Rating: 
Summary: A Very Nice Unit Overall
Review: Absolutely the worst owner's manual EVER! But, with help from a really cheezy video Philips supplies with the CDR785 I was able to get started. This is the first CD recorder I've owned and, unlike some reviewer said, you don't "select the type of recording you'll be making, then you hit Record". It is so NOT that simple. However, once you figure out what you do have to do (Thanks again, Philips, for that literary masterpiece!) it is relatively simple to make fantastic sounding cd's. I scrapped 3 or 4 CDR's "discovering" the many features of this unit and I'm sure I haven't found them all. But, hey, at a buck a piece that's a cheap education. Since then I've been able to compile about a dozen great sounding cd's using the unit's 3 CD changer, my turntable, cassette deck, and my VCR, and they all play in all of our other cd players (portables included).I would have given this unit 5 stars if it weren't for the (lack of) manual. Oh, and to the owners of this unit, to adjust the analog record level you depress the "REC LEVEL" and rotate the jog button while keeping the button depressed! Now, if I could just get a really good deal on 3000 DA-CDR's!
Rating:
Summary: Great, but maybe imperfect
Review: Everything is what you'd expect from it, but there is a BIG problem that's not really addressed. What's the problem? It DOES record on every Digital Audio CD-R that I've tried (Philips, Maxell and TDK), but for Maxell it does something funky that I can't quite figure out - the CD-Rs work fine (i.e. perfectly) on mini-stereos and regular stereos (with components), but have problems with Discmans (portable disc players) - the CD-Rs seem to skip (but never recover) or the CD-R plays fine and then just stops playing. Odd, but this may be either this batch of Maxells that I bought OR it could be the Philips 785. Anyone else have this problem OR know if this particular recorder can only be used with a specific brand of CD-Rs????!!
Rating: 
Summary: Hopefully you're reading this before you purchase
Review: I agree with the others that the instructions do not provide adequate direction. A lot of the user's education on this product comes by way of trial and error. There are certain CDRs that won't work, as has been noted in prior reviews. Advanced features like fade out are mentioned, but there's absolutely no instruction. I've also had problems with the laser. Often I'll hear a few seconds of silence on my recordings. I'll be taking this product back today and doing more research before my next purchase.
Rating: 
Summary: Great Buy
Review: I did lot of looking for the best cd recorder and this one is it! Great sound, easy to use, totally the best value. You can record music and voice on CDs to send to family and friends for fun. How cool is that?
Rating:
Summary: Great and Fairly Inexpensive
Review: I have been searching for a personal cd recorder for 5 months and I just couldnt decide which cd recorder to by. When i was looking at the prices of 3 cd changers and cd recorders i ound out that it would be hundreds of dollers more then the combined deal. There are tons of great features which the more expensive cd players have and the only have a single or a duble deck. Many of my friends have cd players and I fell that this one is much easier to work then any other. I can't think of why you would want to but any other cd player.
Rating:
Summary: WATCH FOR USER ERROR!!
Review: I have read the other review's and frankly the most accurate one was from the DJ. I bought this unit 1 week ago and have had NO difficulty recording on either cd-r's or cd-rw's. They are of the "DIGITAL AUDIO" variety, as the manual states they need to be. I had NO difficulty locating them at a music store and yes they are the 80min variety(and work fine).
Be sure to "FINALIZE" your cd after burning it or they will NOT play on ANY other cd player(it WILL however re-play on this unit unfinalized so don't be surprised it plays on the 785 but not elsewhere). I have recorded from the radio as well as a phonograph. No problem. You CAN adjust the record levels despite what others have said.(I beleive it even has an automated setting for keeping levels from different cd's equal when making mixed cd's)
Why only 4/5? 1- no digital output. 2- The users manual is not the greatest(but it is enough, despite the jumping around you need to do in it to find the info) and 3- The jog dial for track advancement(I like the skip button on the unit. However, that feature is on the remote).
The ONLY PROBLEM I have had using this unit so far is with entering and KEEPING the text. It usually works but not always. I am sure that it is due to user error(I've only had it a week!). That, people is also what I think most of the negative reviews are do to as well. Beware of USER ERROR!! Its not difficult to use this unit with great results. I'm no rocket scientist. Just pay attention. ENJOY!!!
Rating:
Summary: A great piece of equipment, but!
Review: I have shopped around for about a year looking for the right recorder and I've found it. The 785 is an excellant one with a few minor exceptions. The instruction book is not as clear as it could be and the video is just about useless fortunately I have been in electronics for many years and have used a cd burner on my computer. With a little reading and experimenting anyone will be able to use this recorder. If your not electronically inclined and have a friend who has a cd burner or some electronic knowledge give them a call. It is well worth the effort. The other problem is with Maxell cds, they do skip on other players so I would avoid them. I would suggest that when you buy your recorder pick up a CDRW music cd and practice on that. Maybe Philips should include one of those instead of the CDR disk. I would give this recorder a five if it were not for the instructions. The 785 is well worth the extra time you might spend learning how to use it.
Rating:
Summary: Great Product!
Review: I have to say with my unit...I have No Problems what so ever!!It records fantastic using all major brand (Audio) CD-R's and (Audio) CD-RW's.Maxwell, TDK....I love this machine! To anyone having problems playing back their CD-R's or CD-RW's NOTE that a lot of older machines don't have the capability to play them and It doesn't matter where the CD-R or RW recorder or computer it came from.The sound is fantastic! Great Buy! You Will Not Be Disappointed! Pure Digital Bit by Bit Recording too!!!!!
Rating:
Summary: It's great to hear all my RECORDS again!
Review: I was a little intimidated when I opened the box to discover the instructional video- Uh Oh! What was I in for? A friend had recently purchased a Pioneer CD Recorder and it took her a week to get the thing properly hooked-up and figured out. Yikes! I watched the stupid video and jumped into the instruction booklet - Needless to say I was up and running in less than an hour, putting records (remember those old things) onto CDs! Awesome! The sound quality is terrific, this thing is loaded with sensible options that enhance one's recording&listening pleasure. I have not had any problems using TDK CDR and CDRWs purchased off the shelf from the local Tower Records. Philips invented CD technology, and they continue to understand how to put this technology to work.
Rating:
Summary: A solid, user-friendly, high-quality product.
Review: I'm extremely happy with my Philips CD Recorder. It is simple to use, yet has a wealth of advanced features and the ability to record from just about any source that you can think of. I use this CD Recorder to record continuous DJ mixes off my vinyl records--it's fantastic because I can assign track numbers as I mix--that way, listeners don't have to fast forward through one long track to get to the part of the mix where they left off. The only weird glitch that I encountered was a skip in a CD-RW that I recorded; however, when I made copies of the CD-RW, the skip disappeared on the copies. Other pluses include the volume control on the headphone jack, which is not available on the cheaper models. Also, when copying continuous mix CDs, there are no gaps placed between the tracks, as often happens when duplicating mix CDs on a computer--you get a perfect bit-for-bit copy. Please note that you need to purchase special digital audio CD-Rs and CD-RWs for this machine, so don't stock up on computer-grade CD-Rs (the correct CD-Rs say "Digital Audio" in the CD-R logo). The CD-RWs can be hard to find at electronics stores--easiest thing to do is run a search on Google.com for "CD-RW Digital Audio".
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