SC-HC20P-K is fairly pedestrian in appearance, going for a demure simple grey and black look with a slight nod to Bang & Olufsen styling, the CD player and iPod dock both being hidden away on initial observation. The SC-HC20P-K is by no means ugly though and the build quality is reasonable for a unit of this price though I wouldn’t recommend dropping it or knocking it off a shelf as it doesnt look built to withstand that level of stress. One odd thin we did notice is that for such a compact unit the SC-HC20P-Ks remote is extremely large and to be honest not exactly easy to use either.

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The main feature a lot of buyers for this unit will be looking at will be the universal iPod/iPhone dock, this pops out form its front hiding place with ease and will accept any current apple iPod or iPhone with ease. I found that the 3rd gen iPhone we used to test slid in the dock easily and felt like it was being held secure and snugly. The CD player is a fairly standard pop out model and was easy to use and felt reliable enough. The radio is a fairly basic autotuning AM/FM model without much in the way of bells or whistles other than the decent amount of preset storage.

Now its time to get down to the nitty gritty how does the Panasonic SC-HC20P-K sound? Well to be honest I was fairly pleasantly surprised, ok so it is only specified to 10 watts @ 6 ohms so you wont be banging out sounds at a loud volume on this unit but if you intend to use the SC-HC20P-K in a kitchen, small office or similar it shoudl give plent of bang for the buck. The bass end is quite smoothe and gives a decent reproduction of older recordings (Thelonious Monks Underground) at lower volume levels but some more modern compressed and bass heavy tracks (EG: James Blakes – Limit To Your Love) were evidently over stressing the SC-HC20P-Ks speakers at anything near top volume. The top end also became raspy in the top 1/4 of the volume dial, the 4 preset EQ didn’t really help mitigate this in any way which is a shame, though EQing off the top end helped a little. Being honest the Panasonic SC-HC20P-K performed as well as I’d expect for a unit of this price and with the stated THD of 10% which is quite high to my mind I’m not really surprised about the high volume sonic results.

So should you buy this unit? Well if what you are after is a way to amplify your iPod/iPhone in smaller rooms and perhaps listen to some FM radio then it gives decent enough results for the non audiophile home user. If you are used to higher end equipment in other rooms you may well find the shortcomings of the Panasonic SC-HC20P-K start to annoy you a little after a while. But at the end of the day the unit is decent value for money and is a cheap and cheerful way to get those iPod sounds sounding out in your kitchen.

Manufacturers Specification

• Total output power: 10 watts (1kHz, 6ohms, 10% THD)
• iPod dock: Yes, Universal Dock for iPod/iPhone; playback and recharge
• Radio: AM/FM (15 AM presets, 30 FM presets) with auto tuning
• Disc playback formats: CD audio, CD-R/RW, MP3
• Programmable time: Yes (sleep, play
• Surround sound: Yes
• Preset EQ: 4 (Heavy, Clear, Soft, Vocal) + Flat
• Bass and treble controls: Yes
• Bluetooth: No
• Remote control: Yes (IR wireless)
• Wall mountable: No
• Speakers: Full range, bass-reflex; 3-1/8-inch (bamboo paper cone speaker)
• Dimensions: 8-7/16 x 15-1/8 x 4-13/32 inches (HxWxD)
• Weight: 4.6 pounds
• RRP: $99.95 (Check Amazon for Current Pricing)

At HiFi Reviews we try to not only cover the top of the range and “hot topic” products that various manufacturers come out with month in month out but also try to have some focus on the normal home user aimed products. The Denon DM38S Micro AM/FM CD System is one example of such a product, squarely amide at the casual music fan it is what I would describe as a “top end compact” system. While generally products in the small boombox category tend to sacrifice both sonic & build quality in order to make a cheaper consumer level product the Denon DM38S makes very few of these such sacrifices.

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Ones first impressions of this unit is that is actually nicely compact but well designed and attractive. A simple and to the point front plate with all the usual controls and buttons with the added bonus of a single USB port to enable you to plug your iPod cable directly into the unit. The rear plate includes twin speaker outs (Plus subwooofer) AM/FM antenna in 2 sets of aux ins (1 with an associated dock control) and a single set of aux outs. All in all as much as can be expected on a unit this small and at this price point.

The stereo speakers supplied sport a single tweeter & woofer they are built very solidly and give the impression that can handle a bit of a bashing. The Denon DM38S can handle a reasonable level of power (60 watts @ 6 Ohms) and as such can provide very adequate sound levels in small to medium sized rooms. With this unit I found that there can be from time to time a minor amount of audible hiss in the circuits, but turning on Pure Direct sound mode removed this and produced an output with no discernible distortion or loss of sound quality. All in all I found the bass end to be quite controlled but still powerful and without any sense of boominess except at very high volume levels. The top end is nicely produced giving a well balanced overall tone to the unit, in all honesty the system is not going to win a shootout against a properly specified separates system but it can definitely stand up to anything in its class when it comes to sonic fidelity.

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The AM/FM reception on the Denon DM38S was solid even without a proper Ariel (of course this may vary dependent on the area you are in), the iPod docking was easy to set up and worked well with the DM38Ss remote allowing you to select tracks, fast forward and stop, etc all with minimal learning curve. One minor niggle was the fact that the iPod dock will not power your player when the Denon DM38S is turned off, this is a shame as it means you cant jut leave your iPod connected to the unit charging when it is turned off this is a shame and a bit of a silly oversight from Denon. That being said the Denon DM38S is actually a great bang for the buck halfway house between a “budget boombox” and a fully fledged separates system, if you are in the market for a radio/CD player with iPod compatibility this well worth taking a look at.

Manufacturers Description

Combining legendary Denon design concepts along with a European-engineered speaker system, the DM38S micro component music system is the ideal choice for listeners who demand superb musical performance and leading edge connectivity. This versatile compact music system is perfect for a bedroom, home office, business office or college dorm. The DM38S system is “Made for iPod” and “Works with iPhone” featuring a USB input for direct digital connection of these devices. The front panel features a deluxe two line dot matrix fluorescent display, which provides clear indications of source and function status. The DM38S is can be used with optional ASD-11R, 51N and 51W iPod docks providing additional features. The systems built-in CD player features precision Burr-Brown audiophile D/A converters, and features CD-R and CD-RW disc playback compatibility, along with MP3 and WMA playback capability. The AM/FM tuner features 40 user presets for radio listening convenience. The unit is equipped with a convenient timer function, which can be easily set up for Once, Daily, and Sleep modes. The included remote control unit features ergonomically designed buttons, with logical groupings for easy use. The powerful 30-watt/channel amplifier section is backed by a robust power supply that features dual power transformers and features Denon’s simple and straight circuit design philosophy. A mono subwoofer pre-out jack is included. The powerful 5 inch woofer features Denon’s Double Layer convex cone technology, which provides deep bass and clear mid-range free of coloration caused by cone flex distortion, and also features air venting for optimum cooling during extended passages of high volume. The 1 inch soft dome tweeter features extended response to 40 kHz, along with wide dispersion and high power handling thanks to the advanced coil and dome air venting system. The DM38S is a compact system packed with performance, features and value.

• 30-Watt/channel power amp with minimalist high fidelity circuit design
• CD-R, CDR-W compatible, MP3 and WMA track playback capability
• iPod and iPhone direct connectivity via USB input
• Solidly built 120 mm D.D.L double-layered cone woofers and 25 mm soft dome tweeters.
• RRP: $399 (Check Current Pricing on Amazon)