HR5BLACK Studio Flash Recorder, Black

Weird item. I own one, and overall, it's OK, but has some really bad elements. First of all, it looks like a toy. Second, the control buttons are so close together you have to use your fingernail. It's very easy to hit the wrong button. Third, it records in WAV or MP3, but the MP3 will only go up to 192 KPS, meaning you cannot get the best quality of MP3. The built-in speakers are a joke. You must put your ear right on them to even hear them. Once the unit would not turn off at all, and I had to take the batteries out to turn it off, but that happened only once. The little screen is great--it tells you everything you need to know when recording and shows the exact time you have recorded. The sales pitch says batteries last up to 9 hours, but that is not true. It burns batteries like crazy and does not come with an electric cord--and the instructions say buy your own 5 volt electric cord, well, it is very hard to find a 5 volt cord...I don't know why they didn't make it 4.5 or 6 volt, which are easy to find. But for all it's faults (and there are more than I have listed here), it does record great on both the built-in microphone and the line-in. It's great for converting your old cassettes to digital, even if it only records at 192 KPS in MP3. They should have made it go over 300 KPS, if they are going to claim this is a "professional" unit as they do. Well, it might be good for an amateur professional, but a true professional would laugh at it.