hi all, i am going to be moving in less than a week and can only take 1 box. i was planning on taking one of my 5100's, but i just found a 5050 for sale in the area. i had a few questions about the box...first off,which is bigger? or are they about the same size? the 5100 is listed as 25w on the back, where stereo80's lists the 5050 as 22w. how is that possible, if it's got 2 more speakers? the 5100 is pretty much midtones and highs only, how does 5050 do on bass (including the EQ). overall, does anyone have an opinion on if i should jump all over this?

thanks so much guys

i love the 5050 i think it the better box from a bunch of panasonic that i have heard .. the equaliser helps alot

The most underated boombox made.....ever! This an extremely loud,in-your-face boombox that is quite loaded with features for its size. Most people think its odd looking, but I think its beautiful and very unique! The EQ helps tailor the sound and the bass response isn't bad. I love the Ambience feature on it. It sounds alot better than an RX-5100!I know, I have both!

thanks matrixambience (name have anything to do with the feature?). I have one smaller panasonic box with ambiance, i think it's an interesting feature that's either a home run on sound or it flat out sucks, depending on the music. personally, based on photos, i think the styling of the 5050 is pretty neat. does it only have 1 LED set, like the 5100, or is it a stereo visualization?

No..I believe its a 6-segment LED bar VU meter, two colors green and red...pretty cool! Yes...I like Ambience...and the Matrix surround on my little Quasar!

I have both the 5050 and 5100.Though the 5050 is an all plastic box,it's design and overall build quality are very tight and similar to the 5100.Though I'm not wild about the styling of the 5050,I think the 5100 is just plain ugly.Both have excellent dedicated line-ins.They share a similar type of sound (bright sounding and efficient).Though I've not opened the 5100,I think those are single full range drivers.The 2-way 5050 has bigger woofers and is UNREAL LOUD!The 5050 has a lot more bass than the 5100.However its such a bright sounding box,this is not immediately evident.I gave my 5100 to my sister who has put it into daily use.My 5050 I sold a while back.Sometimes I miss it.If you want something light and easy to carry around,the 5050 is perfect and will also scare the pants off of anyone for the sheer volume of sound it will put out!Get a 5050 and sell your 5100.

thanks jovie! i am actually thinking of selling one of the 5100's (i have two, found both at thrift stores on separate occasions for 8.50 each) to pay for the 5050. i noticed the price on the 5100's that have sold on ebay are like 30 bucks more than the 5050...i have no idea why that would be, based on the reviews you guys are giving. i actually like the styling on the 5100, but i see what people complain about, with the large areas of blank space on the front. if the 5050 is louder than my 5100, it must be impressive. on the better of my two 5100's, i rarely ever go past 5, even outdoors.

I'm also a proud supporter of the 5050. I use mine almost every day at the office and warehouse. It has good sound at low volumes with the bass up, nice highs and ambience on. When your ready for it to scream, drop the bass on the EQ and crank it!

Yep! I used to have 10...yes 10 RX-5050's in my collection, but mow I am down to one!! I think I need a spare .....again.

well, i bought it. it was 35, which is officially 3 times as much as i've ever paid for a box, but as i said, i'm getting ready to move, so i figured i'd get myself a present. it's got some housepaint flecks on it that need to be cleaned off, and the handle is a little warped. it was apparently owned by an elderly gentleman who died and left it to his son, who sold it to me. i've only played around with it a bit, i need to get the EQ settings figured out.

i've been cleaning and getting the flecks off. i realized this box, even though some people think it's weird looking, looks a lot more like a boombox to me than the 5100. i think it mostly comes down to the dark speaker grills.

EDIT: all clean except for a few stray specks that pick off easy enough. i popped in CrO2 tape i made, i'm much happier with the bass on this model, you guys were right! the tweeters seem to not be doing much, maybe they only work at louder volumes with higher treble. the build quality on this model seems just a bit below the 5100. for example, the metal parts of the handle are noticeably thinner and the knobs all feel much plainer. the asymmetrical VU and tape buttons are interesting, i kinda dig 'em. overall i'm really glad you guys talked this box up.

Here's a Panasonic 5050 &&& And It's Brother the National Panasonic 5050
Just took off the shelf for this pic here
100_2960 panasonic 5050 national crop

so i've had this box for a bit now, i've gotten to use it and have come to love it. i figured i'd post a quick review in case anyone else is doing a search as to whether or not to buy it later on.

Looks: the quality of design is pretty good, a lot of people hate the speaker layout, but i think it lends for a very unique looking box. the angled radio window is interesting, it really makes the tape and speakers feel like they jump out. materials are all quality, though the box feels a bit light for its size. and as i said, the angled level meter is kinda weird but it looks fine. the controls for the tape deck are very nice, and require only minimal pressure to perform any operation. the sliders have a pleasing, smooth resistance when you slide them. the back of the box is a little strange, with large concave sections unlike any other box i have.

Sound: the EQ really makes this box. the bass has pretty good response even on medium to loudish volumes, and has completely changed what i expect from a boombox. the overall sound is much fuller than i expected, though as mentioned sometimes the background sounds are a bit muddy. i am ambivalent towards the ambience mode, it's neat on some songs but makes others impossible to listen to. volume wise, this is a very loud box. i usually listen to it with volume around 3 and that's plenty loud. i've compared the sound to my GF-515, the 5100, and a couple panasonic 3 piece boxes, and this one has overall the best sound out of all of them.

anyway, thanks again to everyone who gave me info on this box, it has quickly become my favorite. its the only one i'm taking with me when i move, so that should tell you something.

Oh yeah!!! The 5050 is one of my favorites,and its very loud! I wish it was alittle wider case wise, and it had a 12 volt DC jack,then it would be going EVERYWHERE with me!