Price Paid:  $0.00 from Sam's auction

Summary:
Got a good deal even though I had reservations about the Phillips brand. I was right. Many recordings are flawless, and when it works, it works well. What they don't tell you anywhere is that many brands of CDR "may be incompatible" with their unit, and there is no way to tell until after the recording is done and finalized - at which point it may truncate the recording, or even finalize the disc with 2-3 seconds of data. P-M recommended specific brands of CDRs finally, but offered no recourse for the 130 or so CDRs I have left from the brands that don't work. Next time, I will buy ANY other brand first.

Strengths:
Easy to record, easy to understand. Fast-forward function in playback is VERY slow. When it works, it works well.

Weaknesses:
Phillips Magnavox service just plain blows. It took me three attempts to get a reliable working DVD from them, and now I have a "universal: CD recorder that works with only some CDs. Next time I buy anything else and lower my blood pressure.

Price Paid:  $0.00 from Sam's auction

Summary:
Got a good deal even though I had reservations about the Phillips brand. I was right. Many recordings are flawless, and when it works, it works well. What they don't tell you anywhere is that many brands of CDR "may be incompatible" with their unit, and there is no way to tell until after the recording is done and finalized - at which point it may truncate the recording, or even finalize the disc with 2-3 seconds of data. P-M recommended specific brands of CDRs finally, but offered no recourse for the 130 or so CDRs I have left from the brands that don't work. Next time, I will buy ANY other brand first.

Strengths:
Easy to record, easy to understand. Fast-forward function in playback is VERY slow. When it works, it works well.

Weaknesses:
Phillips Magnavox service just plain blows. It took me three attempts to get a reliable working DVD from them, and now I have a "universal: CD recorder that works with only some CDs. Next time I buy anything else and lower my blood pressure.

Price Paid:  $350.00 from J&R Music

Summary:
I have used this unit for about 6-10 sessions then it started locking up. It would start recording,then the volume, tracks and all the buttons would lock up [freeze]. I would have to power it off [unplug] to remove the CD or stop the player. The unit was later reconditioned by Philips but has the same problem. I should have stuck with the CDR765.

Strengths:
Cool looks and features

Weaknesses:
Durability

Similar Products Used:
PC

Summary:
A very good unit for recording own CDs from digital and analog sources. It is very easy to use, like a cassette deck. You can compile your own CDs easily, even from digital and analog sources on the same CD, and until the CD is not finalized yet you can also add tracks in later "sessions". But sometimes you have to discard CD-R's when you have made a mistake (for example you recorded the wrong source, or when you backup an old vinyl record and the needle skips, or when the telephone/doorbell rings you cannot always stop the recording process immediately). After this happened a few times, I now use CD-RW's when I copy "unknown" analog sources and edit those recordings with my PC, where I burn the "final" CD. But in general, you don't need to use computer CD-R's on this unit any more, because audio CD-R's are much less expensive than they were in the late 90s. This Philips CD-R recorder now has completely replaced my cassette decks for recording purposes. My old cassettes often do sound dull or play too slowly - my CD-R's will have a very much longer lifetime with the same sound quality as when they were new.

Strengths:
digital and analog recordings are as good as the original, unit is very easy to use

Weaknesses:
a little bit too much plastic (though built more solid than most current models), no correction possible when you have made a mistake while recording, it does not accept all 80min CD-R's

Similar Products Used:
CD-ROM burner in PC

Price Paid:  $500.00 from Sonata, Coimbra

Summary:
Great as a CD-recorder, I can´t tell the difference between original and copy. This is what is needed for a recorder! Not perfect as a player but who cares?? For that we have the cd player as source. It mantains the HDCD signal!!

System:
Arcam DV88 (Note: it doesn´t send time flags in digital signal!!)
Marantz 72SE cd player
Meridian 568 surround processor
Meridian DSP5000 speakers
Meridian M60C centre speaker
Meridian M33 surround speakers

Strengths:
Great as CD recorder

Weaknesses:
CD replay

Similar Products Used:
Computer CD-roms recorders