Product Description

Turntable CD Recorder & Radio

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1117 in Consumer Electronics
• Brand: Teac
• Model: GF-350
• Dimensions: 12.00" h x 17.00" w x 22.00" l, 29.00 pounds

Features

• Retro-styled compact stereo with a full-function 3-speed turntable and a CD player/recorder
• Record from the turntable or from an external analog source (CD, cassette, reel-to-reel, MP3)
• Stereo 3-inch speakers, backlit LCD, headphone jack
• Includes an FM/AM radio with rotary tuning and a matching remote control
• Measures 18.9 x 9.1 x 15 inches (W x H x D)

Amazon.com Product Description
Finally, there's a way to burn vinyl to CD that doesn't require a computer or an engineering degree. With Teac's GF-350 turntable and CD recorder combo system, you simply load a blank CD-R or CD-RW, put on your LP, press "record," lower the tone arm, and press "play." You can record the entire album or simply pull select favorites from your entire collection to make your own unique compilations. Monitor your recording through the systems amplifier (3.5 watts per channel x 2) and twin 3-inch speakers, or avail yourself of the convenient front-panel .125-inch headphone jack.

The system is finished in black with a handsome woodgrain texture. Level meters and other CD feedback is visible from the system's backlit LCD. Please note that the GF-350 records only with CDs designated as "music" or "digital audio" (also CD-DA); computer-grade data CD-Rs are incompatible.

The GF-350 also offers features like automatic or manual track increment options (with 2 different level thresholds to choose from), manual record-level control, and an auxiliary set of RCA stereo analog audio inputs for recording from external sources like cassette, reel-to-reel tape, or even another CD player or MP3 player. Playback features include shuffle play, repeat play (1/all), and 32-track programming.

Tune in your favorite swing or big-band station on the rotary analog AM/FM tuner. The turntable supports 33-1/3, 45, or 78 rpm records, so you can play your entire collection--it even comes with a handy center-hole adapter for your 7-inch/45 rpm singles. A remote lets you operate everything from the comfort of your easy chair (but remember, you still have to get up to flip the records!).

What's in the Box
GF-350 system, 7-inch record adapter, a remote control, remote batteries, a user's manual, and warranty information.

Customer Reviews

A Mixed Blessing
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.

Not bad, not terrific either
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.

Awesome machine
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.