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I need some GOOD advice regarding a "CD player/transport device" made by TASCAM...

D

deaddude

New Member
I just joined this forum because I need some GOOD advice regarding a "CD player/transport device" made by TASCAM...


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A little backstory: the Kenwood CD player that my grandparents bought BRAND NEW in 1986 (and I inherited about 10 years ago when they passed away) totally "bit the dust" last month and I cannot get it repaired because Kenwood parts for home systems are apparently "defunct" now...so I called EVERY single electronics and/or music and/or specialty shop in the ENTIRE state of Florida and LITERALLY NOBODY here sells BRAND NEW "dedicated" single-disc CD players "in-person" for cash (I do not have any credit cards, cellphones, or social media accounts, which means I am limited to buying equipment "in-person" for cash)!?!?!

Now, I freely admit that I am not even remotely close to being an "audiophile" (my systems have always been totally cheap, and honestly, I could care less what my stuff "really sounds like" to the "trained ear" as long as my CD collection sounds "good enough" on the equipment I can afford), but if I cannot listen to my VAST stacks of CD discs AT HOME, my life will be basically empty and joyless because that is how much I love listening to CD audio!!!

The other day, I went to the Guitar Center store in my part of Florida (between Disney World and Daytona Beach) because I needed a "mono audio" patch cable for a really old camcorder that I recently "rescued", and while I was there, I overheard another customer ask if they still sold CD players for cash and the employee said they did (which was not what I had been told when I called Guitar Center)...so I immediately asked the manager on duty if the CD player was in stock and he said that it has to be "special ordered" but I definitely can pay cash and pick it up right at the front counter inside the store and that they also do not need any of that "other nonsense" that so many other retailers always demand (especially when buying from "online sources")!!!


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So now with all that out of the way, before I shell out almost 400 dollars to get this device so I can keep on "rocking out" at home, I want some honest and good feedback about this thing, because I have NEVER spent more than 200 dollars on stereo equipment before and I have never even heard of this TASCAM company before...


The model number of this TASCAM player is: 200-BT


To me, this player looks like something that a "DJ" and/or a "sound production company" would use because it has screw holes on the faceplate and it is very thin and looks like it should be mounted to one of those open metal cabinets that you see at live music concerts...but the guy at Guitar Center assured me that I can just lay it flat on any open countertop space or on a cabinet shelf (supposedly, it is because it has rubber feet on the bottom) and that I can definitely just hook it up to the AUX jack of my BOSE Wave I using my "good old trusty" analog RCA cable (the internal CD player in my BOSE Wave I died YEARS AGO and also cannot be fixed anymore, just in case you were wondering why I am not just using that to enjoy my tunes)...

He also said that I can use this as a "CD transport" (which I had NO CLUE what he was talking about until I looked it up tonight on Google, which is also how I found this forum)...I do have this one receiver somewhere in storage that has the type of connector to "make this work" if and/or when I buy this TASCAM player, but I need to know if this thing is "good enough" to act as a "CD transport" and I also need to know what sort of "external DAC" I need to get (because I am not even sure that my receiver has a DAC connected to that particular connector jack, because the receiver is almost 40 years old)...or should it matter to me anyways???

This is why I need all the help I can get from you fine folks out there...


Thanks in advance,
Ron in Florida (AKA "deaddude")
 
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First off, Hello and welcome to AK.
Ya, sounds like you need a little local support (a friend to guide you). Personally, it sounds like you should just goto Craigslist (you don't need an account, you're here on AK so you have a computer) or facebook and buy a used CD player for cheap, I assume around $50. You might find a tape player as well that way.

Sure, that Tascam is a fine unit designed for pro use. Just plug it into your Bose and call it good if you wish - don't sweat over trying to use it as a transport with an outboard DAC, I doubt you'd find much improvement, in your system and situation. But you are spending more than you probably need to.
 
The Tascam CD player should work fine but could be considered to be overkill when using with a Bose Wave radio. You might be better off looking for a used Bose Wave music system on Craigslist that still has a functioning CD player. Another option is checking to see what one of your local Best Buy stores have in stock. Some do have a few CD players on display and in stock. Or look to see if Best Buy has any CD boom boxes. Their web site shows quite a few that are under $100. Your local Walmart should have some too. If you have the room, here are few options that would totally replace your old Bose Wave.


 
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Good, honest feedback?

Really, just go to your local charity shop (or secondhand shop), and buy a used CD player there. It will cost you about 1/20th of what you are contemplating paying for the Tascam. And most CD players since about 1990 will have a digital output, so you can use it as a 'transport'. A charity shop will take cash, I'm sure.

If the used CD player dies, go and buy another used player for a few bucks.

I have bought CD players in this way for £5, £10, and a CD Recorder for £5. The cheapest I've seen was £2.50 (well, barring portables; cheapest I've bought was a 99p Sony d-ej360).

I can hardly say I'm surprised you can't get spares for the Kenwood; it is 37 years old, after all.

Some of the players I've seen are recorded in this thread:

CD players of years past (Pictures)

What’s the model number on that bad boy? That thing looks killer! I think that's the Philips CD100 or Magnavox FD1000. The Meridian MCD used the same chassis with upgrades. Dual TDA1540 (14bit dac + 4x oversampling = 16 bit resolution)
audiokarma.org
 
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deaddude said:
I just joined this forum because I need some GOOD advice regarding a "CD player/transport device".

I need all the help I can get from you fine folks out there...

Thanks in advance,
Ron in Florida (AKA "deaddude")
Click to expand...
Ron,
Surely there has to be a Best Buy in your area to purchase from a store:

Top rated Yamaha single disc player

Onkyo multi-disc player

If not in stock they can bring one in from another store for you to pick up. Often they have 'open box' models for less, w/ full warrantee.
I would not spend extra money on their protection plans.
 
Yes, lots of good basic units out there. I still love using my Onkyo players from 1987, have two and they have never needed servicing of any kind. Good quality back then.

But while some people disdain them, DVD players can work perfectly well for "good enough" CD playback. There is a very basic silver Toshiba model I rotate in sometimes that has very good sound and event has decent front panel controls so you don't have to use a remote. Link to the model I have above.

The new single-tray CD players from Yamaha or Onkyo noted above would be fine too, if you want to buy one new. But you don't have to spend that much.

There are usually plenty of units where you could pay cash on Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace.
 
First of all, I appreciate the "warm welcome" from everybody and all of the suggestions were definitely helpful!!!

However, I still need to know if the TASCAM unit that I was asking about is decent or not because I have a "filthy rich" great-aunt who is in hospice care now, and whenever she passes on, I will be inheriting her "very decent" external DAC and her "state-of-the-art" receiver, which also means I will no longer be needing my BOSE Wave with the broken internal CD tray at such time (and for the record, NONE of the audio retailers down here in Florida has a "replacement" BOSE Wave that I can buy with CASH)...

Honestly, with the equipment I expect to get from my great-aunt in the "near future", I am VERY nervous about hooking up some random CD player to it (especially a used one), because I have heard "horror stories" about hooking up "bad" and/or "worn out" equipment to an external DAC, and since I will have my FIRST external DAC sometime soon, I definitely want a "proper" CD device connected to it!!! That is why I want to know if the TASCAM unit is "good enough" to work out as a "CD transport" for me (at the somewhat reasonable price of around 500 dollars after shpping & taxes) before I start saving up THOUSANDS of dollars to get a "dedicated CD transport"...

So, now that I have provided this "update", does this change any of the suggestions and/or any of the opinions on the TASCAM so far? Because I will have the cash by March at the latest, and if the TASCAM unit really is good like the Guitar Center guys said, I want to get it before it disappears because CD devices are apparently "on the way out" (which is such a shame)...

Again, the model number of the TASCAM is: 200-BT

Thanks again,
Ron (a.k.a. deaddude)
 
deaddude said:
So, now that I have provided this "update", does this change any of the suggestions
Click to expand...
Not mine, no.

If your great aunt's DAC is that good, it won't be bothered by a slightly less than perfect data source; its clock recovery will sort that out. That's the only, vaguely justifiable, claim made by any fancy 'CD transport', over and above any normal CD player. If you connect it via optical SPDIF, there is no possibility of any 'horror story' occurring; there is no electrical connection by which damage might occur.

Tascam have been around for decades; they have a history of budget mixing/recording equipment for garage bands (their PortaStudio range).

TASCAM - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org en.m.wikipedia.org

I'm not sure of the relationship between their home recording division, and their home/business audio equipment division.

Their CD players were middling performers, nothing special, and, I think, mostly badge-engineered Philips units. As you observed, the 200 is intended for places like bars, providing background music, hence the low-profile rack mount, intended to be inserted into a PA rack.

It's your money; spend it how you like. I get the impression the 'Guitar Center' is employing some, shall we call it, 'salesmanship'.
 
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