Sony TCM-150 Cassette Recorder with Automatic Recording Level Control

I WANTED A NOT TO EXPENSIVE CASSETTE RECORDER. I WANTED A BRAND NAME. I SAW THE SONY RECORDER FOR A GOOD PRICE,AND I FOUND IT. RECEIVED PRODUCT VERY QUICKLY. RECORDS FULL LENGTH CASSETTES. EASY OPERATION. PLAY, RECORD, STOP, REWIND AND FAST FORWARD. LARGE SPEAKER, WHICH IS IN THE FRONT, WITH THE CASSETTE WINDOW DISPLAY. THIS HELPS ALOT. SOME CASSETTE RECORDERS HAVE WINDOW ON ONE SIDE, WITH THE SPEAKER ON THE OTHER. WITH THIS RECORDER, YOU CAN LISTEN AND RECORD WITH THE PLAYER ON IT'S BACK. YOU ONLY HAVE TO USE THEBACK SIDE TO CHANGE BATTERIES. RECORDS CLEAR VOICE. PLAYBACK FINE. THANK YOU

While the recorder works, its speed does not adjust right and as a result the recording does NOT always come out right or even intelligible.

This product does what it sets out to do, record. How well it does that is a whole nother story. In a lecture hall you have to make sure to sit at or near the front of the hall, otherwise you can barely hear the speaker over the room noise and the noise of the recorder. The recorder itself makes a good amount of noise when recording and when playing back. And when the machine gets cold or has been used a bit, it likes to make a high pitched squel that is very disruptive in lectures. Not the best choice ever.

This is the second cheap cassette player I've bought. I had one of this model type from Sony that worked probably 3 to 5 years. Bought this one but it was DOA (dead on arrival). Sony where has the quality control gone? You used to be able to get a $25 dictation cassette recorder that worked but this and the other one that I bought were both broken, things turned but no recording, guess I'll try a more expensive one next time.

Pros:
many great details, really thinks about the customer, good quality (lasts a long time)

Con(s):
Sony should include tape recorders and blank tapes(together) for a bargain price as apposed to selling each separately making it convenient for the customer(very important)and cost efficient. I noticed other amazon products were put into this form which made ME personally buy them so why not this product and why not other consumers?