Reviews for Sony RCD-W500C 5-Disc Dual-Deck CD Changer/Recorder

Do not buy this model!!!

Strengths: none

Weakness: where do i begin?

I bought one of these units to record from my vinyl collection and to make multiple CD copies of my vinyl recordings for friends. I found very quickly that it had many faults:
1) would consistently shut down in the middle of recording from disc to disc, thus wasting many discs. (and i was using sony discs among others!)
2) from deck A to deck B the time sync would be off on newly recorded CDs causing the song indexes to start into the song on playback
3) the high speed function NEVER worked no matter what the source
4) there would often be glitches in the recorded CDs
5) when pressing buttons, unit functions are very slow to get set.
6) no fast forward function on unit. only remote.

I returned the unit to circuit city and they returned it to Sony, it came back 3 weeks later and still had the same problems! Circuit City gave me a new one, and it was crap too! It had most of the same problems as above plus when i recorded from disc to disc, the new disc would have digital "pops" at the beignning of each track index. What a head ache! Don't waste your time with this, Sony has lost me for good.

I have been recording cassettes and CDs for many years. I love documenting my record collection and making mixes. This unit was the biggest disappointment I have ever experienced. what a headache! Why even put it on the market if it is just a piece of crap? I only bought it because it was the only commercial model I could find and afford. I have retunred it, and I am now looking into pro-audio models.

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Excellent buy for the money!

Strengths: Easy to set up; quiet; more features than I'll ever use; makes perfect copies

Weakness: Manual is a bit intimidating

I was crushed when my 3 year old Philips recorder gave out. Couldn't find another as reliable. Finally went with a Denon that everyone raved about. It broke down on the 2nd day. Sent it back and bought the Sony at my local Circuit City. Why didn't I do this sooner? Easy set up in a just a few minutes. Can copy entire discs or make your own compilations easily and reliably. The instruction manual needs a little work but I got through it. I've only had the Sony RCD-W500C a short while, but I'm impressed.

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Sony RCD-W500C 5-Disc Dual-Deck CD Changer/Recorder

Strengths: able to use external inputs.

Weakness: I have not found any.

Has more specialitys than I want. I am not into copying CD that I already have but preserving the thousands of records I have collected over the years.I have not been able to find a simple and affordable burner so this one comes closest.

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Sony RCD-W500C 5-Disc Dual-Deck CD Changer/Recorder

Strengths: Easy to install. Easy to operate. Does what I wanted it to do, which is copy vinyl records to CD.

Weakness: The manual is a bit unclear. Can only use music 'audio' cds. On CD-RW you must 'unfinalize' to erase the disc. Would like to see that 'unfinalize' process part of the erase entire disc feature.

I have a huge vinyl record collection and am thrilled that I can now convert my favorite ones to CD. I can now even listen to these on my I-pod.

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Sony RCD-W500C 5-Disc Dual-Deck CD Changer/Recorder

Strengths: Makes superb recordings from analog LP records; plays up to 5 discs automatically with fine music reproduction.

Weakness: The little trays that hold a CD seem extremely flimsy and quite easily broken if you're not careful.

Although I've only had the unit a week now, I've play a number of CDs in Side A with no problems whatsoever. Yesterday I tried recording my first CD and was surprised at the results from LP records - the CD sounded almost better than the original LPs. I first experimented with a Verbatim CD-RW disc, and then switched to Maxell Music Pro CD-R discs (made in Japan) for a permanent recording. The results were exceptional. I highly recommend this unit.

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a piece of garbage

Strengths: very low price

Weakness: extremely low quality

Within two months, it was bombing recordings (I was copying LP's). I took it back to the dealer and they sent it to Sony who replaced it with a rebuilt unit (they must have plenty of those). It lasted about six months before it too started going bad and was totally unusable after about 10 more months. This time, I would have to spend $153 to replace it with another rebuilt unit. I chose to throw the machine out. One reason was that the new rebuilt unit would have had only a 90-day parts-and-labor warranty from Sony. What a piece of garbage.

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Sony RCD-W500C 5-Disc Dual-Deck CD Changer/Recorder

Strengths: Excellent digital quality recording from analogue and disk copying. Copy tracks in the order of your choice from multiple CDs.

Weakness: Only records to Digital Audio CDs. Does not Play on deck A to analogue while recording from analogue on deck B.

This CD recorder is exactly what we needed. We are able to record from an analogue source onto a digital format. It does take some study to orient yourself to the recording process and terminalogy as it does with most new components. There are a variety of setting that allow for a number of recording and playback options. There seem to be few choices for CD recordering on the market. Sony has provided a fine component.

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Sony RCD-W500C 5-Disc Dual-Deck CD Changer/Recorder

Strengths: very versatile; good gadget ...5-disc player and one 'additional' for recording.

Weakness: Couldn't record straight from a turntable

Has a good number of features for playback of CDs...Neat 5-disc player from which one can choose the format to play the tracks...randomly or programmed by the user.
One can easily record from a casette deck, adjusting the recording level as well.
When it came time to record from the turntable, I had to go through the cassette player: connected the turntable to the amplifier, as would normally. Connect the L/R leads from the amplifier tape out to the tape deck input, like it would be normally done. Then the output of the cassette player to the input L/R jacks of the CD recorder unit(and not to the amplifier anymore). Then, place a 'dummy' cassette in the player, press record and pause (...ie, as if I were recording the record to the cassette tape). Then, play the record and start the CD recording.
One can adjust the recording level of the CD, and choose whether to 'dub' the record or do it 'manually'...
One has to go through a learning curve...like everything else!
So, I've accomplished what I wanted to do...make CDs from tapes and records! :)

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Sony RCD-W500C 5-Disc Dual-Deck CD Changer/Recorder

Strengths: Works well- records audio cd's fairly quickly.

Weakness: Instructions in owners manual are confusing, poorly organized and hard to follow..

A high quality product- I would buy again, but the package would be better with a more readable manual. This is the second CD recorder I have owned- the first one- made by Phillips- had reliability problems. I haven't had the Sony that long, but I have faith in the reliability based on the fact that it carries the Sony name.

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This product is great!!!

Strengths: Records CDRs and CDRWs with ease, 5 disc changer/player, dual decks, analog and digital ins, excellent audio quality, nice design.

Weakness: Only records to music (audio) CDRs and CDRWs and not the less expensive Data types.

I have had this unit for the about a week and love it! It does what it's design to do very precisely, record CDRs and CDRWs. Recordings made sound just as good or better than the original source! Since music CDRs are more expensive than Data CDRs, I usually record to music CDRWs, finalize it and then extract the recordings using my PC's CDR burner, that way I can burn the recordings to less expensive Data CDRs. If you have vinyl records or tapes you want on CD and you want one of the best Home CDR burners on the market, look no further than the Sony RCD-W500C!!!

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Sony RCD-W500C 5-Disc Dual-Deck CD Changer/Recorder

This unit is not easy to set up or use.Receivers don't have CD outs, even though you need one. The owners manual is more hindrance than help. However after reading on line reviews and comments it works like a charm. Copies are as good as the original to the ear. Will not make digitally protected copies. I'm finally getting those old LPs digitalized.

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play3404

Strengths: easy to setup

Weakness: none I have found so far

I bought this unit to copy my cassette tape collection to CD. I was delighted to find equal ease in copying some LP vinyl ablums as well as some 45 RPM records to CD. This unit does exactly what I wanted and the sound quality of the burned CD is equal to the original source. This unit has various play functions using 5 CD changer as well as several different types of recording scenerios. Explaining all these various functions makes the instruction manual a little hard to follow when one is only interested in perforning one task but the explanations are clear once you learn how to focus just on the parts that pertain to what you are trying to accomplish. I would highly recommend this unit to anyone wanting to copy any audio material to CD format.

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Sony RCD-W500C 5 Disc CD Player/Recorder

Strengths: displays track titles; burns CDs; lots of features; relatively low price; Sony quality

Weakness: no fast forward button

There is no fast forward button on the unit; there is only one on the remote. So you have to go find the remote if you want to skim through some songs. And if you lose or break the remote, you've lost that functionality altogether. The disk changing speed is fair. It is a little slower than the rotating platter style unit I used to have. But on the plus side, it is a Sony, and is likely to last a long time. My last Sony stereo lasted about 16 years, which is very good.

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SONY RCD-W500C

Strengths: NONE

Weakness: MANY

This model is crap! It is ONLY compatible with music ONLY CD-R's! The multiple format discs (Data, Images & Music) are NOT compatible with this model. Music only CD-R's are being phased out at least one manufacturer (Maxell). I've tried several dealers and all I've found are the mulitiple format CD-R's. I called Sony and their attitude is quite cavalier. SONY hasn't provided any type of update for it so basically you're paying $250 for a 5 CD changer which you can purchase for about $130!
THIS MODEL (SONY RCD-W500C) IS CRAP AND AN EXPENSIVE PIECE OF JUNK!

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Sony RCD-500C - A Great product, so far!!

Strengths: Straight-forward instructions. Easy to operate.

Weakness: None so far

So far I am very happy with this recorder. I have had no problems at all. This is my third cd recorder. (my previous ones were a Pioneer and a Philips). My only real concern is the trays of the changer seem to be thin and flimsy, but they have worked well so far. If you can operate a cassette recorder, than you can operate this CD recorder.

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NOT SO HOT

Strengths: Price is about all.

Weakness: Instruction book is too sketchy. Takes a while to "learn the system yourself"

Will not recogize many manufacturer's discs. Plan on using only SONY discs to avoid a ton of headaches. Even so, I recorded 6 discs with no problems. The seventh disc recorded but would not play. So, although the Sony 500 seems cheap it does not appear to be a good buy nor a good value.

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Overall good machine

Strengths: Good sound quality and recording features

Weakness: None so far

This recorder is performing great. I am recording analog signals and I am satisfied with the features and ease of use. I can now convert analog signals to CD and use the copy feature to make multiple copies of the CD.

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RCD-W500C 5-Disc Dual-Deck CD Changer/Recorder

Strengths: Plays well.

Weakness: Records great, when it records

Purchased this unit for our church. After 6 months the recording would skip tracks before you could count to 10. Only records on music cds. Tried Sony techs, no help. This is not a good unit. Don't buy.

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RCD-W500 5-Disc Recorder

Strengths: Nice looking unit

Weakness: ERY complicated to use. Instructions are ambiguous. Emits pink noise like sound into system when finalizing a disc. Record mode times out...this is not mentioned in the instruction manual.

VERY complicated to use. Instructions are ambiguous and incomplete.
Emits very loud pink noise like sound into sound system when finalizing a disc.
Record mode times out...this is not mentioned in the instruction manual.

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This is just what I have been looking for!

Strengths: Records lp

Weakness: The manual was not really writen well

I have been looking for something to recored all my lp's and the Sony recorder works great. I have read alot of negative reviews on several other products that are meant to do the same, but this is just what I have been looking for. The cd's have a better quality that the lp itself does. I had it set up and recording in less than 30 minutes despit the manual. I couldn't be happier!!

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Sony RCD-W500C

The Sony RCD-W500C is a 5-disc CD player/recorder. As well as playing CD-Rs, CD-RWs, and MP3s, this unit also records CD-R and CD-RW discs—including are Super Bit Mapping, high-speed finalizing, CD text entry. In regards to inputs and outputs, the unit only hosts three: headphone, optical audio, and RCA. That is, however, enough for the average music listener. Additional features of the...

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Sony RCD-W500C

TestSeek.com has collected 1 expert review for Sony RCD-W500C and the rating is 64 of 100. Click below and use TestSeek.com to find all ratings, product awards and conclusions.

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Best CD player under $300

Bestcovery experts have rated the Sony RCD-W500C 5-Disc Dual-Deck CD Changer/Recorder as a best pick for the Best CD player under $300. Bestcovery's experts recommend the best products and services for a particular need based on extensive research and evaluations. Click below to see Bestcovery's full review of this product.

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