Customer Reviews

Teac SL-D80 Nostalgia CD Player with AM/FM Radio, Silver

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

My wife and I had been looking at under the counter, space-saver CD/radio units for some time, with mixed results. They're not found in stores except around the holidays, and we received one such unit as a gift. I don't mind telling you that the gift, a GPX, was possibly the worst piece of garbage ever. Neither the CD nor the radio on it worked out of the box. Further investigation of Amazon reviews found some troubling trends among better-name manufacturers: while the sound was OK on these under the counter units, the reliability looked spotty at best.

We decided that maybe a simple countertop CD/radio unit would be the best bet after all. But again, we found little satisfaction at retail outlets. Finding a compact player for under $100 that sounded nice turned out to be trickier than one might expect. With the cornucopia of electronic stuff out there today, you'd think we'd be tripping over nice combo units at every step, but no... The problem with the ones at our price point was either that they were "mini-systems" that took up too much room (and too often looked garish and geared toward adolscents), or the bass response was nonexistent, or if the bass was there the treble and midrange sounded boxy. There was just no winning.

Credit to my wife for a little Internet research of her own. She found the Teac SL-D80 and liked it based on its looks. But we couldn't find it in stores. What they carried was the D90 unit, which came at twice the price. We tracked one of those down, liked the sound, and took a chance on the D80 being comparable.

We were wrong. The D80 is actually superior to the D90 in several regards, not the least of which being price. I assume the D90 is being rolled out as the new model, so I would suggest getting the D80 sooner than later. The D90 had some minor changes to the CD loading mechanism and the tuner and volume knobs, none of which we thought an improvement. We actually hesitated to order the D80 because the D90 CD loader stuck on the in-store models. No such trouble here. The volume and tuning knobs are straightforward analog knobs, and the "upgrade" knobs seemed kind of goofy and hard to handle.

What really stands out with this unit, aside from its sleek retro styling that fits with mod decor as well as older style, is the great sound (for the money). Don't expect some fabulous sound system. What you get is a unit that has a very even balance of bass, midrange and treble, with enough volume for a kitchen or small room. I popped on a copy of Van Morrison's song "Moondance," because it has bass, piano, guitar, and vocals, and I figured that song would give me a decent picture of the Teac's range. Not only was the bass forceful without overpowering, the upper range was fully represented and not at all boxy. Beyond the natural sound reproduction, I even noted that the instruments were well spatialized. That is, the instruments all sounded crisp and distinct, and sounded as if they emanated from different spots in the room.

That's the kind of performance you really don't expect from a unit at this price. No, you won't rattle the windows with this Teac, and it's not going to sound like a thousand dollar system. But at the price, I most definitely recommend it, especially for a kitchen or den. And get it before it's phased out entirely.

What the other two reviewers say about this CD/radio is basically true. Good sound. Unique, good looks. Simple controls (though some buttons and text are quite tiny). However, the FM tuner on mine is truly terrible - unlistenable on most stations. Using this radio, a few strong stations drown out almost everything else on the dial, giving you what sounds like multiple stations on top of each other. Don't even consider this product if listening to FM is important to you. By the way, this is not an "alarm clock". It has a clock but no alarms.

Like the previous poster, my husband and I were looking for a radio/CD player for our newly remodeled kitchen. We looked at a lot of the undercounter ones and didn't like the way they looked and furthermore, none really fit in our space, due to undercounter lights. So, we then started to look for small radios that would fit on our countertop. After spending thousands and thousands to demolish our galley kitchen, and update with all new layout, new countertops and all new stainless stell appliances, the last thing we wanted was a big clunky boom box cluttering up are improved, but still limited counter space. I did a lot of internet searching and stumbled upon this TEAC. We absolutely love it. First, the retro look is great. It blends seamlessly with our new kitchen. Second, the sound is very good for a radio this small. Obviously, it's not perfect, but for the price, is outstanding. We have received many, many compliments on the "look" and "sound".

This radio/cd player has a very cool look
and great sound. It's easy to use with
dials and buttons on the front for quick access.

This CD Player is wonderful. The music sounds great and it is way cool to look at!

I had this sent to my Aunt for a Christmas gift.Everyone is impressed with the wonderful tone it has and with it's attractive appearance.All for a very reasonable price.

I wanted an inexpensive radio/CD player to use when my grandchildren visit. This is perfect. It is very simple to use, has a nostalgic look and projects excellent sound for the price.

I have had this radio since 2009. Though I like the look, I am extremely unhappy with performance. The radio reception is poor and very few CDs work, this could be attributed to changes in CD manufacturing. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Should have returned it, now I want to smash it:)

Beautiful on my shelf but after sitting unused and unplugged for 6 months, the FM has no reception, the AM only gets one channel but the volume is so muted I have to put my hear next to it to hear, the CD does not work ( I reset it and played with it over I hour). Also, the red indicators do not work. The radio has no longevity but again, it has an attractive case. PIECE OF TRASH!

Fantastic sounding little unit, but mine is today in the garbage bin. This unit served me very well for many years but the CD player became very temperamental, sometimes mmm-OK, sometimes NJET! Its strong point is an astonishingly rich satisfying sound from such a tiny "all-in-one" player. True too, many people comments favorably on its cute cadillac retro-look. Minuses is that it would benefit from much clearer labeling on some buttons and obviously a smidgen more longevity thrown in as well, thank you!