Thoroughly disappointing for HK.
within first year both trays needed coaxing to open.
After year and a half left tray would not open.
Recording on this machine is futile.
Better luck next time.....

The sound quality with this model was good, no complaints. The primary use for this product was to record
original compositions from a midi keyboard. It was in use maybe twice a month. After the first year, there was a problem with the left disc tray sticking but, a little nudge would do the trick. Then the right tray started
sticking. As time went by, the problem worsened to the point where neither tray would function. I removed
the cover to locate the jamb and discovered that they were not jambed, the problem is that the mechanisms
that run the trays in and out ceased to function. According to Circuit City, this was a top of the line unit at the time of purchase, which influenced my decision to buy it. Since Circuit City stores no longer exist, I contacted
Harman Kardon about this problem and was given the option to send it out for repairs. The only place I'm sending it is into the trash can and I'm ordering a Tascam. Very disappointed.

After two years, one disk continuously got stuck and had to be pried out regularly.
After three years, the second disk continuously got stuck.
I stopped trying to fix it; now need to just replace this piece.

Ease of use when it works..

it does not work often enough for me, the drawers, both of them now do not open at all.

When it works it is excellent, unfortunately it does not work often enough for me. First one drawer would not open without pushing and pushing on it . After a while the other drawer had the same problem. Now, neither drawer will open. the decision that I am faced with is, is it cheaper to get it fixed or to pitch it out and get a new unit....I really expected more from HK, the company should be ashame of itself for selling a product with problems like this. They should recall all of them and give us credit on a new machine

It says Harman Kardon on it, and there are 2 drives.

See my review summary. Most of what I have to say about this recorder falls into the weakness category.

The layout of this recorder is extremely "un-user-friendly". I do a lot of recording in low-light situations, and the button layout makes no sense at all. I understand that there is some space that is saved by using the tiny round buttons, but there is a ton of functionality lost in its place.

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I own the Tascam CDRW 750 and the Tascam CDRW 900, and I hate to use the HK after using the Tascam recorders.

Great overall sound quality, It looks good.

I feel that be-it consumer burner, or pro burner, I should not have to hunt disc that will work in my unit, especially since I paid almost $500.00 for it.

Because its a consumer burner you have to get blank cd, or cdr media that bears the logo DIGITAL AUDIO on it, or it wont work in this player. I am an audio engineer, and I use this unit in my studio, and a lot of the stores do not carry cdr media for
consumer burners. The disc that are availble like memorex need to be burned in SATANS HOT FURNICE because the product is no good. I recommend the TDK, or Sony Disc media If you can find them.

So the main weaknesses are CD Compatibility, and yea, track advancement on 3 secs of silence, and yea that little door flaw, you have to tap it to get it to open.

Overall a great unit, but has a few flaws.

Customer Service

OKAY.

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NONE

does its job (record CDs) as advertised customer service connectivity (digital and analog) decent headphone jack decent DAC

poor user interface left side tray (CDP) requires clean CDs no CD-R/SACD/DVD-A playing

I originally bought a CDR-20(?, whatever the older model was called) and had serious problems with its left side tray. HK promptly replaced the unit with a CDR-26 which has worked very reliably (3-4 hours a day for 1 year). I dubbed most of my CDs, recorded both from the analog and digital inputs and was always pleased with the result. BTW the CDR-26 can also be used as an (entry-level) DAC: just connect your computer sound-card digital output to the CDR-26, put a recordable CD in, start the recording process (leaving it in PAUSE) and off you go: the line-out and the headphone jack give you a pretty decent sound (vastly superior to most computer soundcards).

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none

sonicly this machine is awesome, everything sounds better through this player/recorder

fit and finish, has a few glitches

being my first cd recorder i was not sure what to expect, however the cdr26 has worked flawlessly for two yrs. now and i have burned 100s of cds without any problems. it isn't without a few glithes though. sometimes when the machine is cold that is when it is first turned on, the cd trays will not open,however a gentle tap on the tray during the open seqence will solve the problem. also during the auto mode while recording tapes or lps the machine will index up numeracly to the next no. even though you may be on the same song. it does this every time it senses 3 seconds of silence. not a well thought out option when recording music with many quiet passages. therefore you must always record tapes and lps in the manual mode and index the tracks yourself. also there is no track search on the unit itself, you must use the remote. the remote itself though is very easy to use and is highly functionably. the overall finish seems quite cheap and on my particular unit the face plate was badly scrached, but all functions are clearly marked and easy to read and so far the unit has performed very well,except for the trays somtimes sticking. all n all i would have to give it a favorably review.

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ease of use excellent sound from both decks versatility of features wide variety of inputs

suddenly and for no reason, the (right)recording deck refuses to recognize discs.

I bought this to replace a Philips unit that had died on me. I put CD recorders to task on a regular basis, recording mixes regularly as well as making straight dubs. I use them on a daily basis. I have been VERY happy with the HK CDR 26 until just recently. The (right) record deck is suddenly unable to read any kind of disc, CDR, CDRW, or standard prerecorded CD. In fact, when I turn the unit on, the record deck spends an inordinate amount of time searching for a disc and eventually claims that there is a "disc error" - even if no disc is present in the machine. I have been thrilled with this machine until now.

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Philips CDR (can't remember model)

Sonic clarity Ease of use

none yet

I went after this unit despite the negative reviews it has received. Call me crazy! It has been working flawlessly for me thus far. CD's, CDR's and CDRW's play fine on both decks. I have made direct dubs with no problems. I have recorded off the tuner with no problems. And I am now starting to catalog my tapes. I don't anticpate any problems there either. Sonically superior to the Sony changer I had. I use Stinger interconnect cables. Sorry to hear the other reviewers had a bad experience. HK does put out some great gear.