TEAC GF-350 Turntable / CD-Recorder

Here's a new electronic wonder that could have been truly great, but isn't.

On the plus side, it's great looking and very easy to use. Put in an Audio CDR or Audio CDRW (it won't take blank computer discs), adjust the recording volume, push a button and voila... you have a CDR of your old favorite record album or cassette. It can automatically insert track breaks as well, but it is probably better to use the manual track break insertion method (as recommended by the instruction manual), as many original musical sources have quiet spots that can "trick" the Teac into adding one where you don't want it.

Now for the negative... as previous reviewers have stated, the playback sound is disappointment, and by this I am referring to what you get when you put your newly created CDR into your stereo system. The bass response is not adequate. This is the result of Teac chosing to use a ceramic cartridge for the tonearm. This otherwise great machine would have been better served with a magnetic cartridge. Yes, it would have cost more, but would have been worth it.

A few lesser negative points include the fact that Teac chose to include an AM/FM radio rather than a cassette player. My guess is most people would buy this machine to transcribe their old collection of LPs and cassettes that have not been received official release in compact disc format. So why the radio instead of a cassette player? You can record cassettes using the input jacks and provided cables, but you also have to "tie" the Teac to your stereo system in order to do so. Also, what's the story with having input jacks, but no output jacks? You have to listen to the records on the okay, but small speakers provided in the unit, but you cannot listen directly through your stereo system.

In summary, this is a fine machine for those who are not audiophiles. Again, it is easy to use and after a couple of "practice" recordings, you can burn CDRs as fast as it takes the records to play. But if you're expecting CD-quality results, you'll have to use the input jacks to connect to your old magnetic cartridge turntable. This could have been best electronic invention since the advent of the CD, but it falls a little short.

Like most people considering this unit, I have loads of old vinyl LP's I want to record to CD. Prior to buying this unit I bought a Phillips CD recording deck for my stereo that has yet to record a single sound. I should have known all the reviews on that unit mentioned the first units being returned due to not working my mistake. This unit is far different in that respect it arrived late yesterday afternoon vis UPS and I'm using it this morning successfully. As mentioned in other reviews, the sound quality out of the speakers is terrible thin and tinny, no bass response. I did a lot of online poking around before buying most info states it uses CD-R's, it doesn't it requires audio CD-R's, often harder to find and not as cheap as a CD-R for your PC. A valid comment is that it would be better to have a built-in tape player instead of an unneeded radio tuner, but do you really still use your tape deck on your stereo much? I don't, and it's being moved to be connected to this unit permanently via the input jacks. It records to standard audio CD format so if, like me, you want to get MP3's off your records you'll need to rip the CD on your PC. I'd recommend ripping to WAV format so you can use a WAV editing program to clean up the sound a bit and maybe restore a bit of bass (depending on the ability of the WAV editor you use). All told, this is an effective and intuitive all-in-one unit that gets the job done. The CD recorder is a bit slow in reaction times. You can't hit pause betwen tracks on most records to create individual tracks because the pause function is too slow in its reaction time to stop/restart quickly enough to keep up with the LP. Also finalizing isn't terrifically intuitive. You must stop, switch from Phono to CD mode, reload the CD and start the finalizing process which gives no indication of when it's complete. With a bit of use and practice you'll "get it" pretty quickly stock up on audio CD-R's you'll go through a lot during the learning phase. I'd recommend this to most who, like me, are tired of trying to re-build their LP collection by buying a CD. For the same or less money than a component CD recording deck, this is pretty darned good. Do not think it can become the turntable for your primary stereo no output jacks and not the planet's greatest turntable. TEAC is definitely not who they used to be back in the day. It's not totally crummy junk but distinctly not true "component quality" anymore.

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I am currently in the process of recording my LP collection, 100's, on to cd's. This little machine really does a good job without all the bells and whistles and needing an engineering degree. I have been able to listen to records that I hadn't heard in 30 years. No, it is not as good a sound as digital, but clearly beats the old cassette recordings. The only improvement I would suggest is the bass tone needs to be upgraded. That little clitch can be overcome by simply turning up the bass on whatever you play it on, car, home stereo, etc.

Read Best Reviews of TEAC GF-350 Turntable / CD-Recorder Here

I purchased this unit with 2 major ideas in mind. 1. I liked the look. 2. Convert all of my LP's and cassettes to CD. I did my homework including reading other reviews here. So there was really only a few surprises. This unit will not record onto computer cd's. It requires special audio grade cd's. These are a bit more difficult to find and I am concerned that with the emphasis on DVD's these days, the recordable audio cd will rapidly go the way of the 8-track.

Although it is clearly not up to audiophile standards, the unit functions well enough for my purposes. There are a few things that Teac could have done to make it a better buy. They could have installed output jacks to allow separate speakers to be used. The built-in speakers are too small & don't have the range. They cause the sound to be tinny with not nearly enough bass response. Fortunately this doesn't effect the recorded cd.

The automatic track division function doesn't work on any analog source. So unless you recording cd to cd, don't use it. You will have to monitor the recording and manually select where to put track divisions. No "set it & forget it" here.

The use of a ceramic cartridge turntable does have a major impact on the quality of recordings. Especially on the low end. You will have to make adjustments to the settings of your playback equipment to conpensate. And although the turntable is 3 speed, the needle is not 2 sided with a 78 needle in addition to the regular one. No 78 rpm needle is provided. DO NOT PLAY 78'S WITH A MODERN LP NEEDLE. YOU WILL DESTROY THE RECORD! I think providing a 78 needle for a turntable capable of playing 78's would have been a no-brainer. but then I am an old fart that is not locked into the digital mentality. Hey. I still listen to the radio.

Better still locate the Phanstiehl P-226D cartridge with the flippable, dual needle as a replacement for the original cartridge. Easy replacement & it allows playing 78 records and is a BIG, HUGE improvement to the turntable.

I prefer the manual tuner. Radio signals, especially AM ones, tend to drift a bit and the digital receivers have a hard time bringing in a weak signal to lock in on. An external antenna jack would have been a nice addition but no such luck.

This unit costs about as much as a mid-range cd burner. But I would have payed another $100 to get a unit with the line-outs and a better turntable. The 78 needle should be a gimme. But the unit is functional as is and I will make much use of it. Finally, I think if they were going for the retro, stand alone radio look, a woodgrain cabinet would have been better suited.

UPDATE:

I now have this unit wired into my Marantz (analog, top-of-the-line in 1978) stereo system and use it only to play & record my 78 collection and to record CD's from the stereo sources. Using the turntable, cassette player, tuner, etc. from the stereo vastly improved the quality of my CD's. And I can record from the stereo's CD/DVD player because the copy guard signal isn't recognized by the amplifier. (old analog amps don't know copy guard and don't have the circuitry to use it or pass it through.) So now I have a CD recorder that also plays & records 78 records. None of the other functions are ever used anymore.

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I set this up and recorded one of my LP's on a CD. (Caution: It requires special audio CD's not the usual computer CD's.) The CD played on the TEAC machine, but not on any of the 3 other CD players I have in the house. And I couldn't load any of the tracks onto my Ipod. Sending it back for something else.