Home > Consumer Reviews > Sony TCM-929 Pressman Desktop Cassette Recorder with Automatic Shut-Off

I've had one of these since 1993. It's perfect. It's a tape player and recorder, and that's it.

It never jams on a good tape. It's perfect at what it does.

Being an audiobook lover I use it to listen to my books around the house and it has had a lot of use!

Unlike units that have CD players, the tape is the focus, not an afterthought.

Also, it's far superior to tape units that switch sides for you, because they often switch sides at the least resistance, not necessarily the end of the tape.

In summation, this is the tape audiobook listener's friend for reliable, no trouble, listening for hours and hours and years to come..

This is a very nice cassette recorder, that is loaded with features that most cassette recorders don't have anymore. It has microphone jack, ear jack, tape counter, sliding volume control(on side of unit), built-in very sensative mic, that picks up full-fidelity sound. Uses full-size cassette tapes, has full-auto stop; which means that it will stop in Rewind, Fast Forward, and playing or recording. Speaker produces good sound, with clear recordings. I recently recorded old 78 records, using this recorder, and placing it near the record player. It produced, very clear, full-fidelity recordings; even from scratchy sounding 78 records. It also has cue and review, that let you rewind or fast-forward to selections without pressing stop key. Comes with AC adapter, and uses 4 "AA" batteries. Recorder is simple to operate, but produces good voice or music recordings. It has ALC for perfect recordings every time, without making adjustments. Highly recommend this recorder.

Upon reading other customer reviews I bought this tape recorder. It is ok for voice recording and playback, but when I recorded my piano practice the playback sounded awful. Since I had bought it for that purpose I returned it. For voice it has a good tone and the machine noise is less than others I have heard. So, especially considering all the features including cue/review it is a good choice for voice recording.

I made the mistake of buying a slightly cheaper GE recorder, with horrible sound.

The Sony is only a few dollars more and immensely better. Very good sound reproduction, even using only the internal mic.

Automatic shutoff and a carrying handle are extra features which other low-price units don't have.

I bought this to record our band practices and to play some kid book cassettes. It was ok - not great, but just fine for the price - until it just froze up completely. Hmmm... about two weeks after the short warantee period. (No abuse, it was treated very gently.)