Sony TCM-200DV Cassette Recorder with Dual Power Source

We were able to take this recorder on our vacation and use it in a church service where we recorded some music and a message. We were about four rows back and still got a very clear recording (of course not a professional grade) that we could use to learn the song and review the message. We have not used all the features, but what we have used have performed above our expectations and we look forward to continue to use it with confidence.

Generally a very good product. Sound quality could use marginal improvement (would rate it at an 8 on a scale of 10). The speed control feature is very handy. While the item description states cassette recorder with dual power source - it does not come with the plug in power source (that would have made it a very strong candidate for five stars). Very good value for the money.

I bought this cassette player because I heard it was good for recording music rehearsal (I'm an opera singer) and my old cassette player (panasonic) broke after 10 years. This Sony had a constant buzzing and static sound in the background and thus it was useless for hearing anything beyond a basic sound. Might be okay for a lecture but I found the static very distracting and a hindrance to good sound quality of any kind. I sent it back immediately. Thanks for the refund. And yes, my old cassette player (now off market) was fantastic with a high grade sound quality.

This Sony product is excellent and far better than the digital recorders I have tried. It has an automatic record level which works great for recodring classroom lessons. Audio tape does not easily distort on loud sounds vs digital units I have tried which have high distortion. Background noise level is high (as auto record feature increases gain at low levels) so best to keep this 10 feet or less from source. Also be sure to use fresh batteries: change these after every two or three tapes. A really good product for portable recording.

The cassette recorder works perfectly on batteries. However, when the cassette arrived, its plastic packaging had already been opened and the 12-volt converter was missing.