Versatile Easy to Use Cassette Player
937734
The ION Tape2PC is a very useful and easy-to-use piece of equipment that enables me to archive cassette recordings to MP3. I have a large collection of impossible-to-replace live radio broadcasts that I can now duplicate to MP3 and CD. I've found that cassettes deteriorate over time and start to wobble and sound shaky, as we all do after 18 years or so. It also serves as a traditional dubbing cassette deck, which only adds to its value as a component. And for $120, it was a bargain. More impressively, I received it 5 days after placing my order, way ahead of expectations. Hat's off to Amazon and UPS, and ION for its unique products.
750460
The Zen is a great player for the price. Its easy to use and simple interface allows for quick transfer of music using either drag and drop OR the creative software. No Itunes required!

Display and scroll function work well and easy.

Sound quality is excellent, voice recorder works well as well.

Battery life leaves something to be desired, use rechargeables.

Ear buds are uncomfortable is worn incorrectly. Try wrapping the wire around the top of the ear and having the stiff arm part of the bud pointing upwards, not down like you would think.

Fm tuner great as well.
1984822
Great boombox and very versatile. Got for hubby in with dementia. He loves listening to music. Love that it takes usb plug ins. The radio doesn't pick up many stations. Seem to not bring in a signal very well. Biggest drawback is that the buttons for cassette player  are very hard to read. Black on black. We have been married for 45yrs and have so many cassettes with favorite music and good memories.
1517736
I've had a long search for a good cassette player to play all my old collection of cassettes. I prefer them to CD's for active use. This has great sound and unlike many players, it has both forward and rewind buttons. A lot only have forward wind, which can be a real pain. For the money, it s a great bargain.
561221
If you need a simple mp3 player for listening to music and books on tape, don't need to watch movies or jpeg pictures, this may be the unit for you.  The interface is the best I've seen on iaudio players: simple, reliable, easy to use.  The sound, as in all i audio units, is excellent and, for those of you who listen to albums (not `songs') iaudio is one of the few players that allow you to organize music and books the way you want and with the titles you want to give albums and tracks within albums.  This feature frees you from annoying IP tags and will show folders organized and named just as you desire and as dragged from your PC to the Music folder of the U5.  It is this feature that makes Cowon products the best choice for those who listen to classical music.  Thus, you can have a folder for Opera, Chamber Music, Leider, Symphony, etc. and within which, separate folders for individual albums and, using the Folders option, display them as such.  Of course, the unit has options for displaying the contents using IP tags, individual tracks, tracks by artist, etc.; the usual options found in most mp3 players.  U5 also has the variety of options that now seem almost standard in mp3 players: equalization for various frequency bands, timer, clock, auto shut off, bass boost, vice recorder, record from FM, etc.
All of the music and BOT I load come from CDs and, so, can't address issues of loading/ripping from on-line sources.  The ripping from CD software that comes packaged is easy to use and perfectly adequate.  I also don't use `playlists' but that option is present on included software.

Pros:  small and light, fits easily into a shirt pocket.  Excellent sound, very good FM tuner, simple interface, good instruction manual (on CD), seems sturdy and well built, ability to rename and organize music as preferred (as above).  Controls:  I've not encountered problems with the controls mentioned in a few other reviews: they seem perfectly adequate and provide good tactile feedback when pressed.  Maximum volume is more than adequate and the unit sounds great even with inexpensive run-of-the-mill earbuds.

Cons:  Not many: battery life is adequate but not as long as in the D2 but the U5 is smaller and much lighter and I'm happy to pay with battery time for size and weight.  A memory card slot for extending capacity would have been nice: Sansa does it and Cowon should for the U5.  On the other hand, I find that 8 gb is more than adequate for a large amount of music and BOT.  Further, it's simple to delete files and load new files: requires no special software and can be done on any PC.
Bookmarks: apparently bookmarks are available but not well documented (see other reviews).  I can't get them but, perhaps, need to update the firmware.
Service: most users agree that Cowon service leaves a lot to be desired.  I've purchased 5 different Cowon units and they have all been trouble free so can't speak to the issue.
Price: I notice that the price on Amazon varies from week to week:  I bought mine from Amazon for $65 plus $6.50 for SH in early November 08 and a few weeks later noted that their list price was $93.

Bottom line:  for me this is the best of the Cowon units for playback of music and BOT: light, easy to use, complete freedom in organizing files, no proprietary software needed, relatively inexpensive, sturdy and well made.  It needs a better bookmark feature but else is a winner.
3925038
I purchased this because I needed a cassette player with an output to my computer in order to capture the files of hundreds of spoken tapes. Although I had other cassette tape players, none had a USB out. I also liked the way the software that came with it sounded. However, I have found that I prefer using other sound-capture programs, specificly Adobe SoundBooth.. I DO love the USB out on the Tapelink. I only wish it had a reverse feature where when it reached the end of the tape, it would start playing again automatically. It seems to be decent quality and I would recommend it to anyone who wants to capture audio from cassette tapes.
4842141
Very simple and easy to use for someone who doesn't like complicated devices and software.  Performed excellent for the tapes I converted to CD.
3594898
Works great and easy to use. Converts vinyl records and cassettes to mp3s. Able to listen to records and tapes while recording. Really can boost up the input sound while recording. It is a great replacement for my old stereo receiver which no longer works!
816010
This little CD player has all that is needed for someone who fiddles around recording and playback of music from one form to another. I. E. Disc, including MP3 to USB and SD. Play from SD or USB, Send music to bigger amps and speakers. All activities straight forward and simple. Oh, and the radio picks up plenty of stations, these too can be directly recorded from. A very large supply of music to be had for a minimum of $$$ outlay, if you dig my meaning, ENJOY.
1943866
Easy and cheap way to get great sound out of an older cassette player. This is used in my hubby's 2004 Volvo S80, no hiss no noise just music. There are other, more expensive, options, but this one is easy and cheap.
2273247
I am very pleased with the quality of this cd player cassette recorder the sound is great and a great value for the money
4826030
Although it does not seem as well-built as the Sony Walkman that I am replacing, so far it has been serviceable and easy to use. Sound is quite good. I realize that this technology is well passed general popular useage, but when one has a large collection of tapes it is helpful to have a means of playing them, and at 87 years of age I am reluctant to purchase new equipment and start over again!
3796224
I am extremely happy I bought this.
SOUNDS great !!!!
Cassette player, no motor sound or any buzz
CD, clear
Radio, I can get the stations I want and was surprised that I could get one station that most radios have a hard time getting.
You can see its small, perfect size
Easy to carry, easy to use
Now all my cassette have a home again.
Thank you Sony
1824543
Love this little machine.  It's small, lightweight, and very versatile.  It replaced a bulky fourth generation iPod that was only good for listening to music while sitting on the beach or in the car.  I finally have a mp3 player that fits easily in my pocket and is perfect for exercise.  I use it in my car too, barely takes up any space in my center console.  As recommended by a reviewer on here, I opted for the 4 gig and then just supplemented it with a SanDisk 32 gig micro SD card.  It does what I need it to and it does it well.
902683
I recently purchased this radio/cassette player as a gift, and I ended up being the one to set the stations in it, since the recipient felt intimidated by the instructions! But don't let that put you off. I think it's a pretty neat little product--especially since it's hard to find cassette players these days, even though so many of us still have cassettes. Sony reputation and quality are definite pluses, too. Good reception and sound for this type of product.
3605819
Very basic cassette player / recorder. Reception and sound is good on FM station. Cassette playback, rewind and other functions are
good. If you are looking for an inexpensive cassette player with AM/FM radio this unit will meet your expectations.
1694212
Great product. I converted a bunch of old cassette tapes to digital. Easy to use. The Audacity software is easy to use and allows the user to edit the content.