Panasonic SC - DM502E - W Premium Stereo System With DAB+ and Bluetooth Connection, White

This is the third of these all-in-one's I've tried, having previously tried and returned both the Panasonic SC-DM202EG-K and Pure Classic C-D6. I returned these as the sound was poor on the former and bluetooth connection temperamental on the latter. I'd say this is the pick of the bunch, which given the higher cost it should be, but it's still not ideal. On all three, the radio reception was poor (the Pure was best, but was nowhere near as good as my old Phillips DAB radio was before it conked). I even bought a telescopic ariel, but that fared even worse than the wire ariel Panasonic provided. We do live at the bottom of a valley, and reception is poor at the best of times, so other people may fare better. I'm not bothered: I already have good FM on my main hi fi and can stream internet radio to this with Bluetooth. Of the three, this has the best sound. It's crystal clear, especially from CD or using a hi res Walkman via Bluetooth. The bass isn't great, though the clarity and vibrance does compensate you for this. You can improve it with the settings, but it's still not going to shake the room! If you're buying this as your main hi fi and listen to lots of bass heavy music, you may well be better looking elsewhere (none of these three had amazing bass); the Majority Quadriga has a built in subwoofer, though I've not tested it (I'm not keen on the disc insertion method on that). The Bluetooth works very well and I liked that you can change the settings for it (being able to switch between a high quality priority/high connectivity priority AND being able to make it louder, at the possible cost of quality). I've had no connectivity issues so far and it pairs with other devices very quickly, then re-connects almost instantly. I've not been able to test the USB function as it fails to recognize either of the flash drives I have. I've tried formatting them correctly, to Fat32 (quick format turned off) and it still says "Unsupported" when I try to connect one of them. I'll have to try getting another one. That said, though, with it being able to read MP3 discs, that isn't so much of a problem. I did manage to get them working with the Pure model, but that had awful navigation of USB sticks. I'll update this review when I manage to get a USB working. The remote is simple and effective, I actually like how easy it is to use. It also feels of better quality and more durable quality than the one provided with either of the other models. There aren't any instructions, other than the silly quick start guide. I managed to download the PDF of the full instructions and printed it out (it only needs 10 pages, if you print on both sides). One annoying thing... the insides are supposed to be fancy and wooden, to improve the acoustics, so why make the outer case a stark, and IMO somewhat dated-looking, metal? I mean, it looks nice enough, but it would have looked so much nicer in a nice wooden case... I'd say if an all in one is what you want, and want something simple that has good vibrant and clear sound, this is probably the best to get. I'm happy with it, streaming radio, music and podcasts from my laptop at my desk. It's also good for lying in bed and listening to a CD or my Walkman on. I find it very very relaxing! UPDATE: I managed to get the DAB working flawlessly (all stations we get) by extending the in-box ariel with some decent coaxial cable and sticking it at the top of the wall closest to our nearest transmitter. FM also works fairly well, with local stations being very clear. I did read one person complaining that the presets required going into menus to get to them, but they don't. That is to set it up, once you've set them up you simply go up/down through the presets. (20 for DAB and 30 for FM.) I also got the USB working using some Sandisk Cruzer Blade USB 2.0 32GB sticks (which worked with it out of the box). Navigation is somewhat cumbersome, you have to move up/down through the albums on each drive one at a time. It shows them in folder order, though, so does group artists together. There is also the option (in the Play Mode setting, accessed with the Play Menu) to shuffle the current album or shuffle the entire stick, which is userful as a sort of juke box of your favorite albums. Anyway, I'm still very glad I got it. It's got by far the best sound of the three I tested, is very quick to learn and natural to operate once you're used to it. Still would have preferred a wooden outer case, but I'm considering getting some wood effect vinyl wrap for it... NOTE: Make sure you buy a spare remote (N2QAYB001215) or a cheap one on Amazon as you can't work the system without one.

I've had a Ruark R4 for over 10 years. It's been brilliant but recently the cd drive stopped working. When I first bought it in 2008 I had problems with the cd and after contacting the company about it they brought me a new one. So this one has now failed and I needed to replace it. Looking online the new R4 is around £700 which I'm not prepared to shell out in these uncertain times when any of us could lose our jobs. So I started looking around for a similar system to replace it. After a lot of searching the Panasonic SC DM502 came up but strangely there were no reviews of it and no one seemed to sell it. It launched this year in February just as the Coronavirus pandemic was beginning. Maybe everything shut down before it went into shops. Anyway it was available here on Amazon and after reading the specifications on the Panasonic website I decided to give it a go. It's only just over £200 so thought worth a try and if I didn't like it I could send it back. I'm pleased to say it's a lovely piece of kit. A little smaller than the Ruark it has more capabilities as you can use Bluetooth to stream from your phone, a cd player, DAB radio and alternate inputs for other devices. There are various sound presets which you can choose depending on your preference and you can also alter the bass and treble. The sound is very good and natural as it has a wooden case. It's not something you would buy if you want to host banging raves in your home but for everyday use the sound is very clear and crisp and has a good bass end as well. If you want a pleasant room filling sound then I definitely recommend the SC DM502, it's good value for money. The only reason I haven't given it five stars is because the supplied aerial is one of those wiry things you're supposed to tape to the wall. There's no way I'm taping an aerial to my paintwork. So I took the steel retractable aerial off my old Ruark and attached it to the connection on the back. It's the same screw-on connection and it works perfectly. I don't see why Panasonic couldn't have included a proper aerial, it would have cost next to nothing. Apart from this gripe I'm very happy with it, it's a good and cheaper replacement for the Ruark for the time being...

I was originally going to buy a Bose radio, but for the price I was surprised to find it didn’t include DAB. That was a deal‑breaker for me, so I went for the Panasonic SC‑DM502‑K instead and I’m glad I did. The sound quality is lovely and rich, much better than I expected for the size of the unit. It’s easy to use, looks smart, and having proper DAB/DAB+ built in makes a huge difference. One thing I would recommend is buying the TUOLNK FM aerial (or something similar) here on Amazon. It works far better than the basic wire aerial that comes in the box and gives a noticeably stronger signal. They’re inexpensive and definitely worth it if you want the best reception. Overall, a great little system and a much better choice if you want DAB without paying Bose prices.

Working from home and from the back bedroom, I have no access to my main sound system located in the lounge (unless cranking it up, of course, but one does have to consider neighbours even though we are not adjoined :) ) and having a huge collection of CD's that were lying around idle, I decided upon buying a small HiFi system. I did a lot of research and looked very closely at Bose, but while very good, could not really justify the kind of expense which may only be a temporary fix if the vaccine works and we all suddenly find ourselves working out of offices once more. My attention therefore went to a cheaper end of the market until I settled upon the Panasonic SC-DM502 which comes replete with Bluetooth, CD player, DAB+ and FM radio all of which provides me with more than sufficient access to my music and more general music and news. Well built (although there are one or two cosmetic flaws - but that is just me being super critical as they do not detract)) the system is very simple to set up and operate and while the sound is not on the same quality level as Bose, or indeed, my main sound system, for the money it really is very good and more than capable of handling my heavier rock and blues albums but with sufficient dynamism to be able to handle my classical music too. Clarity is very good with no distortion throughout the volume range (and it does have quite a kick to it) and the bass boost is quite advantageous too. Scanning and tuning in the DAB and FM stations is simple too although I did spend the additional money to buy a proper telescopic aerial as I didn't want wires trailing everywhere. And, while I haven't yet sat down to see how many stations it does actually pick up (as I have put my favourites onto the fast select buttons so am more that happy to just flit between just those 5 selections for now) but will get around to seeing how many stations it does cover as it does seem to be a lot! Downsides? Well firstly I have to bear in mind the cost of this unit as that will always determine the positives and the negatives - but just two things annoy: 1) The auto shut down if the unit is left for 20 minutes without being used in the CD mode, the unit shuts down completely and consequently you have to wait while it says HELLO before you can activate it once more - trivial, but annoying nonetheless 2) No headphone socket (although as it is Bluetooth, a set of Bluetooth headphones can be used but I prefer a wired set for absolute HiFi clarity) Minor gripes, but for the money, this really is a little Powerhouse and worthy of consideration by anyone looking for a decent sounding secondary CD player and radio without breaking the bank

Very simple to set up even if you’re only slightly tech savvy: plug in, insert CD and press play! You can adjust the bass and treble too to contour your sound to your room/preferences. It’s not as rich sounding as my Bose Wave (which broke down within 3 years) but I’ll get used to the midrange hump in the EQ. There’s slight distortion at higher bass values when playing electronic music (Tangerine Dream/Johannes Schmoelling), heavy metal similarly but of course this can easily be turned down via the remote control. Classic rock is fine which tends to be bass light and my J S Bach sounds lovely (Trevor Pinnock). I haven’t bothered with the DAB radio- after all fewer people listen to linear radio these days. Blue Tooth coupling is simple and effective. For the price, it’s good value…especially if it last more than 3 years!

It looks good, has a bass and trble, great preset EQ for cinema, you can Bluetooth you're TV to it. Its size means its not as good as a larger 1980 Hitachi hi-fi, its ok for a teenagers bedroom, or a kitchen radio. Its even ok for your music. But be under no illusion, its bass range is small and the speakers dont give out the same range and sound as a music system. It's mediocre but just good enough to play music.....For its size though its great and I won't be returning it. Best is it does not lose Bluetooth connctivity so; come in, sit down and you can stream direct from the remote without having to get up and fiddle with the unit. On second thought after playing different songs Ive not listened to before, its pretty damn awesome, esp for its size and price. Forget the teenagers bedroom comment!

Bought for my bedroom. A bit of overkill but I do love the warm sound of this unit even on low volume. The DAB aerial is insufficient so buy a proper one. The remote control is very confusing and has multiple buttons having multiple uses and no indication of what on the control itself. It really is a case of trial and error. The display does not work very well either. It is set back from the front screen and as such can only be read from a head on angle. It is difficult to read and not very well illuminated. It is a bit rubbish for such a good radio. The CD player is nice to have and works well. The DAB pre-programmed stations cannot be accessed directly via the remote. You can only scan up and down. If you can do this, I haven't worked out yet. And two last criticisms before I go.... Would it really have been so difficult to have an alarm on this unit??? DAB radios tend to have them. And the clock is not illuminated when the system is not on! In summary: this is a great system with a tremendous sound and look. It is let down by the simple things. Clock. Display. Alarm. Remote. It shouldn't be so difficult to operate a radio.

I originally bought a Majority Oakington but had to return it as it was faulty. This Panasonic was twice the price but is far and away better in every respect. The sound is not as rich and expansive as a Bose Wave, but is still very good when listened to at low and mid volume. It's perfectly adequate for a typical living room or breakfast/kitchen area. The Bluetooth link is easy to set up and "always on" when my phone is in range...perfect for Spotify. The DAB radio works well, and there are 20 pre-sets. The remote is small, which I like, but it's not very intuitive, so takes a bit of getting used to. A minor gripe is that storing the DAB stations requires quite a bit of button pressing on the remote, and it's not as simple as some other devices. But it only has to be done once and then it's ready to enjoy. All in all, very pleased.