Review on 📻 JENSEN MCR-75 Personal Cassette Player/Recorder with Built-In AM/FM Radio by James Roberts

SUMMARY A well built (compared to other new cassette players) unit that gets the job done although it looks and feels better than it sounds. If a person has realistic expectations, they will be happy with their purchase. BEST USE CASE I have an Ion Boombox Deluxe that I use as my main cassette player, but I was looking for something in the player form factor that didn't require the use of headphones. This Jensen player fulfills these requirements. I can take a couple of tapes in a tote bag and a player, sit in the backyard, relax and listen to music. Unfortunately, there are no new high-quality personal cassette players. This is roughly how it works. Some offer to buy a vintage player, but that creates other problems. Worn or overstretched straps, bloated and broken capacitors, worn/oxidized volume controls that squeaky sound, worn headphone jacks are just a few of the most common problems. The recorder is heavier than the alternatives and feels solid. The black rubberized case looks and feels like a quality device. The keys are solid and well marked. There is a small tab on the case to keep the telescopic antenna safe when not in use. MONO AUDIO I don't know if other reviewers got a different model, but the one I got did NOT have a stereo record/playback head. You can tell if the head is stereo when the silver rectangle on the head is split into two thinner rectangles. This Jensen's head has a single silver rectangle. Since it only contains one speaker, that's not necessarily a hindrance to the show. Using stereo headphones results in mono sound from both the left and right sides. I wouldn't recommend using the recording feature unless there's another way to capture what you want to capture. There's no noise reduction, and the mono mode means that using tapes recorded on this unit will sound pretty bad on other cassette players. CASSETTE PLAYBACK The player was a little quicker out of the box. Luckily there is a hole on the back to access the speed adjustment screw. Using an eyeglass screwdriver I was able to adjust the speed to more accurately reproduce it. When pressing the play button, there is a "wobbly" sound for about 1/2 second, but then it immediately calms down and plays well. Cassettes sound flat and there are no tone controls, but they play clear. There is NO engine noise, hum or hiss in the sound. It was a pleasant surprise. AM/FM The device can receive radio stations, although it can be a bit difficult to focus on the strongest point for a station.