Crosley CR247-OA Composer CD Recorder (Oak)

The Crosley Composer is bit pricey, but it is possible to find a decent deal online. I bought this rather than the Songwriter because it has a few more bells and whistles for the same price.

Who will like the Composer: If you are MP3-literate, or you have a decent stereo and your computer is up to date, chances are you will not need the Composer as you can just get the software to run on your PC. If you are an audiophile interested in cleaning up and restoring/recording your LP's to perfection, this probably isn't for you either, as the "cleanup" is limited to a pre-set equalizer with five options (flat, classical, pop, jazz, rock). BUT if you are, like me, someone who doesn't want to shell out for a whole new computer and/or needed a new turntable anyway, I can't recommend the Composer highly enough. It is easy to use, and in my opinion the results are extremely satisfying.

Aside from the PC/turntable issues, my LP collection is extensive and eclectic enough that it would have cost a fortune to replace it on CD's and 75% of the stuff is not, and probably never will be, available on CD; hence the Composer came out as the most practical & affordable option. A friend has this unit so I was able to hear a sample before buying. I'm not a high-end audiophile but I wanted proper stereo recording, good clean sound quality & easy operation. The turntable accommodates 33, 45 ad 78 speeds.

The sound quality of the CDR's is as good as, if not slightly better, than that of the albums. Let me be clear: if you treated your LP's badly or your cassettes are starting to sound muddy, their faults will not be erased, but they won't sound any worse, and the results may pleasantly surprise you. The pre-set equalizer settings do a nice job of adjusting the sound for the requirements of each style. There is a "track skip" button to make the machine recognize the breaks between songs so you can have a separate track for each one, or you can just let the whole album side record as one track. If you use the skip feature, you will definitely need to practice with it to get the hang of the timing and when to push the button so you don't cut off the end or beginning of a song. When recording LPs I found that the "track skip" delay matched the gap on the album 8 times out of 10, so I usually stay nearby and lift the tone arm just a little and just for a second, to give the CDR recorder time to adjust. If you have two songs that blend together with no break, it's best to let them record as one track. You can also stop the unit to turn over an album or cassette and resume recording in a new track. Lastly, there is a simple "Finalize" button which completes the writing of the file to the CDR (don't forget this step!).

The Composer model also records from cassettes via a built-in unit. Some reviews warn that this component "breaks after a few uses"; I have done about 40 cassettes so far with no problem. My experience is that the open/close mechanism is a mediocre plastic door and it does stick a little sometimes (no worse than other cassette players I've had), but with a minimal amount of patience and finesse rather than force, you can resolve this problem when it happens. Even so, since the unit has an AUX input, you can probably plug in an external tape deck so it really isn't an issue.

As with LP's, if you are transferring a commercially pre-recorded cassette, there may be ample time between tracks for the "track skip" to register. If not you can either stop the tape for a second or just let Side 1 be Track 1 and Side 2 be Track 2. If you made a few favorite old "road mix" tapes and crammed every available mm of tape with sound, chances are you did not leave enough time for "track skip" to work, so let the side run.

I strongly urge you to get a few cheap CDR's with which to practice using the unit and its features at least practice two or three times with the timing on the "track skip" with both an LP and a cassette before you attempt a recording on an archive-quality CDR. It will take about four minutes to read the user's manual. Replacement parts are also available from Crosley. Once you get the hang of using this unit, you will have an absolute blast getting reacquainted with your LP's. Enjoy.

Hmm... well... Where to begin..

The look is awesome and the sound coming from the speakers is also very nice. Thats about it.. After a few seconds playing either CD or record player the system freezes... CD-player stops working, the buttons dosen't react (neither on remote)when pressed. I haven't tested the cassette player yet, cause frankly.. I dont have any cassettes anymore.. like 8-track it's history. But nothing works except the record player and thats stuck on the same volume as when the system freezes, but as I wrote earlier it looks great and the sound (from the record-player) emerging from the speakers is very nice.

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I gave one of these units to my husband for Christmas. We were excited by the look and functions but when he tried to use the turntable...no sound through the speakers! All other functions worked but the main reason for the purchase was to be able to burn CDs from LPs. We easily returned the unit to Target and ordered another one. The second unit worked fine except we were only able to change Functions through the remote. We were willing to live with that but on the second day the power button did not turn the unit on either through the remote or the front of the system itself.

We are very disappointed in this unit.

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This is a great piece 0f electronics. The turntable has great sound, your records will sound as good as a CD. Transferring from records to CDs is very easy, and the quality is wonderful. The styling is also very attractive.

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Opened the box and tried it out. Couldn't get the cassette to work. Read the four-page little instruction booklet. Should have done that in the first place.

I have the unit sitting on my bookstore counter and get compliments about it every day. People want to buy it or find one for themselves. I found mine online and paid considerably less, which may have a bearing on my impression of it.

As a previous owner of some quality stereo equipment, I know it isn't top of the line but it does everything it is advertised to do. Right away (keeping the little manual at hand) I was able to record an old ten inch LP to CD. It plays perfectly.

The first time I ran the turntable the speed was an issue and I assumed I had bought a faulty machine I shut it off and restarted it. Second time, (and thereafter) the speed was correct. As to the issues mentioned by the low-rating reviewers, their units may have had damage in shipment who knows? I was worried when the UPS guy dropped it roughly on the front counter. Obviously, shipping didn't bother my unit.

Inside the beautiful cabinet are plastic parts, so I treat it gently each time I use it and have been quite pleased. Enjoying it every day!

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