I had an earlier version of this Sony cassette that worked well for years. Then it stopped recording, so I replaced it with high hopes. After a week or so, it stopped recording. other people to whom I recommended this had the same experience. I conclude that the quality of this product has degraded over the years. I recommended that friends switch to digital or Iphone or Ipad for voice recordings. The cassettes needed for this Sony also are very difficult to find, so this switch makes sense to me.