hothcanada

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 3 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 5.00 votes

Price Paid:  $750.00 from Advance Audio Video

Summary:
I purchased the unit in 12-99. As of mid 2004, I can no longer use the system for recording, as it's horribly inconsistant & routinely craps-out before the copying is complete,(botching the cdr). However, that's not to say that I've been overly disappointed with the product. In the last 5 years, my system has burned somewhere between 2500-2800 discs!!! The bottom line is that it was a good system for it's time. The way cdr burning technology for the pc has advanced in recent years, stand-alone units just don't cut it anymore. The PhillipsCDR765 makes near-perfect copies. Basically whatever it's able to play on the right deck, it can copy on the left/recording deck. It seems as though many of the users posting on this idem did not fully read their instruction manuel before getting into the copying aspect. This system DOES NOT ADD GAPS between tracks!!!!! Simply press the dub button twice before beginning to record ("dub 1" then appears on the unit face) & your completed copy will come out near-perfect (usually the exact same time as the cd you've copied or 1 second longer). The lack of being able to add fade-outs/fade-ins to the music or any sort of real editing capability is sorely missed.

Strengths:
1. The capability to transfer your old vinyls & cassettes to disc (not that I ever attempted to do so). 2. Convenience. The most appealing thing about the Phillips cdr765 is how much easier it is to operate than a pc burner.

Weaknesses:
Drawbacks/experiences recording on the PhillipsCDR765: 1. To this day, the cost of audio-only cdrs is insane, especially in Canada. This format of cdr is not available in some places. 2. Even if the recording process completes without incident, you're still not "home free". After recording, you must finalize the disc. This is a two minute "baking" process which allows the cdr to be played back on all other audio systems. This 2 minute countdown sometimes "bounces" & becomes a 4 minute countdown. When this happens, there is a possibility that the system will not complete that 4 minute trek & that the disc is ruined/scrap/wasted. The problem became more & more prominent with usage. 3. CDRW's designed for this unit NEVER played on any of my other systems. They did play fine on both decks of the recorder but nowhere else. I used TDK & Maxell CDRW's. When nearing the end of it's fertile-lifespan, the system could no longer read cdrw's. It could occasionally record onto them, but even after being finalized, only the recording deck of the unit could read/play the disc. 4. The unit was always very fussy & many cdrs designated "audio-only" weren't compatible with it. It would burn on some generic audio-only media, so that's mainly what I used for the first 1500 burns. Later on, I discovered that Fujifilm, TDK & Maxell(Japan) were the brands that worked most with the most consistency. Sony, Memorex as well as Maxell(Taiwan) were very inconsistant & the unit rejected them most of the time. 5. I finally laid my PhillipsCDR765 to rest when it could no longer record a complete disc without issue. Near the end, it would record discs fine until the very last track. It would choke within the last minute of ANY & EVERY burn I attempted, always within the last 40 seconds of the recording. When this happened, the recording deck would always register the disc it just ruined as being full (79:57), regardless of the actual length of what I was attempting to copy.

Price Paid:  $550.00 from 6th Ave

Summary:
Ok, Phillips obviously had major problems with the early releases. But, it happens, they totally gave me all my money back. I went ut and bought another and had no problems. The Dub is perfect to original. Unless there is Negative space or no gaps. And when you buy a free Standing DA Recorder, you need to buy DIGITAL AUDIO Disks. I also bought Comp USA DA disks bak in the day, but there not really DA disks. In the beginning some crap companies tried to get away with cheap DA disks that did not work. All real CD''s are DIGITAL AUDIO, to make good recordings or copies that will last you want DA, they do that so that their expensive burners will be backed up by there product not the cd you choose to use. As long as they were not generic cd''s, all DA will work. New or upcoming models should exclude gaps. Also the key to good recording is slow burning thats why you only see a max of 4x free standing burners When I purchaced this it was around 550 or close to 600 before warranty. It was the only thing that was reliable, CD writers were no where near the quality they are today.

Strengths:
Perfect Sound, Long Lasting Copies

Weaknesses:
Only Weakness: Gaps

Similar Products Used:
Sony RW drive, pioneer free standing

Price Paid:  $550.00 from CIRCUIT CITY

Summary:
THIS IS WITHOUT A DOUBT THE WORST PRODUCT I HAVE EVER BOUGHT! IT HAS BEEN IN SERVICE TWICE, 8 WEEKS THEN 4 WEEKS! IT WILL NOT RELIABLY WORK WITH ANY BRAND BLANKS. WHEN I FIRST GOT IT I USED SONY THEN MEMOREX THEN COMP USA THEN ZENITH. I BOUGHT 100 ZENITH BLANKS IT WORKED WITH A FEW BUT NOW IM STUCK WITH 100 USELESS BLANKS! PHILLIPS SERVICE SAYS I SHOULD ONLY USE PHILLIPS BLANKS!! WHATS THE DEAL WITH THAT!! TAKE MY ADVICE STAY CLEAR!!!

Strengths:
BIT FOR BIT COPIES

Weaknesses:
WILL ONLY CONSISTANTLY WORK WITH PHILLIPS BLANKS!!!!??

Price Paid:  $560.00 from Audio Vision

Summary:
Basically the main problem is this inserting gap thing that is does. It actually doesn't sound like a big deal, but I have a large selection of live CDs which I'd like to duplicate for use in a car and other CD players in the house - and I can't copy them (well I can, but I wouldn't want to play them with pauses inbetween the tracks). Another thing is the build quality which isn't up to scratch. Luckily *touch wood* I havn't needed to take the unit back, but sometimes I place a CD in the tray and it won't read it. If I then eject and reinsert it'll work. Also the trays just seem very flimsy compared to the 10 year old Technics I have as well. I havn't recored analogue so I can't comment on the levels. Digital recording levels are perfect though.

Weaknesses:
Inserts gaps between tracks! ; build quality not great at all

Similar Products Used:
None

Price Paid:  $550.00 from Circuit City

Summary:
This dual-deck is a great value. I've recorded from vinyl, DVD's, and, of course, CDs. Problems include the fact that the machine automatically places sound gaps between tracks, which is fine for most CDs but bad for continous mix dance CDs. One advantage of the dual-deck is high speed dubbing--you can make a copy of a CD in half the time it would take to play it. Another disadvantage is the limited ability to adjust the recording level--I can never make songs recorded from vinyl sound as loud as those recorded from CD. It takes a while to figure out how to record from various sources, but once you get a hang of it, it's very easy. Overall, I'm pleased with it!

Strengths:
Price/value

Weaknesses:
Puts sound gaps between tracks--no continuous mixing; limited ability to adjust record level