TEAC AD500 Integrated CD/Cassette Deck

I have been looking for this type machine for a long time. I was disapointed. It broke down right away. Guess I am still looking.

I used to have a lot of respect for TEAC products, but some years back they took the cheaply-made consumer electronics route and it's been downhill ever since. That said, this is a decent machine, and I enjoyed it during its short life. Shortly after my warranty expired (of course), I accidentally bumped the CD tray when it was open one day, knocking the gears and everything out of whack, and it was all over....never could get the tray to go back in right or the CD door to stay closed. The unit is now with a pile waiting to go to the dump and was essentially a couple hundred bucks flushed down the toilet. Handle with care!!

Let me start by saying that when I scanned all of my CDs in to iTunes to work with my iPod and iPhone, I deliberated long and hard about the compression rate I would use, and I finally settled on 320-bit AAC with explicit stereo, because I really could tell the difference between various setting after comparing them with carefully chosen songs. And I do regret a bit not having done Apple Lossless Format now. By this I'm trying to say I have sensitive ears.

I was so looking forward to the TEAC AD-500 to solve all my problems. (1) I really wanted to be able to control cassettes with a remote control and (2) I wanted a "real" single-disc CD Player that functioned as such, instead of using a DVD player to play CDs, which is slower and inconvenient--the track number is not displayed, the "screen saver" often engages so you have to hit buttons more than once after a time, etc.

The first thing I did when I unpacked the TEAC AD-500 was to set it up and attached it to my tuner so that I compare it against my existing equipment. The cassette player was the most disappointing. I currently have a Pioneer CT-W606DR, which remains the best sounding cassette player I have ever encountered or read about online (that has a reasonable cost). I chose two cassettes to compare mainly because I new that the magnetic tape in them was in excellent condition and has great sound quality. These were "The Dealer" by Chico Hamilton and "Introspective" by the Pet Shop Boys. I tried both with speakers and with headphones. The TEAC sounded pretty good, I must admit. However, when you compare it against my current Pioneer, it paled in comparison. The Pioneer had far greater treble response, yielding a far more vibrant and crisp sound. There was also a far greater "depth" with the Pioneer--that feeling that you can reach into the sound to touch the individual instruments. I should say that I had Dolby noise reduction off on both units. I mean, the TEAC does sound far better than my two Sony cassette walkmen. However, the promise of a remote control was not enough for fogive the lesser sound quality.

The CD section of the TEAC is less dissapointing. I was comparing it to a Sony DVD-Recorder RDR-GXD455. The similarity was much closer here. However, I have to say that the Sony came out slightly ahead of the TEAC. The tonal quality of the reproduction was a bit richer and the highs were a bit more crisp. This might boil down more to a matter of personal preference rather than absolute superiority.

So, alas, I'm going to return this unit and limp a long with the functional deficiencies in my current equipment in exchange for better sound quality.

Cassette section failed within first year. Tapes auto-reverse and auto-stop randomly. Tape counter inconsistent.
It takes a looong time for CDs to be recognized.
CD controls are insensitive. They need a good solid click to activate.
CD audio plays through the tape outputs, as well as the CD outputs.
Wish I'd avoided this one and bought separate units.

Good for both CD and Cassette tapes with easy functions for those needing user friendly features. Sound is very good for cassettes.