Customer Reviews

Crosley CR49 Traveler Portable Turntable, Black

5 star:		(47)
4 star:		(31)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(28)

 

 

As you would guess from its price and its source, this nifty portable player gives mediocre (but pretty satisfactory) performance on LPs, and does a little better on 45s, but it is simply amazing on 78s (manufactured from the late 1890s to the mid-1950s, petering out just at the dawn of rock-n-roll). I have no idea how this can be, but it is flat out true that my ancient 78s sounded better, richer, fuller, and far more enjoyable, on this sub-$100 player (at Rite-Aid, no less), than on my high-end stereo equipment. True, the very weakest link in my real system is the Thorens 180 turntable I use for 78s, but that alone can't account for the remarkably low surface noise and sheer listening pleasure to be had from these shellac geezers as played on the Crosley portable tonight (I just bought it, while my wife was looking for floss and nail polish). There's also something palpably magical about sitting in front of this tan beauty that seems to make the music better -- maybe these old records were intended to be played on these machines, and they only sound right this way. I do remember listening to my very first 45s (with the big hole in the middle) on something very like this player, when I was about 4 years old, staying with my cousins at the Jersey Shore in the 1950s - I was hooked on music from that moment. Probably because the overall fidelity is on the low side, the ear seems to adjust immediately, and "fill in the gaps" in the sound in a much more pleasing way than when listening to laughably more expensive and more sensitive equipment. I tried 78s from a variety of eras - from a 1907 one-sided Victor recording of a long-dead quartet singing "God Be With You Till We Meet Again," to a late-40s pressing of Bull Moose Jackson's "Bow-Legged Woman" on the King label (pretty rare, but I could see and hear that the needle was not doing any damage to the grooves - in contrast to what the original 1950s portables, with ten-pound tracking force, did to records (turned them into grey powder after the second or third play)). Every 78 I played on the Crosley just sounded more musical than on my Conrad Johnson/Pass Labs/Quad megasystem. Go figure. And even the fussy Mikey (Michael Fremer of Stereophile fame) would not be too displeased at the decent build quality and floating plinth and arm - a tiny nod to high end 'table developments of the past 25 years. Highly recommended!

So I was in the market for a portable turntable. I wasn't really into the styling of the top load players...the plastic looking ones with chrome accents. They seemed cheap looking, and honestly a pain to transport. The suitcase model was an instant winner, the design is clean, simple and functional and the outer casing is tough as nails. The case looks big in pictures because a 78 is on the platter, in actuality it leaves a footprint a little smaller than 2 computer keyboards facing each other.

This unit is ready to go right out of the box. The only accessories it comes with is the AC adapter and a 45 adapter, basically you don't need anything else. The controls include an on/off/volume knob, tone knob and a 3 way switch for 33/45/78....cant get any easier. The controls are well placed and all feel sturdy.

The sound quality and volume out of this unit is acceptable. Obviously you're not getting a lot of bass response with the two 4" speakers. They get the job done though, and even when the volume is at highest setting you get no distortion. But, if you're highest concern is sound quality then your missing the whole point of this product, and vinyl in general.

My only gripe with this product is the AC adapter. With the dimensions of this unit they should have been able to make the adapter inside the unit and made a detachable power chord. Or a retractable plug would have been even better. On more than one occasion I've ran out of the house with the suitcase under my arm only to forget the adapter....making the adventure go down in flames.

In closing I am extremely pleased with this player. The design is simple, sounds good and can take the beatings that are associated with frequent transport.


(...)

This turntable and most if not all the Crosley's turntables are overpriced for what it gives you. First off, the sound quality is not very good and the tone arm does not have a weight control to prevent the stylus from severely damaging your ablums if accidently kicked or knocked. Also without weight control on the tone arm, more pressure is applied on the sound groves and your albums won't last very long. You can definitely get a better deal for a turntable equipted with tone arm weight control so the stylus will ease up your fine albums and still give you excellent sound quality.

I do a lot of comparison shopping- too much, in fact. I often become confused! I tried several different types of record players before this- from high end turntables to all-in-one models. If you are looking for a sturdy record player with integrated speakers to keep your record collection alive, this will fit the bill. I found the size, look and quality all to be right for the price. I paid more for a turntable that I hooked up to my sound system and wasn't as happy. I've found that when it comes to these items, the simpler, the better. This is a great record player- it has even inspired me to start buying vinyl again. If you are a very picky audiophile, you probably won't like it- but then you probably have a hard time finding anything to satisfy you!

Don't get me wrong. This is not a high end techno turntable by any means. However, it IS a nice little unit for playing back your old vinyl.

Construction is rugged, sparse, and utilitarian. Just like the original! Sound quality isn't exactly audophile standard, but is good enough for one room.

If you are looking for digital quality, forget it. This ain't for you. However, if you are looking for wonderful, beautiful ANALOG, with all it's clicks, pops, static, and so on, this player is fantastic!

my mom has hundreds of records and for years said she missed hearing them so i bought her this record player its very cool it looks like the old 60s record players and u dont need a stereo the speakers are built in it has classic looks with modern reliability it plays all 3 speeds of records too im in love with it! any true musician will tell you alot of older music simply sounds best on a record player i play alot of my moms blues records on this it looks and sounds just too cool and its cheap so go ahead and buy this today youll be glad u did

I finally got back in the "groove". After listening to CD's and downloaded music for 17 years, I finally started playing my records again. Takes me back. Sure, the digital music may have more clarity, but the nostalgia factor makes playing records fun again. This record player works great. But I have to tell you, I was disappointed at first. Tried a 33 1/3 RPM and it played too slow, and wavered in speed. I thought there was something wrong with the player. Until I discovered the cause: The lid was under the back of the record, in contact with it, causing friction. I moved the lid out of the way, and it worked fine. It's great to take room-to-room, unlike my integreted stereo with the 2 big speakers I had to haul. Now I can play records in any room.

This is an inexpensive, portable record player with a vintage look. It sounds ok and doesn't seem like it will survive prolonged use.

PROS
It does work. I played some 45's and LPs (33) and it was fine, although it took a minute to figure out how to properly seat LPs so the record went beneath the tone arm lifter instead of scraping against it. The volume is pretty good, actually. You can crank it in one room and clearly hear the music through open doors/hallways in the next few rooms. It looks cool too.

CONS
The materials are cheap, although the construction doesn't look cheap to the eye (go figure, remember it's "inexpensive"). The main body is vinyl over some pressboard that dips really close to cardboard in quality. The platter and tone arm assembly are thin plastic... think Fischer Price for adults. The tone is pretty unimpressive, even for a portable. Of course the quality of the record you're playing makes a huge difference, but the unit itself sounds tonally thin. It's missing some meatiness in the low-mid and low range, but again it's about what you'd expect for the price. It's a bummer they didn't include a speaker jack so you could output the signal to a better system.

VERDICT
Don't expect to this this is to make a vinyl junky happy as a primary player. It seems like a good option for kids, except I have doubts it would stand up to an unsupervised 6 year old. It's probably a reasonable option as something to tote around to a vacation rental, or for someone who needs to play records once in a while.

This turntable is great! It's a 3-speed, so you can listen to all your music not just most. Only thing it is missing is an audio output. Plays great! Speakers are nice and loud! It has a tone adjuster which many turntables don't. Also, since this is sold through Amazon, shipping is quick and cheap! Since I am a member of Amazon Prime, I got it next day for $4, rather than $30 and 2-week shipping time. The only cheap alternative is the taec '50's style turntable sold by J&R on Amazon.

doesn't spin too fast or too slow, as reviewed by others. convenient for travel. some plastic parts make me qeustion the durability of the insides, but they work fine. box is durable. great for the price.