Customer Reviews

TASCAM CD-RW900SL Slot-loading CD Recorder

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Just got it and love it. This is an extremely sturdy unit, built to last. Buttons, panels, inputs, slot loading: everything about it is durable.

Function seems to be great as well. The keyboard input and remote are great features and (as professional gear) it is free from SCMS (and of course the "Music CD"). The gain controls (record level setting) are essential for proper transfers from analog material and seem to be very sturdy as well. Separate knobs for each channel is a thoughtful approach and they have a nice feel. Input controls are typically the achilles heel of any recording equipment (eventually the rheostats get dirty and start making noise on the source when you move them, though we may be beyond that nowadays), so we'll see about that in a few years. I do hope they are as well made as the rest of it.

This is pro quality equipment and would be equally at home in a studio rack or in a high end system. It has 24 bit converters and the quality and ease of recording is great. While it will even play MP3's (though not sure why one would need it to), it has pitch control and will also do direct digital dubs.

Of course we can also put it in the rack in the home studio, but the bottom line for a lot of what I expect to be doing with it: If you want a CD recorder to make lossless transfers from legacy analog sources (cassettes, LP's, etc.) this is the equipment to get. It's worth paying a bit more than the pro-sumer products (and it's really not that much more here). I have Sony pro-sumer stuff in my stereo system and this machine is WAY more solid than any of that. Even the patch panel for inputs (in the back) is rock solid (far better than any home or pro-sumer equipment and even than most of the "pro" gear I've seen). Some other brand may some esoteric specs that are a little better or a reputation, but if it breaks down all the time it's not functional and if it costs twice as much (at this price point) you'd really have to find some feature you absolutely had to have that this one doesn't to make that worthwhile. They do make a model a step up from this that adds a few features, but I didn't really think it was anything I couldn't live without. This machine does cost twice as much as the bottom of the line consumer recorders but what they packed into it is more than worth that (much smaller) difference.

The Tascam CD-RW900SL is just what the doctor ordered for us. We are small church that was still using cassette recording for our services and weren't sure how we would like making the change to CD recording, but the Tascam recorder made the transition easy and painless. It was easy to set up and the instructions that came with it were clear and user friendly. The recordings are crystal clear. I would recommend this model to anyone desiring to use CD recording.

The Tascam 900SL is a great professional CD recorder for your studio. I was forced to buy this unit after my Alesis Master Link Hi resolution mastering CD recorder broke down... again .... altho the Tascam doesn't have all the features of a mastering CD recorder it does a great job of capturing my recording effortlessly. two major qualities I like in the 900SL are the ability to use a pc keyboard to access all the functions of the 900SL. you never really have to touch the unit itself. the other is the Slot Loading of the disc. its about time someone implemented this great idea into a unit. you never have to worry about breaking the CD tray again. its a great looking unit. I just don't care for the illumination color or clarity of the face. the bright gold color matches nothing in my studio and its kind of blurry because they use a cheap plastic cover instead of glass. which would make this unit look way more professional instead of looking like a home stereo unit. for the price you would think Tascam would use all aluminum and glass to enhance the new 900SL. above all that its a great recorder and does its job with ease.I give the 900SL a 7 out of 10 for looks and a 8 for functionality. ill be moving the 900SL to the home stereo rack after the Masterlink is repaired. there really isn't a unit out than can stand up to the Masterlink recorders features and flexibility. get it together Tascam!

What a difference 1/2 price makes!! I bought the HHB Dual Disc Burner for over a Grand ($) and although it looks tight, the cd trays immediately turned me off, very very flimsy. Not a good first impression on a 'Professional' CD Recorder that lists for over $1000.
So I took a chance and popped for this Tascam and quite the opposite reaction, out of the box I was impressed with the look and feel of this unit. The buttons have a 'positive' feel to them unlike the HHB whose buttons felt loose and sloppy. And the Digital 'Syncro' start worked perfectly unlike the HHB DualBurn which for the life of me, could NOT get it to start recording when I started the Digital 'Source' master. So there you go, great features, not lacking any at all, heck even more than the hhb (Pitch control for one) and at less then half the price I paid....I love Amazon.com and the retailer I got this from......
MasterG

When making recordings on CD-RW discs it reminded me of my old TEAC A2300SD 1/4 inch recorder from the 70's. Never let me down and sounded like new 15 years later when I gave it away to a friend. But of course the RW900 makes bit perfect copies on a newer technology. With three inputs and outputs,coaxial,optical and analog stereo your options are many. When new out of the box the analog outputs were a little bright sounding and bass thin but after a week of making recordings they are where they should be.

Overall everything a CD recorder should be and as mentioned before NO Music CD's are needed. I use a SONY CD recorder at church to record the services and the Music CD requirement is a pain. I did not spec the unit and it was given to me to use.

I have made 5 CD-R disks and 2 CD-RW disks on my RW900 so far and all sound fine with no coasters in the bunch. I have made music disks on my computer and none sound as good as the RW900.

Only thing I wish the RW900 did was to have the capability to erase any track on a rewritable disk and not just the last track made. Its either all or the last track. If its possible I can't find it in the manual.

That's my only complaint if you will and a minor one at best. Now, considering I paid 600 dollars for my A2300SD in 1973 and the RW900 goes for about 450 or so its a bargain for what you get. Wish I had gotten one sooner.

Don't even think about getting the Sony,you will be sorry.

Great product, I needed something for recording church programs and this is it. I am completely new with the recording process so I was looking for something that would be easy to use and not over the budget price. It is Very user friendly so anybody can use it. Great shipping service to...

We bought this for our church to record the sermons. We are building a CD ministry for the shut-ins and for mail out. This is a quality product and very easy to use. Although after getting it and setting it up I realized that it would have been much easier to record directly to the PC hard drive. That way I can make cuts and clean up the audio prior to printing to a master CD. This unit records directly to the CD in real time and I still have to rip the CD and clean it up before printing multiples. But if you are only needing to record as-is then this is probably the best on the market for the price.

Well designed! It's much faster than my old Marantz which did not read blank data CD-Rs very well, only music CD-Rs. This is my very first time using a TASCAM product, and I am very satisfied!

Amazon.com ordering and receiving is exceptional. I ordered this
on a Friday over the long Labor Day weekend, but got this item
promptly on Tuesday! High quality product by Tascam with great
improvements from previous models.

It works as designed. I asked the person that operates sound for most of our church services how this piece of eguipment was performing? He said good.