TEAC CD-P650 CD Player w/ USB and iPod Digital Interface

Pros: As more and more people get their music as digital downloads, the field of CD players is thinning out. There are still some audiophile players at $1500 and up, but the pickings are slim at the low end of the market. Thus I was really happy to find this unit to replace my RCA single disk player which served my faithfully for many years. The Teac CD-P650 has features I don't need (USB and iPod connections) since I already use an AirPort Express to play anything from my computer to the stereo. However, the price was reasonable, so I don't mind paying for the features I'm not using. The sound quality is excellent, noticeably better than my previous player.

Cons: The controls work perfectly, but unfortunately they are black buttons on a black case, with very small white symbols designating their purpose. Bad design for usability. I have to keep a small flashlight in my stereo cabinet in order to see them.

Overall Review: Despite minor complaints about the controls, I am very happy with this unit. Would certainly buy it again, but hope I don't need another one for a long time!

Overall Review: Excellent sound, especially for the price. This is one of the least expensive players available today. I have had a number of CD players over the years and that is due to the fact that no matter who made them, they have all died a much too early death. Apparently something degrades or fails in the laser pick ups, relegating all of them to the junk heap. Consequently my purchase of this Teac single disc player. It doesn't look any different than the first machines I started out with in the early 1980's when the entire CD thing began, but this one does offer to play from a USB stick and iPods, and it also offers to transfer CDs onto a USB stick in MP3, which I haven't tried yet but I will be. I was surprised at how expensive CD players have become, which flies in the face of how most electronic components have gone over the decades: Normally they start out expensive and then get cheaper with production increasing and that market gets saturated. Perhaps digital download has taken so much market share that CD player manufacturers are pushing up the prices simply for the profit from what's left of the music market. Regardless, this Teac sounds great and works great! The only things I wish were different were that it had a bigger display readout (tiny!) and the button labels are so small they're ludicrous! Thank goodness the remote is well labeled and works well. I noticed in doing this review that Newegg is out of stock, so if you want one of these you are going to need to hunt around. This was an excellent purchase and it may not be repeated.