Panasonic RN-505 Rechargeable Micro Cassette Recorder with Voice Activation System

This recorder is very small and highly sensitive. Not having experience with the newer recorders this was a surprise. The picture does not do it justice for its petite size. It measures 7/8" wide, 2-5/8" wide (including button tops) and 4-5/8" tall. This would be an easy fit for a front shirt pocket with plenty of room for extra pens.

The exterior of this recorder is plastic, not metal as the silver color might suggest. Long term use may wear off the silver color, but I haven't had mine long enough to tell. It looked a little cheaper than I expected it to. However, a metal exterior would have made it heavier and certainly more expensive.

While learning to use the recorder I found the directions left a lot to be desired. Showing how to put the batteries in and charge them may seem okay in a single graphic, but when it came to recording and playback with the multitude of settings possible they were virtually useless.

It took a number of times for me to...Read more

Just received the RN-505 in four days from Amazon (super service).The Micro Cassette Recorder is well built and the NiCad batteries and AC adaptor are nice accessories. The unit,for its size, is very comfortable in the palm of my hand. Easy to reach controls,but hard to read since ALL is painted silver,including the letters. And this is were I would rate it a three(3). The plastic casing, all painted in silver, gives this excellent recorder a CHEAP look. It looks like a $20.00 Micro Cassette. However,in this case,looks ARE deceiving. Although cheap looking, it is a nice piece of equipment. Highly recommend it IF looks is not the important issue.

I've gotten a good bit of use out of this microcassette recorder. However, by no means is it something special, though I do really like the battery recharger/AC adapter. Of all of the tape recorders I've used, this is EXACTLY the same recording quality as the others. I would have given this 4 stars but then I thought about how much I paid for it and realized that it was way overpriced...of course one could argue that they all are...and I'd agree.