Customer Reviews

COBY CXR188 IC Digital Voice Recorder

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This is my first digital voice recorder(Coby CXR118 IC) and I'm deeply disappointed with it. I was expecting the recording quality of that of my camcorder. The reason I bought this is for the price and PC interface capability. This is the worst product anyone can make. The recording quality is so horrible I cannot recognize my own words after recording with microphone close to your mouth. Menu selection is poorly designed and the user manual is for COBY's Techies. DON'T EVEN CONSIDER THIS PRODUCT. It does not record voice, it records NOISE.

I bought the CX-R188 primarily for the ability to tranfer recordings to my computer. The software did not work. I was not able to transfer files of more than a few minutes in length. I tried the software on multiple computers with no success. Other than this flaw (which was significant for me), the product seems to work OK.

I just got a new unit yesterday for my college courses. The recording time, advertised 90min/up to 4hrs, is only about 45 minutes in SP mode and 3 hrs. 50 minutes in LP. The quality in long play mode is fairly good - you can understand speech (there is a little warbling) - but unsuitable for music. The SP mode is good for music though. With the software, you can convert between SP/LP files and .wav or .mp3. There are some other nice features like being able to repeat segments of files (for lectures, learning languages?), VOX and sensitive mike settings. Along on the CD (a bonus?) are some Chinese language/English files. Might be useful toward learning Chinese - can't say - but there are quite a few files. The software works with my Windows XP. The manual is useful; although it's just basic. It looks like the unit might have come out in 1997. I think it's good for the price and my needs.

I am deeply disappointed with my Coby voice recorder. In the past I've used an Olympus model. Based on my experience with that device, the Coby just doesn't stand against the competition. This device is cheaply built. The user interface is almost unusable. The long record quality is terrible. The user manual is next to indecipherable (this from a guy who can figure out just about any device on the market without reading a manual). I'd highly recommend the least expensive Olumpus model over this device. Beware of this one.

I got this to do Paranormal Investigations, and what a mistake. Terrible layout on button programing,battery life stinks,sound is ok for what I do, and not compatible with any of my software. I wasted money for sure.

this is a complete waste of money. when i opened it, the recorder rattled, which i decided is a testament to how cheaply made it was. when not in use, the device drained battery power. i left the recorder in my bag over the weekend, and when i took it out to use on monday, the batteries were dead. after three months of use (and many, many replacement batteries) the recorder stopped working altogether. as a replacement i bought a sony recorder with mp3 playback. that is much more satisfactory. i will never purchase another coby product again.

I bought this thing years ago when it was $100! it's so crappy, I can't believe they still sell it. You have to be within a few feet of it to get it to record. I bought it for lectures in class, so that was aggravating. The sound quality is awful. If you're willing to go to a professional sound studio digitally to separate what you wanted from all the background noise and static, then maybe you'll like it. I could never get the computer software to work, so I couldn't upload recordings onto my computer. Not that I wanted any of them after I heard the quality. You can get a much higher quality recorder with more memory for just a little more money. Just take the time and shop around.

Recorder can record over 3 1/2 hours in long play mode(LP)- not 4 hours as advertised - and only 45 minutes+ in slow play mode(SP). Problems in voice quality cropped up after a few months: too much background noise from somewhere?! Had to stop using it to record lectures, which is what I got the unit for! I don't know why the audio files take so long to upload, even though the baud rate was set high. One of the button features does not work, the bookmark. After having the device for several months, I would not recommend it. Nice try Coby, no cigar.