I don't like the AC cord being permanently attached.. gets in the way all the time. Also no detail in the documentation
about the USB Plug on the top of the unit...Playback audio or what?'
Incomplete documentation for sure

I purchased this recorder because if you are like me I have a lot of music and recordings on cassette tape. With the new cars they don't give you cassettes anymore. This player also has flash drive which is even more a plus, now I can play the music I put on flash drive. It seems that every way they can they are taking away any possibility for people to enjoy musc or recording anymore. So I say get it while you can you won't be disappointed.

The sound is clear IF you have the proper cassette. this machine dos not like just any cassette....the levers are a bit sitff,, have to hold them down a certain way before you take you finger off...I would buy it again......especially for he price......

It doesn't pop up when the tape is finished.

This is a much better and much more durable cassette recorder than the smaller, hand-held "walkman-style" recorders made in China. Yes, this is also made in China but with greater focus on quality. It's not your former Panasonic or Sony cassette recorders, but it does the job. This model will play MP3 audio files from a USB thumb drive as well as play back AND record cassettes. It also has a microphone input (with or without a remote switch) that will accommodate a hand-held or lavaliere style microphone for recording purposes. Additionally, it has two 1/4 inch phone outputs for one or two headsets. My unit has an issue with the volume wheel which goes from silent to loud without the expected gradual rising and lowering of the volume. This may be an issue with my unit and not common to all the others (I hope so). I am using one of the unit's headphone outputs to feed into my small Olympus digital audio recorder so I can digitize my cassettes. Since three of those hand-held walkman-style player/recorders did not work for me in converting cassettes to MP3 files (I got refunds/credits back on all three), I am just using this Hamilton Buhl unit in conjunction with my Olympus mini digital recorder to convert my cassettes to MP3 files. An interesting thing happened when one of my 120-minute cassettes got eaten by this unit (90-min or 60-min cassettes should only be used because the 120-min...60-min per side...have very thin tape that can wrap around the capstan roller). I was able to remove the screws holding the bottom of the recorder, remove the ruined tape, re-set the rubber pulley and replace the bottom. The recorder works perfectly. Good luck doing this with one of those hand-held walkman-style cassette recorders. The cheaper manufactured parts on those smaller units are impossible to repair. That last one I tried to repair, ended up in the waste basket. I am giving this Hamilton Buhl recorder four stars due to the volume control issue and it less than perfect audio quality. However, all told, it is worth the price in my view.