I bought this tape recorder for use as a study aid, and it has performed very well for this purpose. I like the fact that it uses full size cassette tapes, as they are readily available, and can be played back on any standard player. I have made several tapes, and have played them back in different decks with good results. The only thing I would recommend is the addition of an external microphone, as the internal mic seems to be too sensitive. It actually picks up noise from the tape drive mechanism. If this unit cost a lot of money, this would be a serious flaw, but for just over twenty bucks it didn't seem like a big deal to me. I picked up a decent mic at Radio Shack for around ten dollars, and recording quality is now flawless.