- For use only with "audio" or "music" CD-Rs--will not work with data CD-Rs; 74-minute discs recommended over 80-minute
- Dual-output DJ mode allows you to operate both decks simultaneously
- High-speed (2x) and normal-speed dubbing
- Disc title entry and storage
- Coaxial and optical digital-audio inputs and outputs; stereo analog inputs and outputs; copies DTS- and HDCD-encoded CDs
Technical Details
Product Details
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Product Description
Amazon.com Review
Philips' CDR775BK CD recorder smashes the $400 price point for dual-disc CD decks, bringing high-speed recording and hard-wired convenience to a new level of affordability.
The deck works equally well as a recorder and as a player, thanks to its abundant hook-up options, though it doesn't muster the stellar quality from its analog outputs that you'll find in pricier CD recorders and players. (The digital outputs sound fine, however.)
The CDR775BK is equally happy receiving data from either of the two established means of digital audio transmission (optical or coaxial), and its analog inputs let you feed the recorder from external devices such as a cassette deck or a turntable--though a turntable must first be routed through a phono preamplifier, such as the phono input on a receiver.
Topping the list of cool playback features is the CDR775BK's DJ mode, which lets the two trays function independently; each "deck" offers a choice of analog or coaxial digital outputs. This means, taking the mode literally, that you can make yourself the life of a party by routing the deck's respective outputs into a DJ's mixer and letting fly with a new song just as the song from the other tray is fading out.
Alternately, you can route the outputs to separate amplifiers or receivers and enjoy simultaneous playback of different music in different rooms. Even cooler: you can program up to 99 tracks, switching between the two decks at will with no waiting during the switching (using analog or digital outputs).
You can also customize your CDs by recording at either normal or double speed from the player deck to the recorder deck. Double-speed recording can only take place during internal digital dubbing, however. CDs made from analog or external digital sources--or discs made from copies of digital recordings (see the accompanying FAQ for more details)--must be made at single speed.
All recording falls into one of five categories. In any category, the process is the same: first select the type of recording you'll be making, then hit Record--it's pretty much as simple as that.
A category called MAKE CD will digitally record the CD in the playback tray at high speed and automatically finalize the disc (that is, prepare it for use in standard CD players) upon completion, coming as close as can be to one-touch recording.
RECORD FAST is similar, but will not finalize the disc, letting you add additional tracks at normal speed or material from a different source before completing the CD. RECORD LISTEN makes a digital recording at single speed, resulting in the most faithful sounding digital reproductions. RECORD EXTERNAL DISC will commence recording upon the CDR775's sensing of a digital signal from an external digital source, while the last method, RECORD EXTERNAL MANUAL, lets you tell the recorder when to begin recording from an external source, either analog or digital.
One thing this recorder does that may be unique to Philips recorders is to cancel a recorded track altogether if you hit stop within three seconds of initiating a recording. This prevents false starts (as when you miss the beginning of a track you're recording from vinyl or cassette) by letting you stop the recording and begin the track anew; other decks will record the glitch and offer no means for erasing or skipping it later.
We found the recorder to be finicky about the brand and duration of discs used. As with all component CD recorders, you must use designated "music" or "audio" CD-Rs and CD-RWs with the CDR775BK. We got the most consistently favorable results with 74-minute Memorex audio CD-Rs, though the recorder worked fine with most 80-minute Memorex discs as well (occasional discs would record but refuse to finalize).
A headphone jack is a huge convenience, but for some reason Philips neglected to supply a volume control for it, so you're stuck with a single (to our ears) very loud output.
Other drawbacks include downright strange sound from the standard analog stereo outputs (bloated bass and tizzy treble) and the absence of a fade-in/-out button (forcing you to record from the analog inputs and perform manual fades if you want smooth transitions on cuts from live albums or if you want to squeeze a three-minute song onto the end of a disc with only 2:45 remaining).
Nevertheless, given everything the CDR775 does--and the price at which it does it--this CD recorder makes an exciting production tool for the inner DJ in all of us. --Michael Mikesell
Pros:
- Continuous play (deck 1 to deck 2)
- 99-track programming across both discs
- High-quality analog-to-digital converters
- Will cancel a mistake if recording is stopped within 3 seconds
- High-speed dubbing
- Headphone jack
- Independent digital outputs
Cons:
- No volume control for headphone jack
- No fade-in/-out command
- Poor sound from analog outputs
Customer Reviews
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
59 of 60 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Good recordings when it works,
By Rik Blaze "El Super Blablazo" (New York, New York USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Philips CDR775BK Dual-Deck Audio CD Recorder (Electronics)
I bought this model from Circuit City which offered a free 30-pack of Memorex 80 minute CDRs. Along with a $50 rebate I was excited about being able to record tapes, records, and copies of my favorite CDs. Well, after having problems like not finalizing CDRs automatically and just stopping in the middle of a song frozen with no option but to turn the unit off and then on again to get any functions to work (not to mention rendering alot of CDRs useless and a waste of my time), I took it into Circuit City after having it for just over a month. Since Circuit City's policy is no refunds after that, I took it in to be repaired at one of their service centers. They had it for almost 3 weeks and replaced the CBA recorder in it. Not too long after I got it back the same occured and I brought it back again and after the same amount of time, another CBA recorder had been replaced. The problems continued. I finally called Philips customer support to discover that 80 minute CDRs are not compatible with this model. Now why would Circuit City give free 80 minute CDRs with a model that's incompatible? They say they didn't know and eventually gave me 30 TDK 74 minute CDRs after I contacted the company online. Also, why doesn't Philips tell you this in the manual? How is one to know? Actually, it does make very good recordings when it's working right(the only reason I give it a generous 2 out of 5). However, it still freezes up during a song once in a while, even with 74 minute CDRs and you have to shut it off and on just to get the wells open. Forget about your recorded CDR at that point, it's useless and a waste of time and money. Like some others who have said negative things about the customer support, I pretty much got the same kind of useless advice. This model has problems, and I think Philips has a tough time with damage control issues. If you buy this model, expect the real possibility of having to deal with these problems. As for me, if the problems continue to persist regularly, I'll be looking into another brand, but this time I'll research better. The amount of frustration, waste of time, and money on wasted CDRs just isn't worth it. Although I'm surprised how many reviewers actually liked it, isn't it amazing how many also had similar problems?
45 of 48 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Fun Product: Just Pray It Doesn't Break,
By Henry in NYC (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Philips CDR775BK Dual-Deck Audio CD Recorder (Electronics)
I've had the Philips CDR775 for about a year now. I love the ability to record CDs, but I think maybe I should have shopped around for a better product. My biggest complaint with Philips is that their support is awful. They have idoits with no training answering the phones. You can actually hear them reading through the same notes you can find on the web. Call with a complex problem and they ask dumb questions like "are your cables plugged in?" My second complaint is that with fast dubbing, the deck adds a half second of blank time between tracks. Therefore, don't bother copying a continuous play CD. They sound really bad.
18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A Good Start....,
By George Stoll (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Philips CDR775BK Dual-Deck Audio CD Recorder (Electronics)
I found the connections very easy to hook-up. The manual was a bit confusing though. What was a pain, was to record selected tracks off another cd. There are a few steps that if you mess up on any one of them, you will accidentally record the wrong tracks. I did also have some defective tracks once later finalized and played back. When it would reach the defective track it wouldn't recognize it, then the playback would stop. If I bypassed the track, all would be fine. Other than that, I have had very pleasing results with the CD's I've made. It would be nice though if you could record on any CD-R, as I have many computer-ready CD-Rs that are now usless to me.
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