Philips CDR775BK Dual-Deck Audio CD Recorder

• For use only with "audio" or "music" CD-Rs--will not work with data CD-Rs; 74-minute discs recommended over 80-minute
• Dual-output DJ mode allows you to operate both decks simultaneously
• High-speed (2x) and normal-speed dubbing
• Disc title entry and storage
• Coaxial and optical digital-audio inputs and outputs; stereo analog inputs and outputs; copies DTS- and HDCD-encoded CDs

I bought this model from Circuit City which offered a free 30-pack of Memorex 80 minute CDRs. Along with a $50 rebate I was excited about being able to record tapes, records, and copies of my favorite CDs. Well, after having problems like not finalizing CDRs automatically and just stopping in the middle of a song frozen with no option but to turn the unit off and then on again to get any functions to work (not to mention rendering alot of CDRs useless and a waste of my time), I took it into Circuit City after having it for just over a month. Since Circuit City's policy is no refunds after that, I took it in to be repaired at one of their service centers. They had it for almost 3 weeks and replaced the CBA recorder in it. Not too long after I got it back the same occured and I brought it back again and after the same amount of time, another CBA recorder had been replaced. The problems continued. I finally called Philips customer support to discover that 80 minute CDRs are not compatible with this model. Now why would Circuit City give free 80 minute CDRs with a model that's incompatible? They say they didn't know and eventually gave me 30 TDK 74 minute CDRs after I contacted the company online. Also, why doesn't Philips tell you this in the manual? How is one to know? Actually, it does make very good recordings when it's working right(the only reason I give it a generous 2 out of 5). However, it still freezes up during a song once in a while, even with 74 minute CDRs and you have to shut it off and on just to get the wells open. Forget about your recorded CDR at that point, it's useless and a waste of time and money. Like some others who have said negative things about the customer support, I pretty much got the same kind of useless advice. This model has problems, and I think Philips has a tough time with damage control issues. If you buy this model, expect the real possibility of having to deal with these problems. As for me, if the problems continue to persist regularly, I'll be looking into another brand, but this time I'll research better. The amount of frustration, waste of time, and money on wasted CDRs just isn't worth it. Although I'm surprised how many reviewers actually liked it, isn't it amazing how many also had similar problems?

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I've had the Philips CDR775 for about a year now. I love the ability to record CDs, but I think maybe I should have shopped around for a better product.

My biggest complaint with Philips is that their support is awful. They have idoits with no training answering the phones. You can actually hear them reading through the same notes you can find on the web. Call with a complex problem and they ask dumb questions like "are your cables plugged in?"

My second complaint is that with fast dubbing, the deck adds a half second of blank time between tracks. Therefore, don't bother copying a continuous play CD. They sound really bad.

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In the 1 week of ownership of this model I have had several frustrating days and phone sessions with the Philips girls on the customer "help" line. Finally I was able to break through to a technician named O'Neil who gave me the clue which helped me make 9 successful external recordings from vinyls and cassette tapes so far, and makes me feel safe in keeping the unit. The secret? He said this model is NOT ABLE TO HANDLE OVER 74 min.(including the finalization time) of the 80 min. disks. Yes, I finally found Philips disks at Sears. However, the local authorized Philips repair shop uses only Memorex and never heard that they won't work. They are not aware of the 74 min. limit, or of the requirement to use Philips disks. Neither is the dealer at Circuit City. If Philips would tell their DEALERS of this highly kept secret, they would not have so many returned "out of the Box" units on the shelf (which this was one of several) or so many unhappy purchasers.I hope this information is helpful for your particular problem.

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I found the connections very easy to hook-up. The manual was a bit confusing though. What was a pain, was to record selected tracks off another cd. There are a few steps that if you mess up on any one of them, you will accidentally record the wrong tracks. I did also have some defective tracks once later finalized and played back. When it would reach the defective track it wouldn't recognize it, then the playback would stop. If I bypassed the track, all would be fine. Other than that, I have had very pleasing results with the CD's I've made. It would be nice though if you could record on any CD-R, as I have many computer-ready CD-Rs that are now usless to me.

This is a fine product when it works and that's the catch. Sometimes it will and sometimes it won't. The directions are adequate if you are comfortable with electronics equipment. Otherwise, you have to trust your intuition. The first unit I received arrived already broken. The second one has provided me with two months of alternative pleasure and maddening frustration. [Right now the machine cannot read a disc I just recorded on it.] It can be a nightmare trying to get it to work properly at times. When it does work, it can be a joy. But I would rather have something that is reliable. It is apparent to me that Philips has issued a product with some real quality control probles. I would not buy it again and am already searching for a replacement.