Price Paid:  $200.00 from AudioWeb Online Site

Summary:
I purchased this used from the AudioReview online web site to create CD recordings from my vinyl collection. The analog source CD recordings were very good and seemed to preserve the soundstage and detail from highs to lows even better than I had expected. Also the digital sourced CD recordings were better than burning copies on my Dell 8200 pentium 4 PC. This recorder will also make HDCD recordings. I really became pleased when I recorded a Rolling Stones double album "Smash Hits" vinyl. The recording was far superior to the same commercial CD version I own. There was more depth, soundstage, and detail than the commercial CD. I did have a problem. One day the unit would not power on and I now have the unit at the repair shop. However, I did purchase the unit used and with that said, I am looking forward to getting it back and start making copies of my vinyl collection. The CD playback is not it's strong point where I only made this purchase to make vinyl recordings. I use a NAD C541 CD for playback, a Musical Fidelity A3 integrated amp, Triangle Titus speakers, polk powered subwoofer, and all Analysis Plus speaker and interconnects. The turntable is a Sumiko Pro-Ject RM-4 with a Grado Reference Platinum MM cartridge.

Strengths:
Analog source recording, price.

Weaknesses:
CD playback

Similar Products Used:
none

Price Paid:  $200.00 from AudioWeb OnLine Clas

Summary:
I durchased this used from the AudioReview online web site to create CD recordings from my vinyl collection. The analog source CD recordings were very good and seemed to preserve the soundstage and detail from highs to lows even better than I had expected. Also the digital sourced CD recordings were better than burning copies on my Dell 8200 pentium 4 PC. This recorder will also make HDCD recordings. I really became pleased when I recorded a Rolling Stones double album "Smash Hits" vinyl. The recording was far superior to the same commercial CD version I own. There was more depth, soundstage, and detail than the commercial CD. I did have a problem. One day the unit would not power on and I now have the unit at the repair shop. However, I did purchase the unit used and with that said, I am looking forward to getting it back and start making copies of my vinyl collection. The CD playback is not it's strong point where I only made this purchase to make vinyl recordings. I use a NAD C541 CD for playback, a Musical Fidelity A3 integrated amp, Triangle Titus speakers, polk powered subwoofer, and all Analysis Plus speaker and interconnects. The turntable is a Sumiko Pro-Ject RM-4 with a Grado Reference Platinum MM cartridge.

Strengths:
Price, Good analog source recording, Digital level ajustment, HDCD recording.

Weaknesses:
CD playback.

Similar Products Used:
none

Price Paid:  $150.00 from Richer Sounds

Summary:
Cassette tape is convenient but as far as sound quality it sucks, unless you use Dolby S or dbx noise reduction. Then you can’t really play them back in the car, cos Car audio only seems to go as far as Dolby B. Tape recordings played back on the recording deck sound great but play them back on another make and they don’t sound so great. Too much variation in Dolby presets and equalisation circuits between manufacturers. CD on the other hand is great for sound and doesn’t suffer from the above mentioned manufacturer variations. So if you want to ditch the tape deck and turntable burning CD’s is the best option. Yeah you can use a PC burner, but it’s a pain recording a track at a time on the PC to get track indexing. Then what happens if on track merges into the next, you can’t do it without a jump in the flow. So for £150 I bought the CDR600 for one little button on the remote. Track Increment! You simply start your turntable or tape deck, press record. When it’s time for a track increment, press the button and the CDR600 increments the track count. It’s a miracle! Record onto audio CDR/W, then put that into the PC and burn a PC CDR from it (Saves money on blank media). Analogue recordings pretty good and actually can remove the sharpness from clicks on scratched records. I don’t use it for CD copying cos the PC is faster and gets round serial copy management. Playback is adequate but not brilliant, but hey for this price it makes a good data capture device. Used with a PC for final editing it’s an absolute bargain and I can now ditch the turntable and cassette deck 2 (used to make Dolby B copies from dbx masters). Now all my vinyl and tapes are on CD, I don’t use it, cos I play the CD’s on a NAD C541i.

Strengths:
Seemless Track incrementing. Ease Of use. Value for money. Recording Quality (given source material).

Weaknesses:
Can get confused when ereasing CDR/W's (just pull the power cord to reset).

Similar Products Used:
Hewlett Packard IDE PC CD Burner

Price Paid:  $296.00 from Mars Music

Summary:
I own a recording company in the Cincinnati area that records various concerts throughout the tri-state area. All off our recordings are done to DAT and we also rely on a backup unit in case the DAT malfunctions. We were initially using cassette recorders as backups but recently decided that CDR backups would be a better idea. In the case of Philips CDR-600s, we were dead wrong. We purchased 3 of the Philips CDR600 CD recorders to act as backup units. 2 of them failed during major remote recording sessions. Both would stop recording when they felt like it, had trouble reading discs (NO EXCUSE! We use the best CDRs on the market: Taiyo Yuden & Mitsui), had trouble finalizing discs, and got stuck on “UPDATE.” We tried to use them again at two additional concerts and again they both failed. Because we didn’t have any concerts to record at the time we purchased the units, we ended up past the 30 day return period that our supplier offered . I called Philips to notify them about my problem. I told them that we couldn’t trust the units even if they were to be “repaired” by their service center and that we’d like our money back. They wouldn’t negotiate their policy and wouldn’t forward me to the folks that make the policies. Furthermore, they didn’t even seem to care that a professional recording company tested their product and found 2 out of 3 units to be unreliable. I know, I know, not caring is to be expected from big businesses. Philips is purebred, grade A Corporate America: It’s all about the bottom line! Shaft the little guy! And here we are, stuck with almost $900 in untrustworthy equipment! If your looking for a low cost real-time CD recorder that you can rely on these days, you won’t find one. Pioneer stopped making the PDR-609. Too bad, because it’s reliable and up until December you could get them for under $200. We missed that boat! My advice is to get the Tascam CD-RW700 recorder for around $499. It’s worth the extra $$$, because it gives you piece of mind. You can disable the SCMS copy protection, allowing you to digitally record onto all types of blank CDR media and not just “consumer audio” discs. Philips, (sing along) I have to admit it’s getting worse, getting worse all the time.

Strengths:
light weight so that you can throw it long distances.

Weaknesses:
Other poor features include: no dB indicators on the volume meter, no way on the unit to manually ID each track (you have to do it from the remote), and every time you manually ID a track, you can hear a glitch in the recording.

Similar Products Used:
My toilet

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Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
This cd recorder has alot going for it at $299. It is a no-brainer one touch or manual system. It even boasts a digital record level(use with caution) which is good for older cds mastered at lower levels. As a player it has an ok sound but I would not use it as a source machine. It''s best to record on this machine & playback your finalized cd-r''s on another more adequate spinner. At $299 I woulnd''t expect Audiophile Fare. The Marantz CD-6000 is the only lower end recoder I could recommend as a player. The Cd-r''s sound virtually the same as the source through the digital inputs. The analogue is also good but some air & top end is missing. Use TDK & Maxell blanks for best reproduction.

Strengths:
Price, Ease of Use

Weaknesses:
Cd Playback on same deck only fair.

Similar Products Used:
Marantz DR4050, DR 6000,DR-17, Pioneer Elite PDR-99