Awsome Deck! I really think one of the options you can rate between 1-10 should be durability; because Panasonic decks are extremely durable! Only sound quality issues I have with this deck are during MP3 playback. At low volume levels a slight "hiss" can be heard but quickly goes away once the volume is above 6. Features are austounding; the EQ adds tremendous flexiblity to this deck and really puts it into a higher class. Navigating through MP3's couldnt be easier and damn near idiot proof! If you plan on running the 4 channel output to your speakers you will appreciate the built in High Pass and Low pass cross overs. Then again these crossovers also do wonders for external amplifiers as well. Sometimes out performing the cross overs on good amplifiers. The display is in a class of its own; hands down one of the best looking I have ever seen/used. I ripped a scene from the Matrix and customized my deck with it (8 min to load it to the deck) and it looks AMAZING! With so few buttons on this deck; the great display is required for ease of use. Even setting the clock is as simple as "click click click...done" This deck has a very classy look to it, with its "Night and Day" illumination it almost appears to be two different units. The classy look of the deck reminds me of Eclipse because it just looks ellegant. However when its illuminated its aggressive yet tame at the same time. The brightness of the Dot Matrix display and button illumination is enough to cast a bluish hue throughout the entire vehicle. Adding blue neons under the dash to give accent lighting at the feet could be considered comparable. The 5 volt preouts are definatly going to make any amplifier shine. Replacing my 3volt deck with a 5volt made a huge difference in sound quality and amplifier gain settings. Over all value of this deck in my oppinion is extremely high. If your considering a Sony, JVC, Kenwood or any other deck in the same price point...definatly get this deck. Durability is what I really would like to stress about Panasonic decks though. Ive seen Sony, JVC, Kenwood and Pioneer decks fail after extended use..while the Panasonic keeps on going! My first Panasonic Deck I bought was back in 1997 and is still working like new to this day! I used it for 3 1/2 years before I upgraded and sold it to a co-worker. He then used it for 2 years and sold it to one of his friends. I installed it into his freinds truck; and then yesturday into his new car...7 years later and the deck still performs the same as the day I originally bought it! When you pay a good amount of money for something you want it to last. I can honestly say of all the electronic devices I have ever owned.thing has lasted as long as that Panasonic Deck. My previous Panasonic deck that I just replaced still functions like new as well...and its been over 4 years since I bought it!!
Just bought another one for my GF, I replaced her Factory radio with my old deck when I upgraded to this one not too long ago. She couldnt believe the sound quality and features of that one; now she cant wait until I install this one in her vehicle. This is going to go great with the woofers and amp thats being installed in her car this saturday. Now shes gonna bump the almost Identical system I have. Her Kicker Comps will soon be upgraded to Alpine Type R's, then everything will be the same all the way down to the patch cords! :D
Overall this is a good deck, although it does have a little hiss at low level volume. the only major issure i have with this deck is that it seems really sensative to scratches on the cd causeing the deck to skip. Other than that this deck is great, featuring high and low pass filters is a definate plus, however this deck for some reason doesnt have a customizable Eq... go figure. its appearance is also a very clean looking black chrome which matches just about any interior.
Really good deck, buttons look a bit cheap but you get over that quick, love the tilt feature and the screen is unbelieveable. 7 band equaliser is great and sub control works a treat :) Only main concern to me is that the HPF/LPF arent very customisable and can leave a 10hz gap between 80 and 90hz.
