Home > Consumer Reviews > Philips CDR800 3-CD Integrated CD Recorder

I have just bought this Philips CDR800 broken from EBay for $60.00. Since I fix electronics, I went ahead with the purchase. In no time the machine was in working order, by the way if it was a Sony, I would not have bothered to fix, Sony has too much hype with people who follow Sales personnel who get commisions by Sony. The problem with the Philips was a small misalignment, caused by a nasty drop ( I can see the damage ). After testing the CD recorder and MP3, I found it better than my other CD recorder, and was able to play some scratched CDs that I was about to discard (Now I can make fresh copies from them). About Philips customer service, I can say that I had used them twice, one by phone and the other by chat. The chat was top rated. However, the phone was just. . . . . showed lack of employee knowledge of their products. Any how, I love this machine and I highly recommend it.

Absolutely agree with the comments regarding the finalizing of CD's. I have made a magnificent series of coasters with this machine. My advice is to stay away from this unit, but if you do buy, be sure of the store's return policies!

Mine's going back to Circuit City today. (I wonder if they will give me a refund for the burned, but unfinalized CD that is in the tray and will not eject?)

Happy Trails!

Santa brought me this machine, and I was blown away (I deserved no more than coal). It was a few months before I had the time to hook it up and play with it, so sorry for this late post.

If you are not VERY into technology, I'd advise AGAINST this machine... It is quite functional, and does a great job of what its designed for, (when it works) but it's not at all intuitive.

There are MANY important functions on the front panel which are not accessable from the remote control, and some other important functions are ONLY accessable from the remote control.

After a few months of smooth sailing, (I was able to record a dozen or so cherised LP's to CD) the machine started failing to "finalize" discs. I'm using TDK discs - I think another unhappy poster said that TDK's are the only ones that work for them.

I'm now going to have to ship this machine to godknowswhere for "repair" (we know they'll just send a refurb).

On my first call to repair I spoke to a real human, (thus the two stars!) and she said that the drive bays had locked up due to an "electrostatic discharge". I took her at her word, although as an EE, I kind of know that there's no way that there could have been any significant static zap to the machine here in Soggy N.E in June.

The real problem is frankly, shoddy design. The hardware or the software, or both, are lame.

I've read the previous reviews about the CDR 800 not finalizing, not recording, etc, and completely concur. Although I could reiterate these comments with my own similar experiences, I'd like to, instead, express my disappointment with the customer service of Philips.
The representative on the phone first told me that only Philips Audio CDs are guaranteed to work with the unit, to which I replied that that is stated nowhere in the product literature, or on the web site at the time of purchase. She backtracked on that, and listed the CDs that were supported, including the very brand (Memorex) that is causing me problems. My only recourse, according to Philips, is to get the unit "checked out". Unfortunately for me, although still under warranty, I cannot return to the store it was purchased from (letters to these will also be forthcoming), and have no recourse but to comply. However, I would strongly suggest that anyone even thinking of buying this unit, or frankly, any other Philips item, rethink immediately. While one product may have issues (like the CDR 800), a company's reputation and handling of customer service issues can either make or break any additional purchases. In this case, the service is so poor, as I am sure there are many complaints, that I will never, (yes, never) buy another Philips product again.

Buyer beware with this company.

I purchased this unit back in 2003 because of other philips' records I've owned. The 800 model is a pain where the sun doesn't shine. I purchase it as an "open box" item at Circuit City and luckily only paid a total of $199.00, after a $50.00 rebate, a portable cd player and 5 blank audio cds from Philips. (I have purchased other electonics as "open box" with out any issues) This machine was in the shop twice during the warranty period. I actually spoke to the technician who worked on it the second time, and he said, "He absolutely loved the machine" He has another thing coming. It has a mind of it's own and got worst after it came back. The carousel drawer won't open sometimes unless you unplug it. The cdr side won't play cds it has recorded, and during shuffle, it will stop after awhile and indicate open drawers. I used to use Maxell, TDK audio cds, but the recorder stopped wouldn't finalizing them. The tech told me that most blank cds have been reformatted and that I should use Philips or Sony cds. Again, I am sure it's aploy for one to purchase Philips' blank cds. Most stores don't carry them with the exception of Radio Shack. However, I have seen Philips cds at Best Buy and Circuit City, but x8 or higher speed. The philips will only accept x1 or x2 speed cds. It won't even play the original Maxell or TDK cds I recorded on prior to it starting to malfunction. I feel this is pretty shady of Philips to build a piece of equiptment like this. I never had a problem with any other Philips products. Basically, I would not purchase this model period if anyone is in the market. Personally, I feel any cd player or recorder with a carousel in it means trouble at some point. This has been my experience with other manufacturers too. If you want to purchase a component cd recorder, I would purchase the 765 or 770 model, which seem to be pretty good. Other wise, I read many good things about a Tascam 500 or 700, which cost more, but you can probably pick a used one up reasonably.