TascamCD-A580 Rackmount Cassette/CD/USB MP3 Player Recorder Combo

I bought this thing to convert old irreplaceable music cassettes to digital for posterity. I don't know why anyone would want to record anything ONTO a cassette these days (especially from a CD), but I guess they have their reasons. The first unit I bought was one of those things that look like the first Walkmans. Absolute useless trash. The next I bought was the ION Tape 2 PC. It was quarter of what the TASCAM cost but it's obvious why. The TASCAM is way more solid, heavier, and better thought out. Everything is higher quality. With the ION, you had to install or download special software and I could never get the thing to "communicate" with my mac so it didn't matter anyway. With the TASCAM, that isn't even an issue. You stick a flash drive in, put in your cassette, touch the USB button and hit play. The result? Songs on the flash drive that I can THEN bring into any computer and edit, manipulate, email, post online, whatever. Before I returned it, the ION was having other issues and I was afraid it would eventually eat and destroy a tape. Not so with this. Also, any customer support was just non-existent from ION (I tried). I think if I have any trouble with the TASCAM, I should be able to get some help. SO- yeah, it's expensive, but if you want to archive your old cassettes with ease and without worrying about them in the process, this one is totally worth it.

I purchased this unit for the cassette deck play-back capability which works fine in every way. Cassettes that I recorded on my previous cassette deck (TEAC CX-210) still sound pretty darn good on the CD--A580. I'm persnickety about quality and being able to regenerate the sounds with all of the flaws that go with the old cassette recording-while not introducing new issues or flaws. No new issues at all. The soft touch logic drive works as good as any high-end tape deck from the 80's. No issues with PLAY, FF or RW of 90 minute cassettes. Cost is a bit steep but I was shopping for a quality cassette deck that was new and in-the-box. Some notes of which I did know before I purchased but thought I'd mention (since you've read this far...): No auto-reverse, USB only records 128k bps, no digital output capability like optical or coax. It does have auto-stop. It does have a head-phone output with volume control (attenuation only). Have not used the CD yet. Have not recorded cassettes yet. Playback has been stable with cheap (low quality) and high quality cassettes. Check out the TEAC or TASCAM website for the operating manual.

Exactly what I needed to enjoy my music collection on Sonos system.

I have many Tascam units. The most annoying thing with this unit is the display panel. All my other Tascam units are orange and very easy to read from any angle. The CD-A580 has like a white/blue display that you can not read it from any angle. To be able to read the display you must be in front of it. The control panel is a little confusing at first because of the arrangement of the control buttons for the cassette and CD player and USB recorder. You have to look to make sure you are pressing the correct button. It is a little pricey, but it is a Tascam.

Been waiting many years to transfer cassettes to FlashDrive , Works Perfect,Simple and easy to use ,Also have the Tascam Bluetooth recorder 200BT Cd recorder another fantastic player from Tascam

Own quite a few Tascam products this one came as a bit of a disappointment.PROS:1-Build quality is okay and above average for a tape deck that one can purchase new nowadays .2-Easy to use and record quality is acceptable to the tape deck from the line in or CD player.3-Controls are responsive and quick when you push a button.4-The rack ears can be removed if you don't need them.5-Can be converted to another supply voltage if required by moving a jumper on the power supply transformer(this would necessitate removing the cover and some technical skill with a soldering iron)CONS:1-Flimsy CD drive drawer.2- Cheap LCD display that is slow to respond.All the other Tascam units I own have orange vacuum displays,this one has a blue LCD display that responds so slowly that setting your VU meters when recording is really just a hit and miss affair3- Only 128 kbps record onto a USB from a sourceCONCLUSION:Its an okay combo unit but if you have existing Tascam products and are expecting the same quality from this one you might be disappointed,this unit is aimed at the home user that wants a new tape deck/CD player combo

Great value! Excellent machine.

Actually 4.8 stars. Great machine. Works well and solidly built. Only complaints I have is that 1. Output level is somewhat low. Nothing that can't be dealt with but the level seems to be more on the line of a cassette player and not a CD player. 2. This is the second product I have purchased from TEAC (which owns or is owned by TASCAM) that does not put a on / off button on their remotes. Why is that if anybody knows. Otherwise a great device.