Califone International Cassette recorder

Advantages: Great sound quality, good set of features, three heads
Disadvantages: No remote control

...Many people seem to think that cassette tapes, and analogue audio in general, have had their day. For me though, I have so many cassettes that converting them to a digital format is impractical, and buying CD copies or paying to download them, too expensive. Unfortunately, the quality of cassette decks in most mini-hifi systems these days is very poor - the cynic in me wonders if this is a deliberate ploy to stimulate sales of CD recorders and other more "hi-tech" gadgetry. Hence, I bought this machine for the grand sum of £10 second hand. I believe it retailed for under £100 new, though I suspect it has been discontinued now. I will begin with the playback side of things. When I first started using this machine, I suddenly found myself listening to lots of old pre-recorded cassettes I had not dug out for years. OK, so they were... Read review

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Advantages: Takes regular sized audio cassettes, double-time recording, inexpensive model
Disadvantages: Needs to be used close to sound-source, a bit bulky for some tastes

...I always wanted a dictaphone as a child. Largely, I admit, for slightly dubious reasons (i.e. I wanted to plant it in my big sister's bedroom and find out if she was talking about me.) Many years on, as a student, I finally received one as a birthday gift so that I could record important lectures. This certainly did come in handy during those classes that, however hard I tried to stay alert, had me head down and drooling on the desk within minutes. The Sony TCM-200DV Cassette-Corder (or 'dictaphone' to you and me) is a fairly basic model compared to some products on the market - but it does what it says on the tin and it does it to a perfectly acceptable standard. The machine is silver (with a charcoal grey back panel and battery compartment) and weighs in at 171g - it's roughly the same size as a cassette-playing personal stereo... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: Variable recording time, mains compatible
Disadvantages: No tape counter

...I paid about £35 for this cassette recorder, which may be better described as a dictating machine. The machine is attractively packaged, having a black and silver case and weighs about 275g. It measures approx 11cm by 4cm by 9cm, taking a standard cassette size, as opposed to the micro ones. This should mean that the overall quality is better but you pay for the size and bulk of the thing. It's as heavy, and the same size, as your average Walkman. The voice operated recording (VOR) works fine and the sliding switch on the front to vary the recording time gives 'Normal' and 'Double', effectively doubling the amount of recording time you can use. The microphone is a built-in electret condenser mic and is mono. Again, this does the job as an effective dictating machine but not alot else. The Record button is at the side but above... Read review

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