Think Panasonic and the name conjures up notions of reliability, value for money, useful features, solid after sales service, and in the case of the natty SC-PMX9 a level of sound quality that frankly is all too rare at this price point. Let’s be frank - in the micro hi-fi genre with the notable exceptions of Denon, Marantz, Yamaha, Pioneer, Philips and Cambridge, satisfying sound and micros are a rare combination.

While the styling cues are a bit garden variety and include a silver central module flanked by a pair of black speakers, the sound quality more than made up for the wrap-around one piece metal chassis. If only Pana had been a bit more adventurous with its styling cues. But that would have added to the final price tag and diminished the market for this product.

The wonder is the audio rumour mill will crank up and I predict, and hope the SC-PMX9 will be an audiophile cult favourite for a mightily, sonically endowed micro that you can buy without it having to be a guilty pleasure.

Set up in our living room with a crowd of industry luminaries always dropping by, there was no shortage of informed opinions regarding the merits or demerits of Panasonic’s gift to impoverished music lovers.

Softish bass aside, which was well picked up by the diligent What Hi-Fi crew in their review, all I heard from hardened industry veterans was the SC-PMX9 was not only a goer, it was also a bargain.

The music played through the Pana’s compact 14cm woofers and 2cm tweeter augmented by a 1.2cm tweeter was always pleasingly detailed and refined. Midrange was smooth and inviting. Over time, the PMX9DB became a family favourite and was much more than background entertainment. It became a painless way to enjoy some of our fave music.

The kids loved the Apple blessed USB input and played back their MP3 and FLAC files. They also made heavy use of the Lightning dock and the little Pana’s streaming features which give Mac or Android devices the option of streaming tunes directly from a mobile device, sans Wi-Fi or using Wi-Fi. Either way you have the options of Airplay, Bluetooth and DLNA.

We loved our time with the SC-PMX9 and were I in the market for a micro, I could live with this and it would be on my shopping list. Consider the SC-PMX9 not only a 'best-buy', but a smart buy.

Panasonic SC-PMX9 is available now $699 RRP.

For more information visit Panasonic Australia.