I love my Harman Kardon CD recorder!
Written: Dec 11 '01
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Pros: Fast, audiophile sound, great quality.
Cons: A little more expensive than most.
The Bottom Line: For audiophile sound, it's your best bet - and you'll be glad you spent the extra bucks on it. It can do everything the others can, plus it sounds better!
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| groovytoons's Full Review: harman/kardon CDR20 |
My experience with this CD burner has been nothing but positive thus far. I received it as a gift for my birthday several months ago, and have been enjoying it immensely ever since.
I am a DJ and music enthusiast, so having the ability to record mix CDs, as well as transfer my vinyl onto CD, is very helpful. I have the CD20 set up such that it is part of my home stereo/studio configuration - I run all of my audio components through a mixing board, and now, with the CD20, I run the line out from the mixer directly into the back of the unit as my input. That way, no matter what I am mixing - from turntables, cassette deck, other CD players, or even the radio - it can all be recorded onto CD by the unit.
Thus far, I have had no problems at all. I have used many different kinds of Audio quality CD-R's - Fuji, Maxell, Memorex - and have recorded at the 4x speed, and not had any errors yet. I find that, at the 4x speed, I can record a full 80 minute CD in about 15 minutes or so. That's pretty fast for a non-computer CD burner!
As far as playback goes, it's an audiophile grade CD player, and the difference is noticeable when I compare the output to that of my other CD players. I like the fact that each CD well operates independently; I can be recording on one deck and playing back or cueing on the other, the way I have it set up.
I'd say the only "cons" to this unit are a) the price - it is a bit more expensive than many of the more popular CD recorders out there, but to me, the price difference is worth it in quality; and b) the fact that it, like most CD recorders nowadays, can only use the audio quality CD-R's, which are a little more expensive than the regular computer grade CD-R's. I guess it might be nice if it offered features like the ability to input CD text, but I don't really need that.
I would like to point out that a few of the "specs" noted on the Epinions listing of this product are incorrect. The CD20 WILL read CD-R's and CD-RW's (I have yet to find a CD of any type that it can't play, unless it's an unfinalized CD-R, which the Record side CAN play but the PLAY side can't), it DOES have an analog record level knob, it has an automatic digital record level, and it DOES have a headphone jack. Not sure how they managed to get the wrong info on there, but I thought I should clear that up.
So, in summary, I think the CD20 is an excellent unit. It's very attractive (black and gold, with sleek angles and design features), has all the features I needed in a CD recorder, and performs well enough to justify the added expense. If you're looking to buy a CD recorder, before you go with the cheaper Phillips model, give this one a good look. I got mine at Circuit City - they are pretty easily found at stores like that.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 399.00
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Epinions.com ID:
groovytoons
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Location: southern, US
Reviews written: 33
Trusted by: 3 members
About Me:
Club DJ, music journalist, avid music collector
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