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Home / News / This chunky hi-fi will take you back to the bassy days of yore

This chunky hi-fi will take you back to the bassy days of yore

Panasonic's boombox goes anywhere in your hood there's a power socket

That looks like the stereo I had in my old Renault Clio…

Only much nicer. Sure, it’s still undeniably hefty – but it’s less garish than many an all-in-one, and Panasonic has limited the neon lights to just a few touches. Which could be a blessing or a shame, depending on your taste. Want to take it with you to the snooker club? It’s got a carry handle, too, because why not.

Does it have bass powerful enough to blow a hedgehog’s socks off?

How does 300W sound? That should be plenty – arguably too much – for most listeners, unless you happen to have a cavernous home and no neighbours.

Power isn’t everything though.

You’re quite right – which is why Panasonic has also kept things balanced with the SC-UA3. Sure, the central domes are all about that bass, but there are tweeters mounted on both the front and the corners of the box, for a wide spread of sound, while audio presets should see every taste catered for. There’s no Coldplay mode, mind.

That’s all well and good, but does it have a cassette deck?

Of course not. Cassette’s scheduled for its retro reboot next year. For everything else, though, the UA3 has got you covered: it’ll take your CDs, talk to your kit via Bluetooth and deliver tunes from USB, too – making it quite the multi-talented box.

I’m not sure it’ll go with my wallpaper…

You might want to take a look at Panasonic’s new SC-HC1020 instead, then. It’s a wall-mountable speaker that’ll play nice with Bluetooth, Spotfiy, TuneIn and more, kicking out your favourite tunes with 40W power – or streaming them around the house to other pf Panasonic’s ‘All’ series of wireless speakers. It’s just 71mm slim and packs a special sound mode to adjust audio output when it’s stuck to the wall, which works impressively well in person.

Profile image of Chris Rowlands Chris Rowlands Freelance contributor

About

Formerly News Editor at this fine institution, Chris now writes about tech from his tropical office. Sidetracked by sustainable stuff, he’s also keen on coffee kit, classic cars and any gear that gets better with age.

Areas of expertise

Cameras, gear and travel tech