Price Paid:  $475.00 from Furniture Fair of Ki

Summary:
This burner is th ebest burner I have ever peurchased. As a electronics salesman, I can say, it is the best one put out.

Strengths:
Evrything about this burner is awesome. It allows you to set your own individual levels of recording. The clarity sounds like the real thing. I have recorded and the reviews have been great. There is no need to print a weakness, because there is none. I am a pioneer freak and would not try anything else.

Price Paid:  $500.00 from Nobody Beats the Wiz

Summary:
After some research I purchased this unit, only afterward I really disliked the whole idea of changing trays instead of a platter. both use mechanical mechanisms and are subject to breaking. I've brought it in for repair 2 times already, and I am SO glad I bought the store's extended service warranty for 3 years, as I knew with the amount I use and create mix cds/tapes it would break anyway. unfortunately I no longer even attempt to use the top platter, so it won't get stuck and cause problems, as it has started to again. Oh well, Pioneer still makes good products, I had a 6 disc magazine changer for 9 years with no problems until the last year. I used that thing for hours on end almost daily. I only wish they still made those magazine changer style CD Players with digital outputs....

Strengths:
sound quality, recording quality, 2x speed, COAX and Optical digital IN and OUT

Weaknesses:
CD platters and mechanism made of plastic

Similar Products Used:
HP computer CD-R burner

Price Paid:  $425.00 from Tweeter

Summary:
I would love to give this CD Recorder/dubber great marks for it's ease of use, loads of digital and analog connections, great display, nice remote and sharp looks. I would like to give the whole unit great marks. But I cannot. I have already returned one of these to Tweeter and would like to return this one for a totally different model, but I think my warranty may be up. Just like the first deck, the vertical cd stacker tray is malfunctioning and will not quit trying to open, then closing before it can fully open. This drawer design looks like it is made of cheap plastic gears and has always been very loud. At least this time one of my cd's isn't stuck inside. I was originally going to buy the Phillips CD Dubbing deck, but I let the salesman show me the Pioneer instaed. It looked much nicer and seemed to have better build quality. I should have stuck with the single disk Pioneer design, but I thought I could also use it as a changer. Slow loading time soon changed that plan. After about a year my first deck got stuck with one of my discs inside. I returned it for another deck, but here we are a year later and I think my warranty has just expired. This is not the type of product I have come to expect from Pioneer, as I have used many of their other products in the past, including two great turntables. I was seriously considering their Pioneer DV-47 Elite DVD Player, as it is one of few that plays SACD and DVD Audio, but if I am unable to get this deck fixed or replaced, I think I'll wait on another manufacturer. I guess I'll go back to buying Sony products, as I have never had build quality issues with their products.

Strengths:
Ease of use, great display, superb recording, nice looking unit with great remote.

Weaknesses:
Build quality of the stacker changing tray make this a turkey, if it worked I would give this 5 stars, but since it doesn't, and I am on my second unit, ZERO out of Five would be more fitting. I am shocked Pioneer put their name on this..

Similar Products Used:
Sony and Yamaha CD Changers, Sony Minidisc, Nakamichi Casette

Price Paid:  $278.00 from YourInsider.com

Summary:
I had been looking for a CD-Recorder for years. I collect some rare CDs. Needless to say, I really needed a recorder to copy my valuable collection, make some discs from other sources (LPs, cassettes and the like) and maybe do a few trades for those rare discs that are at times too rare and expensive.

So, I set about getting a PC CD-Recorder. When I got one, I had never been so frustrated in my life at how many CD-Rs they ruined, and the amount of pops and skips in them.

Hence, I went all out shopping for a consumer, stand-alone recorder last December. After a good deal of looking, I finally found this Pioneer model at YourInsider.com for a nice price (about the same price as some used ones at Sears). I got it without hesitation.

First off, I really love the connections. Coaxial input and output, optical input and output, and analog input and output. Every kind you want or need for home use, as I have a Sony MiniDisc Deck with an optical input, and a GPX DVD/CD player with a coaxial output. Plus, I just got a new Aiwa 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround system too, so the outputs will come in handy for that baby as well.

Then, the sound. FLAWLESS copies. Perfection in my mind. Sounds great on my older Teac Dolby Pro-Logic Surround system (upgrade to 5.1 is coming soon), and even better with headphones. Much better copies than a PC recorder, as not one skip or pop has been produced on a CD-R from this thing yet, and I've made several dozen of them by now. The only mistakes are from a source CD having a skip in it, but that isn't the machine's fault, the defect was on the CD.

The volume control is easy to use with a great and easy to follow indicator as well. Analog AND digital volume control, which I love. My MD deck had no digital volume control, only analog, so I love that.

You can record from a programmed list when recording from the 3 CD changer (up to 30 selections from any of the discs), and you can make SEAMLESS track separations anywhere WHILE recording from an outside source (handy for recording LPs, Cassettes, cutting up long song, or DVD isolated scores) so you don't have to pause or stop the disc and put a second-long skip between the tracks. You can make a Skip ID (in case you make a mistake or change your mind about a recorded track), which some CD players can read. There is also a synchro record feature, but I haven't used that feature yet, I don't really need it. But it's there if I do.

It is easy to use, has the same basic functions as most CD players or MD recorders, and I learned all of the features quickly, most were easy enough to find out by myself, and a few just needed a quick read of the manual.

It also can read incomplete/unfinalized discs, and read and record CD-RWs as well. It can't record data CD-Rs, but no home audio ones can, so that really isn't a negative. Headphone jack and volume control is always a plus as well, but not a need.

Perhaps the only negative was that the machine has to read each CD bin every time you turn the machine on, and every time you close the door. That's not so bad though, except when you close the door without a CD, and it takes the same amount of time to read as if there was a disc in there. The 3 CD changer sounds a little slow and clanky, but it has worked great so far, so I have no real problems with the system. It records at 1x and 2x speed, which is slow in PC CD-Recording terms, but I'll take a slow copy ANY DAY, as long as the copy comes out flawless, like this one does.

You can make a digital copy from any original, pressed CD, or a PC CD-R, but you can't make a digital copy FROM a digital copy that these machines make. It will still make a near perfect analog copy from a digital copy, this isn't really a problem anyway. Plus, since most stand alone recorders I believe are like that, there no real negative in this either. All in all, this is a great piece to a modern home entertainment puzzle.

Strengths:
Creates great CD copies, makes no skips & pops, easy to use, great connections...

Weaknesses:
None really. At least no glaring ones...

Price Paid:  $350.00 from Harvey Norman

Summary:
This is a fantastic unit, especially for those who are just getting started. One piece of advice: Read the Manual! This will clue you in to all the little things that you need to know.

I too was confused with the difference between CD writes and Audio CD Writes, but once over that, I discovered the joy of using and operating this unit. For professional recordings, it's great; for making new recordings from tape or vinyl, amazing; and if you queston the sound quality, check the brand of CD you're using. The different input choices (Analogue, Digital, Coax) are extremely handy, and creating mix albums, it's a breeze.

I do wonder about the assembly of the 3 stacker; it's a little noisy and flimsy, but I can't fault the quality of the recordings (especially compared to Computer Burnt CD's). The reading capability is very good - the laser can read CD's the other units have problems with, and the write is fast, simple and affective. CDRW's work well, and the features included for them are very good.

I haven't had a problem with this unit at all. Sure, it's not the most perfect, all hail CD Burner; but, hell, for it's price and the features you get for it, this machine is terrific.

Strengths:
Great features. Various inputs. Ease of use. Sound quality.

Weaknesses:
Questionable 3-tier stacker trays. Boot up is a little slow.

Similar Products Used:
Phillips CD Units, Yamaha MD