192 of 195 people found the following review helpful:
pleasantly relieved
After reading the horror story reviews for the "Sony RCDW500C Compact Disc Player / Recorder" I was very nervous about purchasing The Teac cd recorder. Especially since I was going to buy it before hearing about anyone else's opinion.
I'm glad I took the plunge. This unit is doing everything, and more than, I hoped.
108 of 112 people found the following review helpful:
Reliable, not perfect
I bought this product to replace the cheaper but unreliable ADS Technologies RDX-150 Instant Music PC hardware and software that I had earlier purchased, so I'll be comparing the TEAC recorder to the RDX-150. In general I'm satisfied with the TEAC recorder, although some valuable features really aren't usable.
First off, I find it is a lot more convenient to...
This review is from: TEAC CD-RW880 CD Recorder with Remote (Electronics)
After reading the horror story reviews for the "Sony RCDW500C Compact Disc Player / Recorder" I was very nervous about purchasing The Teac cd recorder. Especially since I was going to buy it before hearing about anyone else's opinion.
I'm glad I took the plunge. This unit is doing everything, and more than, I hoped.
I was making my first recording off an lp in about 5 minutes after hooking the unit up. Most of the procedure was intuitive.
The quick guide sheet got me 90% of the way towards making my first cd. Reading the manual completed the task. The quick guide sheet left out one little but important step; Defining where the music was coming from. The unit can record from an analog (record player, audio tape, etc.) or digital device (cd player). I had to define that before I could make my 1st recording. The quick guide sheet doesn't mention that. I had to read the manual to get that info. Other than that one minor flaw the unit works great. I was impressed with the unit's ability to automatically begin the recording as soon as it senses the music. It had trouble recognizing when one track ended and the next begins but you can do that manually by clicking the record button each time you want to define a new track.
Oh yeah, one other fantastic thing about the unit. After 5 seconds of silence the unit stops recording. That means that if you forget you're copying an lp the unit won't end up recording 30 minutes of nothing.
If you're looking to save all your old vinyl records before that technology is gone forever than this is the unit you want to buy. Thank you TEAC! You've given me exactly what I was looking for.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
This review is from: TEAC CD-RW880 CD Recorder with Remote (Electronics)
I bought this product to replace the cheaper but unreliable ADS Technologies RDX-150 Instant Music PC hardware and software that I had earlier purchased, so I'll be comparing the TEAC recorder to the RDX-150. In general I'm satisfied with the TEAC recorder, although some valuable features really aren't usable.
First off, I find it is a lot more convenient to have the TEAC recorder permanently racked with and connected to the rest of my audio equipment than it was to have to connect my laptop every time I wanted to make a recording. Connecting the recorder to my aged receiver was a bit of a challenge. I ended up connecting it to the TAPE IN and OUT ports and moving my tape deck to the unused VIDEO IN and OUT ports. This allows me to record from both LPs and tapes.
Recording CDs is easy and the sound quality is fine. Playback of CDs also works as expected. There is also a digital port to connect to another CD player, which might be valuable if you don't already have a computer with a CD writer. Otherwise it is much faster to use the computer to copy CDs.
The big disappointment is that the automatic track detection doesn't really work. It's supposed to start a new track when the source sound level drops below a threshold, configured in 10dB increments. But it is virtually impossible to set the threshold so that it actually splits the tracks correctly when recording an LP -- either it doesn't detect the track or it inserts too many tracks. Instead you have to manually insert the track splits (by hitting the Record button on the front panel or the remote). This prevents unattended recording, which is a big drawback in my opinion. It takes a little practice to manually insert the track splits; I've marred a number of recordings by adding extraneous empty tracks.
The recorder's manual actually discourages use of the automatic track detection with analog (LP or tape) sources. Apparently it's only intended to be used when recording from CDs or other digital sources, which as I mentioned earlier you would only do if you don't have a computer with a CD-writer.
The one good feature of the Instant Music product was that its software allowed you to insert track splits after recording the source and before writing the CD. The software displayed a plot of the volume of the recording over time, which made it easy to find where the track splits should go. This kind of interface is just not possible when an audio CD recorder like the TEAC.
The SYNC-ALL feature to automatically stop recording at the end of an LP also doesn't work for the same reason as track detection -- the audio level never drops low enough for it to take effect (remember that repeating click at the end of the LP). But when recording from a CD I've had it stop recording between tracks separated by more than the 5 second threshold. So now I only use the SYNC-1 feature, where it automatically starts recording but you have to manually stop recording.
One other minor complaint: The TEAC will only record on Audio CD-R media, which are a bit more expensive than the normal CD-Rs. This enforces royalty payments from the CD-R vendors to our friends the record companies. CD-writers in computers can make audio CDs copies on normal CD-Rs.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
This review is from: TEAC CD-RW880 CD Recorder with Remote (Electronics)
I love this machine. I have hundreds of LPs and cassettes I want to get to CD (without using a computer). It is basic, simple and a great worker. I've already transferred many LPs and cassettes without any problems at all. I'm not an audiophile but the sound quality is terrific to me.
Why not 5 stars: I'm someone who has not set up a component system in many years, so take that into account....but I felt the set up diagram was woefully inadequate for what this machine does. This machine is marketed to the analog to digital crowd yet the set up diagram had no instructions for where to plug in the analog source (LP, cassette player). The instructions include no toll free helpline. It took me 2 days to get the set up done correctly. I'm embarrassed to say I used the 800 number for my amplifier manufacturer (not TEAC) and got them to walk me through it. It only took him a minute but bless that guy's heart!
After the set up issues were resolved, I've got nothing but praise for this unit. It is easy to use, the rest of the instructions are very clear & finalizing is a breeze. I highly recommend this unit to anyone with a house of LPs and cassettes who wants a free-standing, non-computer way to transfer them to CD. The need to buy audio quality CDs and the track-making feature were non-issues to me.
4/28/08...I just wanted to add that almost a year later, I have transferred over 500 LPs and a few hundred cassettes to disc without any problems.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
This review is from: TEAC CD-RW880 CD Recorder with Remote (Electronics)
First, a clarification about one of the listed features. It's noted that the unit will stop recording after 5 seconds of silence -- this is a digital only feature and does not apply to analog recording. I'd thought this to be a great feature in case I walked away while recording an lp, but that's just not the case.
Second, will it consistantly detect and insert a track while recording from lp or tape? No, though I have had it work perfectly on a few occassions. What's frustrating is that there's been no rhyme or reason to it. It hasn't always been dependent on the sensitivity level set for detecting tracks, or the condition of the lp and any scratches it may or may not have. Nothing obvious. On the positive, I haven't had it set erroneous track marks during quit passages, and I personally haven't had any issues with adding tracks manually.
The Quick-Start Recording Guide they provide -- an oversized sheet with connections and a 5-step recording process -- is at once patronizing and confusing. I'm all for simplifying while still covering the bases, but do I need a line drawing that shows a finger pressing the power button to help me turn it on? Doesn't "Press the POWER switch" about cover it? I mention this because the instruction for manually adding tracks that's on the same guide is far from self-evident. Their instruction is to "press the TRACK INCREMENT button" to manually add tracks, but there's no drawing of a finger and button. There's also no TRACK INCREMENT button, and no it's not the SKIP button. It's the RECORD button, and the logic escapes me. You find this out in the Owner's Manual, which really should be read before recording anyway. It's short and uncomplicated and does illustrate the handy features that it does have. (And as mentioned in another review, you do have to choose analog or digital for the source you're recording from; the default is unexplicably set at digital).
The quality of the recordings from analog to digital are quite good. I'd planned on getting a new equalizer for adjusting bootleg tapes and upgrading my turntable etc., but I've become more of a procastinator than technophile, and decided to bite the bullet and by this TEAC. Aside from missing a little high-end, it's doing a great job of converting my records and tapes so far. Sure it'd be great if the track detector worked better, but I went into this not really expecting it to perform too well, and so I'm not that disappointed. I wanted an uncomplicated machine that would do a solid job of converting my records and tapes, and that's what I feel I've got. Yes I have to babysit the recording if I want to guarantee proper track markings, but that's not completely unexpected. And, as they say, your results may vary.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
This review is from: TEAC CD-RW880 CD Recorder with Remote (Electronics)
I was scared off of the Sony recorder by the customer reviews, and by noticing the high number of those units listed on eBay as refurbished. I've only been using the Teac for a short time, but I find it extremely easy to use. I've been using TDK music cd's and have had no problems whatsoever. I purchased this unit to convert all of my lp's to cd format. I only wish the recorder had the capability to sense the end of one lp song and start a new track on the cd before recording the next lp song. Overall, I'm very happy with this recorder. My lp's sound great on cd.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
This review is from: TEAC CD-RW880 CD Recorder with Remote (Electronics)
I bought this for my Berkshire Hypnosis office so I could offer my clients a CD recording of the session. I couldn't be more pleased. This thing is exactly what I needed. Its use is quite intuitive. Here's all I have to do:
1) After I push the button to indicate if the source is Digital or Analog (RCA inputs),
2) I slide in the blank Music/Audio CD-R (I chose TDK per someone's prior recommendation).
3) Then I push Record. This pauses the recording so that I can...
4) Check my recording input levels and adjust them easily by the little knob below the Record button.
5) Push Play to record.
6) I record my session. It tells me exactly how long the recording is while recording.
7) Since I pushed the Manual button, I can push Record anytime to tell the recorder to start a new "song." (I like this because I can go to song 2 on the CD, for example, to hear my deepening suggestion; song 3 for the therapy portion; song 4 for the awakening, and so on.)
8) Once the session is over, I slowly fade down the background music (using my little mixer) and then...
9) Push Stop on the CD-Recorder.
10) I push the Finalize button, then
11) Play - to start the finalization process.
12) Roughly a minute later, I have a working CD I can hand to my client.
I LOVE this thing. It's almost easier than recording onto a cassette. I've made numerous CDs with this and I quickly check every one before the client leaves the office. I've never had a problem. I recommend this recorder without hesitation.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
This review is from: TEAC CD-RW880 CD Recorder with Remote (Electronics)
I found myself in a position where I needed to convert over 50 long audio cassettes and several DATs to CD and possibly to MP3 later. The prospect of having to use my computer was not inviting, I need the computer to do other things and it would have forced me to buy a large drive to deal with the files. After some research into the few CD recorders available and judging from the other reviews here, I decided to go with this model since it was around the same price as the hard drive I would have needed.
This couldn't be a simpler device to use. Especially from my DAT player, hook up the supplied optical cable, adjust the audio level and record. It automatically creates tracks, either from silent areas of a certain length or from the track divisions encoded on the DAT. The audio cassettes are little more tricky as the automatic track division can only be activated if the tape hiss is below a certain db. An easy adjustment can fix that. Anyway, the creation of a CD couldn't have been easier: push record (it activates in pause mode), start your playback deck, release pause, leave it alone until the playback is finished, hit stop and activate finalization. A minute and ten seconds later you have a CD. So an hour playback takes about an hour and five minutes to create a CD. Much faster then a computer.
The audio quality is excellent to my ear. There are three issues of note. First, the unit only accepts Music CD-R discs which are not as available as data CD-R discs even in NYC. Second, the unit sometimes will not playback a just finalized disc and goes into error mode, a reboot of the recorder fixes the problem and the disc plays perfectly. I haven't discovered the reason but I suspect the TDK blanks I am using right now. (Dec. 2008: I now use Sony or Maxell blanks and never have this problem anymore.) Third, the unit does not recognize the end of the the last track you are recording and if you aren't careful you could end up with a very long final track. It would be nice if there was an option that the recorder would stop recording if there was a programmable length of silence.
I now have a set of CDs that play in any CD player and I can easily convert to MP3 in the computer when the time comes. Saved a lot of time and aggravation.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
This review is from: TEAC CD-RW880 CD Recorder with Remote (Electronics)
I bought this machine about a month ago. I do a lot of analog recording,
so I bought this with that in mind. I have a four-year-old Harmon/Kardon
CDR-26 that still works great, but I wanted something to take some of
load off the H/K reserving it for just duplicating a copy now and then.
I like the Teac, mostly because it is so easy to use. The volume level
is best left alone as it is usually set perfectly. I found that if I
adjust the volume much higher than O the recording has some very mild
distortion. The controls are easy to use and so is the remote. I will
say that if you are not the type of person to sit and make recordings
for hours at a time, you should not buy a machine like this one. Tracks
have to be manually input as the recording progresses. Not a problem if
you enjoy doing it, but a hassle to anyone else. I would recommend this
machine to any audio fanatic with lots of music in their collections, who
has the patience to sit and make their own digital recordings from analog
sources. On a further note: I used the optical cable and connected the
machine to a Technics cd player and made a Sync. copy of a cd. It made
a perfect copy and syncronized prefectly with the cd player. For the money
I think this machine is a good investment.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
This review is from: TEAC CD-RW880 CD Recorder with Remote (Electronics)
If my goal was to transfer analog data to CD then this machine does exactly what it presents to do. Connected to my reciever, making the new digital product was easy and intuitive, for those of us who don't like to read the instructions til later. My 33 year old Philosphy Class cassettes are now digital in format and are available to use "as is"...or modify with other software. The CD's produced by the Teac CD-RW880 Recorder play equally well on my computer, DVD player, or X-Box. Now I need to tackle all the vinyl Jazz and it should be just as easy.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
This review is from: TEAC CD-RW880 CD Recorder with Remote (Electronics)
Hi, I purchased this unit for my church to record the music/sermons weekly. The unit is very nice looking and feels sturdy and built well. The controls are easy to use and connections are very simple. Analog stereo in and out are all you need but you can also connect a digital signal to another device to record without quality loss.
The only issues I have with the unit is it defaults to the optical input and auto track division every time it is turned on. I use the analog input coming from one of the Post Fader Aux sends off the Mackie Mixer our church has. I have to change the input from Optical to Analog and then press the A-track button 4 times to Manual just to make sure it doesn't auto track on a low level signal.
It is very easy to use, we place a blank CD-R Music disk into the unit and after the above settings changes, I press record and it gets ready. When I want to start the actual recording, I press play and away it goes on track 1. To start another track, which I do for each praise team song, I just press record button again and now I am on track 2. I do this through all the songs and then when the offering comes up, I just hit pause. This ends that track and sits waiting at the next track. I then just hit play and the next track starts recording. After the sermon and the closing hyme are done, I just hit stop.
The last thing you have to do is press "finalize" and then Play and it writes the TOC (Table of Contents). Takes about 1:20 or so for a full CD-R. You must do this for the disk to play in other CD-players.
I know a lot of other reviews were unhappy with the Music disks being required. You can buy a 100 disk pack off of Amazon for $20. They are a Generic brand but I have used them for many weeks and have not had a bad one yet... (knock on wood). As another reviewer said you can just buy a pack of Music CD-RW's, copy on a PC to a cheap data CD-R and then reuse the Music CD-RW's.
Overall a nice unit. The only other complaint is the "Time" button, (which switches from counting track time to counting down total time left) is only on the remote. Not a big deal but it is the only button I use on the remote as the unit is right there next to me.
Highly recommended for any church wanting to get away from recording to cassettes.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
(
Saving...
