Rating: 
Summary: The Ultimate Cure for Music Recording Enthusiasts !
Review: Once I purchased this product I said bye bye to recording on my Sony tape deck much like I did about watching vhs tapes versus dvd movies ! So far I have not encountered any major recording drawbacks or electronic malfunctions using this recorder. Both 3 disc tray well and single recording/playback well have smooth sounding and operating mechanisms. The only timelag I've encountered is using the remote to get, oh let's say from track 1 to 10 by numerically pressing the corresponding key tracks; response is not quick enough within changing track numbers from the same disc. However, strangely enough the random play and program functions are quite rapid ! Honorable mention for Philips in designing a well lit and highly readable digital function display with brightness adjustment.In fact, I have found this recorder to be a breeze to use for burning cd track compilations and understanding the instructions versus using my tape deck (don't have to worry about unmatched sound levels, Dolby noise reduction, metal or chrome tape, high bias, yadda yadda yadda...)The Philips CDR800 is aesthetically pleasing on the eyes. The price is quite acceptable and reasonable when compared to other competetive brands that only offer single or dual recording playback trays at higher cost. However, must keep in mind that this recorder can record 1x or 2x speed. This is acceptable since I have no desire to copy full length pre-recorded cds versus single various track compilations. If you enjoy copying full length cds in their entirety then the Philips CDR820 will do the trick by recording 1/4 the time (4x)...Keep in mind that before you can contemplate between 2x and 4 x recorders some manufacturer will come along and build a better mouse trap for audio disc recorders that can do 8x or 10x, even faster times to cut down on recording times of whole discs !
Rating: 
Summary: Great! ... when it works
Review: Santa brought me this machine, and I was blown away (I deserved no more than coal). It was a few months before I had the time to hook it up and play with it, so sorry for this late post.If you are not VERY into technology, I'd advise AGAINST this machine... It is quite functional, and does a great job of what its designed for, (when it works) but it's not at all intuitive.
There are MANY important functions on the front panel which are not accessable from the remote control, and some other important functions are ONLY accessable from the remote control. After a few months of smooth sailing, (I was able to record a dozen or so cherised LP's to CD) the machine started failing to "finalize" discs. I'm using TDK discs - I think another unhappy poster said that TDK's are the only ones that work for them. I'm now going to have to ship this machine to godknowswhere for "repair" (we know they'll just send a refurb). On my first call to repair I spoke to a real human, (thus the two stars!) and she said that the drive bays had locked up due to an "electrostatic discharge". I took her at her word, although as an EE, I kind of know that there's no way that there could have been any significant static zap to the machine here in Soggy N.E in June. The real problem is frankly, shoddy design. The hardware or the software, or both, are lame.
Rating:
Summary: Superb buy, well worth
Review: This is a real good set, easy to use, very user friendly and with a quite good users manual, very easy to follow. Have been working it about 6 month, and recordered in all modes and with all possible sources, both digital and analog without problems and superb results.
Just 2 tips: dont use cheap blank CD's (I mean less than a buck ok buck fifty the piece, they fail by shure. I use some japanese ones rating [$$$] each and works fine) and when recordering from old or noisy cassettes, record song by song if you dont want to have 15 songs in a single track.
If you like editing your own CD's, or have lots of tapes and LP's to save, this is a must.
Rating: 
Summary: Problems with CDR Finalizing and Repair
Review: This product has excellent features but my unit will not finalize most discs after recording. Most of the popular blank audio CDR discs such as Maxell, Memorex, Fuji, Verbatim, etc. are not compatable with this machine. However, it will usually function with TDK discs. I contacted Phillips about repairs (unit is still under warrenty). ... If you buy this machine, be VERY careful to QUICKLY and thoughly test its operation using several varieties of blank audio CDRs. ...
Rating: 
Summary: Works great! For now anyway...
Review: This review is probably moot, since Philips seems to be phasing out their cd recorders, but here goes. I purchased one of these from the "Scratch and Dent" section of my local Circuitous City, and I experienced the exact problem that others had, were the unit locks up during recording (extremely irritating!). So, I returned this unit and went to Best Buy and bought another CDR800 and this one seems to be ok. I haven't experienced the same problem and I've had it for nearly a year. I need this unit because I still have a ton of vinyl and I wanted to commit some of my older LP's to cd. In this capacity it has worked wonderfully! The feature I really like best is the Track Increment button on the remote that allows you to break up the songs on an LP into individual tracks (I looked at a bunch of recorders and this one is the only one that I found that on). The 3 tray cd makes compilations easy to put together. I hope this one lasts a while!
Rating:
Summary: Works great! For now anyway...
Review: This review is probably moot, since Philips seems to be phasing out their cd recorders, but here goes. I purchased one of these from the "Scratch and Dent" section of my local Circuitous City, and I experienced the exact problem that others had, were the unit locks up during recording (extremely irritating!). So, I returned this unit and went to Best Buy and bought another CDR800 and this one seems to be ok. I haven't experienced the same problem and I've had it for nearly a year. I need this unit because I still have a ton of vinyl and I wanted to commit some of my older LP's to cd. In this capacity it has worked wonderfully! The feature I really like best is the Track Increment button on the remote that allows you to break up the songs on an LP into individual tracks (I looked at a bunch of recorders and this one is the only one that I found that on). The 3 tray cd makes compilations easy to put together. I hope this one lasts a while!
Rating:
Summary: Works great! For now anyway...
Review: This review is probably moot, since Philips seems to be phasing out their cd recorders, but here goes. I purchased one of these from the "Scratch and Dent" section of my local Circuitous City, and I experienced the exact problem that others had, were the unit locks up during recording (extremely irritating!). So, I returned this unit and went to Best Buy and bought another CDR800 and this one seems to be ok. I haven't experienced the same problem and I've had it for nearly a year. I need this unit because I still have a ton of vinyl and I wanted to commit some of my older LP's to cd. In this capacity it has worked wonderfully! The feature I really like best is the Track Increment button on the remote that allows you to break up the songs on an LP into individual tracks (I looked at a bunch of recorders and this one is the only one that I found that on). The 3 tray cd makes compilations easy to put together. I hope this one lasts a while!
Rating:
Summary: Buy it, it's well worth the money!
Review: This unit is super! Very easy to record tapes, just hook it up, push record and the easy to read display tells you when to start your cassette!. If you have a big cassette tpe collection at home that you don't wnt to throw away, buy this recorder, you will love it.
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