mjzee Posted March 30, 2014 Report Posted March 30, 2014 Does anyone here have any experience with the Tascam CD-RW900SL? My venerable Marantz CDR630 is giving up the ghost, and I'm shopping for a replacement CD recorder. Quote
Scott Dolan Posted March 30, 2014 Report Posted March 30, 2014 I don't, but I've never heard anything bad about Tascam equipment. Just curious, do you not have a CD-R on your computer? Quote
AllenLowe Posted March 30, 2014 Report Posted March 30, 2014 I have a 900sl; I use it for direct transfers and as a front-end converter; works well for both; sounds good also on 'live' recordings, with a good mic pre-amp up front. Quote
mjzee Posted March 30, 2014 Author Report Posted March 30, 2014 I don't, but I've never heard anything bad about Tascam equipment. Just curious, do you not have a CD-R on your computer? Of course I do, as does everyone with a computer. (Although interestingly, as an aside, my new iMac does not come with an optical drive. I've repurposed my old iMac as a dedicated music server.) The CD recorder is part of my stereo system, and it's how I transfer LPs (and before that, cassettes) to iTunes: burn to CD, transfer to iMac, clean it up with Amadeus, then import into iTunes. As for Tascam, they're really TEAC, so it's worth asking how good this particular unit is. I have a 900sl; I use it for direct transfers and as a front-end converter; works well for both; sounds good also on 'live' recordings, with a good mic pre-amp up front. Thanks, Allen. What do you mean by "front-end converter" - do you use it as a pass-through DAC? Quote
AllenLowe Posted March 31, 2014 Report Posted March 31, 2014 actually, as an A to D, because it's 24 bits; I put my turntable into it analog, and come out digital - from which I go into my computer. Quote
mjzee Posted March 31, 2014 Author Report Posted March 31, 2014 actually, as an A to D, because it's 24 bits; I put my turntable into it analog, and come out digital - from which I go into my computer. OK, I just take that middle step of first burning it to CD, so I can parse the tracks, adjust levels and (sometimes) declick. Quote
mjzee Posted July 1, 2014 Author Report Posted July 1, 2014 My Marantz finally died. Tascam came out with an updated version of the 900SL called the 900MKII, so I got it. Nice little machine. Quote
Chazro Posted July 1, 2014 Report Posted July 1, 2014 I've owned my 900SL for a few years now and it's a tank! Like others it's part of my main rig which allows me to record from my LP's. I've also got an iDock to DAC thru which I record MP3's to CDR's (I insist on having hard copies of any MP3's I buy). I've made CD mixes from LP/CD/MP3 and the sound quality's consistently excellent. If your source is good the 900SL always delivers! Quote
mjzee Posted July 1, 2014 Author Report Posted July 1, 2014 I've owned my 900SL for a few years now and it's a tank! Like others it's part of my main rig which allows me to record from my LP's. I've also got an iDock to DAC thru which I record MP3's to CDR's (I insist on having hard copies of any MP3's I buy). I've made CD mixes from LP/CD/MP3 and the sound quality's consistently excellent. If your source is good the 900SL always delivers! Curious why you don't just burn your CDR's on your computer. Do you bypass using a computer? (Many people do these days.) Quote
Chazro Posted July 1, 2014 Report Posted July 1, 2014 Just force of habit! Before I got my 1st Phillips CD Recorder (long time ago!) I used to record cassettes like crazy. I enjoy recording in real time and listening to the big rig while I'm doing it! Quote
mjzee Posted July 1, 2014 Author Report Posted July 1, 2014 Just force of habit! Before I got my 1st Phillips CD Recorder (long time ago!) I used to record cassettes like crazy. I enjoy recording in real time and listening to the big rig while I'm doing it! I totally understand. I still miss making mix tapes. Quote
mjzee Posted July 1, 2014 Author Report Posted July 1, 2014 One thing I'm surprised about: this unit can play mp3's but doesn't have the ability to record to mp3 format (it only saves in standard aiff format). Having the ability to record to mp3 would save me a few steps. Quote
Scott Dolan Posted July 1, 2014 Report Posted July 1, 2014 And it's a new model?! That is downright bizarre. I wonder what the the thinking was there. Quote
AllenLowe Posted July 1, 2014 Report Posted July 1, 2014 I'm using my 900SL continually this summer to transfer all these LPs (so far about 300). It's doing fine but I am having some problem with the eject, which occassionally fails; worrys me greatly; especially since on the MK II they seem to be using a regular tray instead of a slot (I think, from looking at the pic). Quote
mjzee Posted July 1, 2014 Author Report Posted July 1, 2014 I'm using my 900SL continually this summer to transfer all these LPs (so far about 300). It's doing fine but I am having some problem with the eject, which occassionally fails; worrys me greatly; especially since on the MK II they seem to be using a regular tray instead of a slot (I think, from looking at the pic). That's correct, the MK II has a tray. Quote
AllenLowe Posted July 1, 2014 Report Posted July 1, 2014 makes me wonder if they did this because of problems with the SL..... Quote
Scott Dolan Posted July 1, 2014 Report Posted July 1, 2014 You wanna talk really scary, sometimes my iMac refuses to eject a disc. Get a disc stuck in that fucker and it's end of days time. Quote
AllenLowe Posted July 1, 2014 Report Posted July 1, 2014 my MacBook Pro will sometimes refuse to eject; but it always starts working in a while. Quote
mjzee Posted July 1, 2014 Author Report Posted July 1, 2014 Although I like a tray, the solution is probably the same for both: unplug it and plug it back in. Also, if the tray were stuck, it's not like I'd take a screwdriver and pry it open - it's a problem either way. I now have one of those new iMacs which does not come with an optical drive. Although I initially felt inconvenienced, I'm now seeing the advantages of this: if a disc gets stuck, all you're dealing with is a $40 optical drive, rather than having to open the whole computer. (I didn't buy an Apple SuperDrive; instead, I got a Samsung SE-218, which has been great.) Quote
Scott Dolan Posted July 1, 2014 Report Posted July 1, 2014 my MacBook Pro will sometimes refuse to eject; but it always starts working in a while. I had a real asshole puckering moments a few months ago where my iMac simply refused to eject a disc I had ripped. I had to restart it twice before it finally spit out the goods. That sucked. Although I like a tray, the solution is probably the same for both: unplug it and plug it back in. Also, if the tray were stuck, it's not like I'd take a screwdriver and pry it open - it's a problem either way. If it's a tray, it's a little easier to deal with. Pop the cover, and manually push the tray out. Slot load? That's a whole new problem. And not a pleasant one. Quote
mjzee Posted July 1, 2014 Author Report Posted July 1, 2014 my MacBook Pro will sometimes refuse to eject; but it always starts working in a while. I had a real asshole puckering moments a few months ago where my iMac simply refused to eject a disc I had ripped. I had to restart it twice before it finally spit out the goods. That sucked. Although I like a tray, the solution is probably the same for both: unplug it and plug it back in. Also, if the tray were stuck, it's not like I'd take a screwdriver and pry it open - it's a problem either way. If it's a tray, it's a little easier to deal with. Pop the cover, and manually push the tray out. Slot load? That's a whole new problem. And not a pleasant one. I'd recommend getting the external Samsung drive, if only for future peace of mind. It's really an elegant solution. There's only one wire, because it's powered by USB, but it does need to be plugged into the computer and not to a hub. Quote
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