I have only recorded 3 tapes since I bought it two yeas ago. Now, the sound starts to break off on good half of the tape during the playback. Used the sony cleaning cassette to clean the head according to the user's guide. The problem stays. The worst part is that Sony has the track record to deny the problem on its product even you can find the complains all over the web. Stay away from Sony! It's not the old sony anymore.