I have been scouring message boards and online classifieds and I keep seeing posts from people selling Panasonic transcribers and they are always quite cheap - $70. That's a lot better than Dictaphones at $300. Can anyone tell me anything about the Panasonics? Are they any good? I'm still in school (learning transcription) but want to get a transcriber and tapes for more practice.

Kris,

I have two Panasonic transcribers and I think they're both very good. I'm not too sure if it makes a difference but they are both about four years of age +. One is a microcassette transcriber and the other is a standard cassette transcriber. I honestly feel at times price has nothing to do with it. A few years ago a company I worked for lent me a Lanier and I was told to be very careful with it because it was extremely expensive (over $800). I returned it because after it had been serviced due to the fact that I felt physicians' voices were not clear enough, I was told there was nothing wrong with it. After returning it, I was given an old Sanyo which I thought was far better than the Lanier ... as far as voice quality and features. Yet, I've been told by many people that Lanier machines are the best you can buy. I'm on my own now and instead of newer machines, I purchased refurbished machines which come with a 100% one-year warranty on all parts that's usually included with the price. I haven't had any trouble with any of the refurbished machines. I originally bought them as backups but I use them all the time and I'm keeping my older machines (which I bought when I took my at-home transcription course)as backups. Hope this helps.

Kris,

I have a refurbished Panasonic and I really don't like it, but my budget right now, will not allow me to purchase a new one, so I'm struggling. To me, it seems so antique, especially the headphones. They are the kind that go over your head, rather than under the chin. Makes for a very bad hair day..

Thanks, you guys. Now I'm REALLY confused! Actually, let me tell you about the ad I saw. It's for a factory refurbished Panasonic model RR-830 with a 90-day factory warranty, comes with a foot pedal and headset. I guess I should e-mail the guy and see what kind of headset it is! I don't know anything about Panasonics, so I don't know if the RR-830 is an older or newer model.

Bittersweet,

I contacted the person who is running the ads for the Panasonic transcriber, and he said that they do come with the over-the-head style headset, but he could provide the under-chin ones also. I'm thinking about ordering it. I might also visit Panasonic's web page to see if I can at least see a picture of it.

----Kris